Apartment For Three

Chapter 26

"Woah, woah, woah!" Jackie shouted as she pressed her hand to her window and her other one on Paul. "Is this the George Washington Bridge? I can't stand this thing!"

"Oh, are you nervous?" I looked back at Jackie.

"Yes!" She whined. "I don't know how people cross this thing. And goodness grief there's so much traffic."

Paul scooted over to his wife with a frown and put an arm around her. She placed a hand on her chest as she dramatically wailed. Something in my heart decided to offer her some help. "This won't be the only bridge we'll be going on, I'm sure. Would you like some Valium? I always keep some in my purse."

Jackie thought for a moment. But then she held out her hand. "Sure. I'll just have some."

"Alright, then." I nodded and handed her the bottle of pills. My attention turned to Marlon, who still wore those darned sunglasses in winter. Finally my curiosity got the best of me.

I reached over and removed Marlon's glasses from his face, only to find he had a black eye. With a gasp, I covered my mouth. "Marlon, what happened?"

"The pub down the street happened." Marlon admitted. "Can't believe I'm even driving today."

"Maybe we need to pick some Aspirin up for you." I suggested with concern. He rolled in late the night before but I hadn't noticed how beat up he was.

He shook his head no. "I've had enough junk in my body."

"You know, Paul hardly touches the bottle." Jackie spoke up after taking her pills. "He's such a good man. Never a drunkard."

"And I guess I'm Hemingway, eh? Always in the bottom of a bottle?" Marlon asked Jackie as he looked ahead at the road.

"No, I wasn't suggesting that..." She rose her eyebrows. "It's only that I feel a well rounded man doesn't need to pick up a bottle to feel good."

We'd just crossed the bridge. At the sight of land, Jackie clapped loudly in a cheer. "Great!"

"You seem like you feel good from Adele's happy pills." Marlon said in a grumpy voice. Then I took a good look at Jackie, realizing he was right. She did seem off.

"Oh come on, I'm always happy." Jackie's posture was a bit more relaxed. Her words were much more slurred. "I'm as happy as a clam!"

"How many of those pills did you take?" Paul asked out of curiosity.

"The normal four." She shrugged, an unnatural rhythm to her voice.

"Four?" I looked back at her in surprise. "I've never taken that many at once."

"Let me see that thing." Paul took the bottle from Jackie. After a moment of reading it, he realized the issue. "You're not supposed to take four!"

Jackie laughed loudly and pushed Paul's arm in a playful way, but it was far too hard and clumsy. "Mr. Newman you don't know what I know. A lady must relieve herself of pain every month! And I always take four."

Paul angrily looked at his wife, he couldn't believe his eyes. He waited a moment, attempting not to blow up on her. It didn't work very well. "Honey... of course you take four. But you also don't take Valium!"

"What's the difference? Valium? Aspirin? All the same." She waved her arm, then slumped to the side so that her head rested on the door.