For some reason, she was recommending Buzz Off to anyone who asked. Buzz Off. She liked how the words rolled off her tongue. “Buzz Off.”

“Excuse me?” a customer she hadn’t spotted asked from his seat at the bar.

“Oh, hello. How can I help you?”

“Did you just tell me to buzz off?”

Tara blinked. What the hell was this guy talking about? Why would she tell him to buzz off? Wait … “Oh, no. Not you. Buzz Off is one of our most popular brews, and I was just thinking that it was especially hot tonight.”

“Well, then. I’ll have a pint of that,” the man said, thankfully appeased.

“Buzz Off. Coming right up.”

Buzz buzz buzz. She served the customer his drink. Buzz buzz buzz. She had the wherewithal to be alarmed at how oddly she was behaving. Tara looked down at her hands, and spiraled into a panic. Where was it? Had she let go of the string that kept her life together? The string is in your mind. Right. She turned her mind inward and looked down at her figurative hands. The string had slipped some, but she was still holding on to it. It was a very small piece, and she held on to it with her thumb and index finger. It was such a perilous hold, she didn’t know how much longer she could hang on.

With the last dredges of her will, Tara pulled herself together and went into the kitchen to look for Alex. “Oppa, could you cover the bar for me for a while? I feel weird.”

“Weird how?” he asked, concern drawing his eyebrows down.

“I think I might be dizzy.” She was. She also felt like throwing up. “And I feel a bit nauseous.”

“That doesn’t sound good. You should go home for the night.” Alex reached out to feel her forehead. “You might have a stomach bug or something.”

“No, I’ll be fine soon. I just need some air.” She pecked his cheek. “Thank you.”

When she made it out to the parking lot, Tara headed straight for her car. She was hyperventilating and couldn’t get much air in at all. She opened the door and sat leaning out with her head between her legs. The humiliating position was supposed to help with the hyperventilation.

Once she got her breath back, tears were streaming down her face again. Shiiit. She thought she’d pretty much cried herself out for the day. Now she was going to get dehydrated. Yes, hydration was what she was most worried about. She was losing it. This was an emergency. She fumbled for her phone and typed with shaking hands.

TARA: Code Fuck fuckity fuck.

AUBREY: I thought our emergency code was shit shit shit.

TARA: Aubrey!

AUBREY: Right. Sorry.

AUBREY: Where are you?

AUBREY: Do you need to talk ASAP?

AUBREY: Do you want me to come right now?

Before she could respond to her best friend’s faster-than-a-speeding-bullet questions, her phone rang.