Page 105 of Such Sharp Teeth

“Does Ian count as a townie?” she says, changing the subject. “He left for a while, but now he’s back. For good, I assume. He owns that place on East.”

“Has he dated anyone recently? I found a picture of him and some blonde in his apartment.”

“Found it where?”

“Just casually happened upon it while perusing his bookshelves.”

“Oh, my God,” she says, laughing. “You really like him! Going through his stuff, you cute little psycho.”

“Don’t insult me.”

“I think you like him more than you want to admit.”

“I’m not denying that I like him,” I say, borrowing her blush. “I don’t know where it’s going yet. I don’t want to get ahead of myself.”

“Rory, I know you. I know what you’re doing,” she says, making eye contact with me in the mirror. She can’t see what I see. She can’t see the wolf.

I’m getting used to it, to seeing it. My other face, my second self.

“I’m not doing anything, Ash.”

“Why can’t you let yourself be happy?”

I feel my cheeks getting hot. I put the blush down.

“So should I tell Mia Corner Pub?”

“Yeah,” she says, blotting her lips. “Ready?”

“One sec,” I say, spinning like Wonder Woman until I’m so dizzy, I can’t remember my problems. “Ready! Let’s go.”

—

The Corner Pub isn’t so bad. They’ve got up holiday decorations. Tinsel and snowflakes and stars and pinecones. Colored lights strung everywhere. There’s clunky furniture, wood paneling, neon signs, a jukebox. Peanut shells on the floor. There are billiard tables in the back, Skee-Ball and darts downstairs. The drinks are cheap and come with a ticket for a free personal pizza. Only a dollar if you want to add pepperoni, which I will.

“How come we don’t come here more often?” I ask.

“Because you’re too snobby!” Ash says.

She orders us whiskey sours. Ash loves a whiskey sour. Any drink that comes with a cherry, really.

Mia arrives shortly after us. She’s got on a full face of makeup, nails done, her long blond hair blown out in perfect beach waves. Her dress is essentially sheer. She’s a walking anatomy lesson, and everyone in the bar wants to study.

“You want shots?” she asks. She gives us no time to answer. “Yeah, let’s do shots.”

She orders us tequila shots.

If I could get drunk, I’d say this was a recipe for disaster. But I can’t, so . . .

We lick salt off the back of our hands and take the shots. We suck the lime wedges and wince.

“I needed this,” Ash says. “I haven’t been out out in forever. Not since before Luca, I think.”

“What?” I ask, the tequila burn lingering in my throat. “Really?”

Mia shoots me a horrified look.

“It’s crazy. Time goes by so fast. Just gets away from you. Your whole life changes like that.” She punctuates with a snap. “Don’t get me wrong. I love being a mom. I love Luca. He’s a lot of work, but it’s worth it.”