Three Little Words

“And you’re better than me. I get it. Just let me catch up before you try any marathons again.” She sat up and reached for the wine bottle. “Do we have another?”

“No, sorry.”

“That’s okay. I’m in the mood for whiskey anyway. It’s sexier than wine.

Don’t you think?”

“I never really thought about it.”

“Well, I mean… wine is what kids drink. Not kid-kids, but you know what I mean. Whiskey is for grown-ups, my parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles.” She laughed. “Although, not my nana. She drinks brandy. But Granny Carmichael always has a glass of whiskey after dinner.”

Christy climbed to her feet and kept talking as she walked to the kitchen.

I admired the view and decided that she was a pretty package both coming and going. From the kitchen she told me about her Granny Carmichael’s stash of “corn liquor” (moonshine in my part of the country) and how she steeped cherries in it.

“Oh my gosh, Paul,” Christy said as she returned with the whiskey and glasses of ice, “I ate a bunch of them once, when I was seven. Danny put me up to it. Rich was so mad he gave him a black eye.”

“That seems to be what Rich does, but it sounds like Danny deserved it.”

“He really did.” She sat seiza-style and poured the drinks. “I put a little water in yours. Marianne’s suggestion. Sláinte.”

“Thanks. What’s that mean, by the way?”

“It’s Irish. It means ‘health.’ It’s like ‘cheers’ or ‘kanpai.’”

“Well, sláinte!” I took a sip of my watered whiskey and raised the glass in a silent toast to Marianne. She and Anne had become my strongest allies, even when they weren’t around in person.

Christy was in a talkative mood, so I sipped my drink and listened as she told me about life in Japan as a blue-eyed blonde gaijin.

“I love the culture and people,” she said. “I hope we can go sometime.

You can meet Nobu and Mariko. I told you about her, didn’t I?”

“A little. Your best friend, right?”

“I knew you were paying attention! Right. So, we met when…”

About halfway through the story, I said, “Hold on a sec. Mariko was more than just your best friend, wasn’t she?”

Christy’s blush was answer enough.

“Thought so. You’d’ve been… what? Thirteen, right? So, she was your first serious girlfriend?”

“I’m gonna wring Wren’s neck.”

“So, Mariko in Japan. Then Noelani in Hawaii. Brooke in San Diego.

Wren in Knoxville. Am I missing anyone?”

“No, you seem to know them all.”

“I pay attention, remember? I’m sure there are more—girls you fooled around with but weren’t serious about—but I wanna make sure I know the main ones.”

“Like I know about yours: Kendall, Gina, and Leah?”

“Exactly.”

“But… what about Wren?”

I heard something in her tone that was more than simple curiosity.

“Yeah,” she said to my sudden poker face. “She knows too much about you for being ‘just friends.’ That’s what she claims, by the way, so I’m not accusing you of anything. But you know how you can tell when I’m lying?

Well, I can usually tell when she is.”

I nodded and poured myself a healthy splash of straight whiskey. I was going to need it.

“She’s always careful not to say too much, but I’m not dumb.”

“Far from it.”

“And while we’re talking about it, you know too much about her. Like, how she doesn’t really have a problem sleeping with different… people.” She laughed. “I started to say ‘different guys,’ but she isn’t picky.”

My eyebrows shot up.

“I don’t mean she’s a tramp or anything, but she’s… like you. No, wait! I said that wrong. I don’t think you’d ever do it with a guy or anything. Oh my gosh, I should stop talking now.”

“It’s all right,” I said with a chuckle. “I’m not interested in guys, but I don’t get bent out of shape if someone thinks I am. It doesn’t make me gay or

‘less of a man’ or anything stupid like that.”

She nodded.

“But you’re right: when it comes to women, I’m…” I frowned in thought.

“Let’s say I’m open to a variety of experiences.”

“Exactly! Thank goodness you understand. Anyway, you and Wren are a lot alike. Maybe that’s why I’m attracted to you.”

“Probably.”

“I know she loves me, but she’s never had any qualms about sleeping with someone else. It didn’t bother me, even when we were together, although I never thought about why until I started dating you. And I don’t wanna start the ‘sex versus love’ argument all over again, but… I’m starting to see what you mean. Those girls you dated last spring were just about sex, right? You didn’t really care about them?”

“I cared, in the sense that I wanted to get to know them better, but I never loved them, no.”

“Which is why you’re dating me and not one of them.”

“Exactly.”

“But the others are different.” It wasn’t a question. “You have feelings for them. Especially Leah.”

I nodded.

“What about Daphne?”

“Her too, but not love. I care about her and want her to be happy. So, somewhere in the middle. Does that make sense?”

She nodded but then her eyes narrowed. “What about… Gracie?”

“You really don’t like her, do you?”

“If you must know, I don’t.”

“Why not?”

“I’m not sure. She tried to take something— some one I wanted.”