She Never Said Goodbye

Chapter Twenty-Seven

"I think she's puked enough," Pearl said. Her hand held Monica's hair while her other hand was making circles on her friend's upper back.

"Get her to drink a few more sips, at least," urged Jane.

The three friends were squished into one stall at Roxie's. Jane shifted her weight from one black leather high-heeled boot to the other. She ran her fingers through her hair and traced the outline of the pack of cigarettes in her pocket.

Pearl quickly wiped at her forehead with the back of her hand before looking up at Jane. "If you need a cigarette, it's alright. I'll stay with her."

"No," Jane dug her hands into the pockets of her jacket and shook her head. "I'm staying right here."

Pearl brought the plastic cup of ice water to Monica's lips. She drank a little more.

"It's always me or you in her position," Pearl said while handing the water back to Jane. "Never Monny. Just that one night, after Owen almost moved out--"

Monica groaned. Her pale face turned up to look at Pearl before she turned back to wretch into the toilet again.

"Now's not the best time to bring that up." Jane rolled her eyes.

"Right," Pearl stroked her friend's loose hair back, caressing her temple as she did so. "Sorry. I'm an idiot."

Jane clapped her hands. "You're the idiot with weed. C' mon, let's clean her up and hotbox my Jeep. It will make us all feel better."

Pearl pumped her free hand in the air. "If that isn't the best idea ever, I don't know what is--but wait. She could spew again in your Jeep."

Jane was already wiping Monica's mouth with a wet paper towel while Pearl was doing the same to her forehead and the back of her neck.

"Then we'll just have to sit out on the curb for a short while to see. If she passes the curb test then we'll proceed."

"Okay," Pearl pulled Monica up off the floor. They held Monica around her waist with her arms around their necks as they made their way outside. The Sun Also Rises was still performing. They still had half of their set remaining.

After Monica passed the no-spewing test for fifteen minutes, the girls ventured over to the alley behind the tavern where the Jeep was parked.

Monica's eyelids opened and closed lazily as she sat nestled between her friends in the hazy backseat. "This really was the best idea ever."

Jane smiled widely. The weed diminished her cool, take-no-shit demeanor. "Those are the only kind of ideas I have," she giggled. 

"Amen," Pearl shot her hand out for a high five. Jane missed and all the girls snorted with laughter.

They all shrieked, and Pearl almost dropped the joint, when they heard a smack on the hood of the vehicle.

"Hey," Scooter bellowed, taking a long swig of his beer before throwing it behind his shoulder into the dumpster. "How dare you ladies not include me. I suffer from stage fright."

The girls snorted with laughter again. His head would fall off and roll if it weren't involved in either giving or receiving some sort of entertainment at all times. The other band members were inside tending to and packing up their instruments and gear.

"Get lost," Jane put down the window and frowned. "This is a girls-only session."

"They're the only kind I enjoy."

"Eww," they said in unison.

Yet not a single one of them looked away as the inebriated frontman peeled his sweat-soaked shirt off, stuffing the tail end of it through a belt loop on his jeans. His short hair was no longer bleached platinum. It had a cooler, gray tone to it. Scooter always stayed as far away from his natural hair shade as he could. And, as always, his hair had a boyish way of sticking out in the front, no matter how much he fussed with it.

As if the smell of his sweat was carried on the late night breeze from the back alley to the main entrance of the tavern, a horde of ladies, some faces regular, some faces new, approached him.

"Put something on, you're gonna catch a cold," one young lady pleaded, aghast.

"I think he looks just fine," another teased in a low, shivering voice.

Scooter's face flared with effervescent delight. "I haven't met you before. What's your name, darlin'?"

Jane put her window back up and turned to her friends. "Let's get out of here. Where to?"

Monica had her head back, resting with her eyes closed. "I wouldn't mind being anywhere but back at my place."

Jane shrugged and wiggled her way to the driver's seat. "That's cool. We can chill at my house."

After the band loaded up Toby's van, Eric got in the Jeep and sat next to his girlfriend. Pearl put down her window to steal a kiss from Toby. Owen peered in and saw Monica napping with her head lolling to the side.

Jane put her Jeep in drive as Owen asked, "Is she okay?"

"Yeah," Jane assured him with a cigarette between her lips. "She is now."

Owen crossed his arms in front of his chest and kept his eyes on Monica for a moment longer before they drove away. Toby told him to get into the van. He had to pat his friend's shoulder to get his attention.