“Yeah. Remember, I told you, she’s allowed to work remote? She never leaves her goddamn house ’cause of it.” Beth stands up abruptly, and Ellery almost falls off the couch arm. “Let’s go get a drink, Suze. I wanna catch up.” She grabs me by the arm and drags me to the small wooden table across the room, where an assortment of liquors and mixers is set out.

She dumps some gin and tonic together and shakes the cup a little before handing it to me. “Here. Drink and tell me what’s up. You look weird. Weirder than usual, I mean.” I ignore the insult as I take a tiny sip. I have to stop myself from gagging.

“Why can’t I just come to a party for the sake of coming to a party?” I put the cup down, the mere smell of the liquor making me queasy.

Beth stares down at me. If we were five years younger, she’d roll her eyes. “I haven’t seen you outside your hole in months. Plus your eyes are kind of bright and wide. Are you on something?” She’s beginning to irritate me, and I have a faint impulse to slap the smirk off her face.

“I just wanted to come see you. Meet Ellery. I was in the mood.” Someone has turned up the music, and Beth has to lean in further to talk to me.

“You want to know the truth? You look too happy. Something’s different. Actually, apart from this outfit, you look great. You should talk to Tom again. Hold a conversation with someone for more than three minutes. You’d like my other friends, Sue. They’re not like the kids we went to school with. They won’t care about your shit.” She takes my full gin and tonic and takes a swig herself without flinching. “But it’s suspicious, how happy you look.”

I pick at a hole in my jeans, widening it. “I met with that woman, the one from the street. She showed me these photos from my early childhood and, I don’t know, it was cathartic. I think we had a special bond or something, when I was a kid.” I brush down my bangs with my palm. “I know you’ll think it’s stupid. But you’re right. Something’s changed.” Behind us there’s a loud crash, a bottle breaking, but Beth stays where she is, silent for once, if only for a few moments.