Old Friend And Enemy

Vanessa didn’t give me a chance to talk. She matched me drink for drink, until Kieran called me. ‘Time to come home, honey,’ he said. ‘Ken won’t go to sleep without you. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.’ I settled the bill and asked Vanessa, ‘Did you drive here?’ ‘Nope,’ Vanessa shook her head. ‘I took a cab.’ ‘Good.’ Since neither of us could walk in a straight line without help, I thought it was a good idea for someone else to take the wheel. ‘The stuff you told me,’ I said. ‘I promise I won’t tell anyone. Not even my husband.’ Vanessa said nothing and just patted my back. We leaned on each other and made our way towards the exit. It was close to midnight. The bar was packed. As I was pushing my way through the crowd, a woman stumbled forward and fell. Her red miniskirt rode up, revealing a pair of shapely legs and the hem of her underwear. Before she could get up, someone threw a drink at her. Her blouse was drenched in wine and turned semi-transparent. Vanessa stooped down to lend