It wasn’t as if Madison was a good judge of character, but even she could tell there was more to it. “We have to know important things about each other, to be convincing, so spare me the bromide?”

“The what?”

Madison rolled her eyes. “Just tell me what this is all about. Are you a recovering alcoholic or something?”

“No.”

When nothing else seemed to come, Madison said, “Shoot.”

“My mother is an alcoholic, okay?”

“Okay. Just don’t rip my head off.”

If looks could kill, Madison would have been dead.

Sherry wiped her face with both hands. “I’m sorry. To see how your grandmother drank one glass after the other…” She shook her head as if trying to get rid of the memory or maybe memories this scene had brought back.

“So, your mother is an a—”

“I don’t like to talk about my mother.”

To her surprise, Madison caught herself saying, “I can relate. I also don’t like to talk about my grandmother, but—”

“But what?”

“As I already said, we need to know important things about each other to be convincing in our roles.” It was the truth, but just partly. Madison was curious about Sherry’s story. Not that she would have ever admitted that.

After staring at the ceiling for a while, Sherry said, “For many years, you wouldn’t have known my mother was an alcoholic. She hid it well.” Sherry sat up too and leaned against the headboard.

“She was never what you’d call mother of the year. But over time it got worse. One day, she just stopped going to work and started using welfare and what I brought home for booze.”

“What you brought home?”

“Since I was twelve, I always had a side job. As a babysitter or papergirl. When I was sixteen, I started working in a grocery store close by.” Sherry’s eyes became dim. “Anyway, she drank her damn booze all day. When I was younger, she at least hid it from me, but later she didn’t care anymore. Not even about the various guys who kept coming and going.”

“What about your father?”

Sherry shrugged. “Never met him. I’m not even sure my mother knows who he was. He was one of many in a long line.”

When Sherry didn’t continue, Madison asked, “What happened next?”

“What do you mean?”

“What happened with you and, um, Jake?”

“Oh. Not much to tell. A few months before I finished high school, I dated Jimmy. He was a colleague in the grocery store I worked at.”

“He became your fuck buddy?” As soon as she’d said it, she wanted to take it back.

Sherry’s expression hardened.

“I’m sorry.” She really was. “I didn’t mean to—”