“Ben got really drunk and fell down,” said Paula.
“That’s funny,” said Sam. “I wish he would fall down now.”
Paula looked at Sam with a concerned facial expression.
“Ben is in Brazil right now,” said Sam slowly.
“That’s right, Ben is in Brazil, so he isn’t here,” said Paula.
“That’s funny,” said Sam. “Ben fell down.”
Paula walked away. Sam took Kaitlyn’s hat and put it over his face. “Stop, you’re stretching it,” said Kaitlyn. They went to the bar and Kaitlyn ordered a Jack and Coke and Sam ordered another mojito. They went to the front of the restaurant and looked at everyone. Paula was at a table with tarot cards opposite Laura and Laura’s boyfriend. Let’s go back to the sofa,” said Kaitlyn. “It’s the best spot.” They went to the sofa then went to the bar. Sam introduced Kaitlyn to Matt. Sam looked at Kaitlyn’s face as she talked to Matt. Keith gave Sam and Kaitlyn two more drink tickets. Matt walked away. José-Manuel came out of a bathroom and looked at Kaitlyn then stared at Sam. “José-Manuel,” said Sam. “Sam,” said José-Manuel and patted Sam’s shoulder and walked away. Kaitlyn ordered a mystery drink. “Mystery drink?” said the bartender.
“Is the bartender drunk?” said Kaitlyn.
The 8-Ball said “chances are good.”
“Look at the owner,” said Sam. “She is dancing alone, lost in her drunkenness.”
Kaitlyn laughed and said “That’s sad.”
“I think she’s just confused,” said Sam.
They left the bar and sat on the sofa. Sam took Kaitlyn’s mystery drink and put some in his mojito and some fell on the sofa. The mystery drink was red. The man Kaitlyn thought was a girl looked at the sofa and said something. Sam made a guilty facial expression at Kaitlyn.
They walked to where Paula was sitting with her tarot cards.
“Am I next,” said Sam staring at the table.
“You’re next,” said Paula.
“What is it,” said Sam with Paula, Kaitlyn, Laura, and Laura’s boyfriend looking at him. “Should I,” he said with unfocused eyes. “Do it, get your reading,” said Kaitlyn. Laura and her boyfriend walked away. Kaitlyn and Sam sat. Paula moved the tarot cards around and said things.
Kaitlyn was staring toward Paula but not at Paula.
“Are you asleep?” said Sam.
Kaitlyn said she wasn’t asleep just drunk.
“What,” said Paula in a nervous voice.
“Sam asked if I was asleep,” said Kaitlyn. “I’m just drunk.”
Paula said the tarot cards said Sam would be rich if he sold out. “It said ‘sold out’?” said Sam. “Yes,” said Paula with a serious facial expression. “That’s funny,” said Sam. Someone said the restaurant was closing. Amy hugged Paula from behind and said everyone was going to a bar across the street.
“It’s just a door,” said Amy. “You’ll find it.”
“Where, though?” someone said. “I mean, I don’t know.”
“We can find it,” said Sam. “We’ll just look for it.”
Outside the taco restaurant a man was telling a policeman in a police car that someone around the block was 6′ 4″ and white and drunk. Paula said she didn’t know anyone that tall. Sam said it was Henry. Sam ran to the corner and ran back and said “It’s Henry.” “Really?” said Paula. “No, it’s not Henry,” said Sam. They walked toward the bar. Sam picked up a very long stick and said he was going to stir his drink with it. He hit Kaitlyn’s head with the stick. She broke the stick and ran away. “Stop running,” shouted Sam.
At the bar they sat at a table and Kaitlyn put her arm around Sam’s waist.
“I like Rufus Wainwright, is that okay?” she said.
“What movie was he in,” said Sam.
“He’s a singer,” said Kaitlyn.
“Oh, is he really old?” said Sam.
“No,” said Kaitlyn. “That’s his dad.”
Paula and Matt were sitting opposite Sam and Kaitlyn. Sam called Paula’s cell phone with his cell phone. Paula answered and Sam hung up. Kaitlyn asked if Sam wanted a drink.
“Do you want to share one?” said Sam.
“Yes,” said Kaitlyn and left the table and came back with two glasses of vodka and grapefruit juice. “Did they give you one for free?” said Sam. Kaitlyn laughed and said “no.” Sam put out the flame in the candle. Kaitlyn got a lighter from people at another table and lit the candle.
Later Travis was hugging Enrique near the bar and they stumbled for about ten feet and fell down, knocking over a bench. Amy and Yvonne were kissing by the bar. Alex sat by Kaitlyn and looked at Sam. “It’s funny to see you in this environment, in a bar,” he said loudly to Sam. “I mean usually you’re so reserved at work. So it’s funny to see you here, in a bar.” Juan sat across from Kaitlyn with a very serious facial expression and talked about burns on his face from hot oil at work.
Briana was taking photos of everyone using flash.
“Are you taking photos for something?” said Sam.
Someone said Briana was taking photos for herself.
Sam saw that Juan was laughing very loudly.
Kaitlyn was talking into her cell phone.
“Are you taking photos for something?” said Sam.
“Yeah,” said Briana. “I’m taking photographs for New York Magazine about famous writers getting drunk,” she said. “MySpace. Facebook.”
“Flickr,” said Sam.
“No,” said Briana.
“Photobucket,” said Sam.
“Yes,” said Briana. “Photobucket.”
Sam took Kaitlyn’s cell phone and text messaged Kaitlyn’s sister: “I’m really drunk. I’m in trouble.” Kaitlyn took her phone back laughing and resent the text message by accident. “Fuck,” she said and pressed buttons and resent the text message again by accident while laughing. She called her sister and left a voicemail saying she wasn’t in trouble while Sam shouted “drunk” toward the phone.
“Doesn’t it smell strange if you burn hair?” said Sam.
“Take some of my hair,” said Kaitlyn.
Sam took some of Kaitlyn’s hair and put it in the candle.
“It smells like a corpse,” said Sam.
“It smells like cereal,” said Kaitlyn.
The candle went out and someone said “no.”
“I’m with Sam in a bar,” said Kaitlyn into her phone. “I’m talking to Joseph,” she said to Sam. “He says you’re his favorite living writer. He said he found your book on the toilet in the house he’s living in or something and read it and liked it. Then he walked around and found another one of your books on a picnic table and read it and liked it.”
“That’s funny,” said Sam. “Toilet. Picnic table.”
Kaitlyn finished talking to Joseph and called someone else.
“People hate you when you call them late at night drunk,” said Sam.
“No they don’t,” said Kaitlyn very loudly. “I’m going to call whoever I want.”
Sam looked at a text message from Paula: “I’m not good at drinking. Play Scrabble soon with me?” “Why the fuck are you guys open twenty-four hours now?” said Kaitlyn into her cell phone. Sam text messaged Paula: “We should watch the Scrabble movie and play Scrabble at the same time.”
Kaitlyn and Sam went upstairs into an outdoor area and each did a cartwheel. Kaitlyn broke a glass and covered her mouth with her hand. Sam covered his mouth with his hand then tried to climb onto the roof.
“You can’t climb that,” someone said. “And this area is closing.”
Outside the bar Kaitlyn said something about the J train. “Unless you want to let me sleep on your sofa,” she said. They got on the L train and arrived at Sam’s apartment. Sam asked Kaitlyn if she wanted to see his new computer. They went in his room and sat on the floor with their legs on each other’s legs. Sam stood and looked down at Kaitlyn. “You’ll be cold without a blanket on the sofa,” he said.