Spiral Bound Journal

Pointy Alexandria Building

"I bet the bartender is wondering why on Earth we are downing Absinthe at two in the afternoon," Felicia muttered as she peered at her slotted spoon.

Her friend Walter chuckled. "If they have watched C-SPAN lately, they'd understand."

"Right, and how many bartenders watch C-SPAN?"

"Around here? Probably more than usual."

"I suppose."

With that, Felicia balanced a sugar cube on the spoon and grabbed a half carafe off the table. She poured a stream of water until the cube vanished. She set the carafe down and removed the spoon from the rim.

"Of course, they likely don't know about the other reason you're willing to chance your chances on dancing with the green fairy in the middle of the week."

Felicia shook her hand. "Don't tell me you believe that rubbish."

"Well, no, of course not, but that vernacular can be useful in illustrating how other people might view the situation."

"Well, the booze part, anyway."

"Very true."

Felicia cocked her head at the glass before picking it up for a sip. It took a bit for the anise and fennel to cut through the sugar. When it hit her tongue, it did not hold back. A shudder crept into her shoulders and fled before either she or Walter could say anything.

"So booze aside," Walter pressed, "since you still can't really talk about your Congressional testimony in relation to the ongoing DOJ investigation, we might as well talk about your other big issue."

"Well, crap. I wonder if Congress needs another statement," Felicia muttered.

Walter chuckled. "I shouldn't laugh, but that level of evasion is just amazing."

"Suppose I should be thankful hardly anyone's in this place. It's...."

"Tough, I know. Even before a bunch of people knew your name you hesitated and with good reason."

"Now people not only know my name but can pronounce it correctly. It's a mess, and it doesn't help that people know who Marcus is as well."

Walter sipped from his glass. "Marcus had time to get used to it, though. DO you know if his marriage is open?"

"No," Felicia replied, "but I've mentioned mine is."

"Does Adrian know about this latest conversation?"

"Not yet. I feel like this is something that needs to be discussed in person."

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea."

"And I won't be there for another couple days. Hopefully I'll be left alone at the train stations."

"True."

With that, Walter went over to order another round. This prompted Felicia to knock back the rest of her drink and look around. Two of the patio tables were occupied, and a somewhat bored server sanitized some tables nearby. The inside seating was empty save for where she sat. Faint guitar riffs drifted through the air, too soft to be able to discern the tune. Felicia leaned back in her chair and tilted her head at the ceiling. The sound of new glasses being set on the table interrupted her trance. She found more water in addition to additional Absinthe pours.

"I suspect you need a bit of extra help," Walter remarked.

"Yeah, but my tolerance isn't that high," Felicia told him. "Ll things considered, I'm still pretty small."

"Hehheh."

Felicia watched as Walter set up his sugar spoon and poured some water into his new glass. She looked at her set before setting the sugar spoon aside. She added a bit of water before downing her drink like a shot.

"Damn!"

Felicia shook out her head and shoulders. "A bit stronger than I expected, but I like it better than the sugar."

"Is that how Marcus drinks it?"

"I...don't actually know. You'd think I'd have learned that after all the rather detailed conversations we've had."

"I feel like there's more to this story than you've told me."

"That's because I've spent most of my time telling all this to Marlon."

"Sounds like a pact of mutual secrecy."

Felicia nodded. "But given that he's come out, I feel like the secrecy pact is shifting."

"Ah, the ol' resistance to change."

"Dude, Walter, I'm not ready for this. I was hoping for a bit more time."

"I suspect you may have already gotten that time with the whole bringing evidence to the DOJ thing. But that's not the point, Felicia. You're going to have to say something to Marcus at some point. He went out on one hell of a limb in telling you that he has feelings for you - and likely has had feelings for you for a long time - and this means there's no going back."

Felicia swiveled her empty glass. "I pushed him to say it."

"You what?"

"You heard me."

"What prompted you to do that?"

"Hell if I know. If I knew that answer, I wouldn't be here."

"That's a bunch of crap, and you know it."

"Excuse me?"

Walter leaned on his elbows to peer at his friend. "While things have been exceptionally weird in your life with all this extra work you've had to do, you knew that you and Marcus could not stay 'just friends'. Hell, from what I've seen you two haven't been 'just friends' for a while. And it sounds like you can't lean on Marlon in your Mutually Silent Society when it comes to your love lives. Marlon's taken a brave step, and whether or not you know it so have you. The difference is Marlon admits to it. But you? This one's up to you, Felicia. You have to make the final decision."

Felicia sat for a moment staring at the tabletop before responding.

"Well, Walter," she said after a while, "I am well aware that I pretty much have Marcus wrapped around my finger at this point. But frankly, even if Angie doesn't want to kill me for this, I feel like I would break under the strain of public scrutiny if I had that to my already heaping plate. I don't want Marcus to inherit all my shit and potential public meltdown from all the stress. It's not fair to him or our spouses."

Walter nodded. "That's totally valid. All the same, I get the feeling that Marcus is more than willing to risk that meltdown. Hell, he might be better able to help you manage it than Adrian could."

"Maybe."

With that, Felicia sipped some water before staring at the tabletop. Her mind swirled with everything Walter said. She knew, though, that he was right and that the direction of her relationship with Marcus did in fact rest entirely in her hands.




Entry 9 in "The Bard's Hall Contest"