Happy Hour

Darlene, Anna, and I were soon on the same page about the Jessica crisis. Give her some space and be supportive when she felt comfortable enough to start hanging out with us again. Of course, it was also my job to separately keep up with her and make sure she never felt like I disapproved of her decisions. If something bad did happen between her and Josh, I needed her to know that I was there to help her.

As I looked at my calendar last week, I realized summer was half way over. I had so many plans for the summer and somehow, the days just flew by too fast. Isn't that how it always goes, though?

Friday afternoon, Darlene asked Anna and I to meet her in the city for happy hour. She worked full time at a big corporation and was going out with a bunch of her coworkers for drinks. I don't know if Darlene was looking to capitalize on the outing as a way to make Jessica jealous via Instagram, but I agreed. I hadn't gone out with my friends much since I met Justin and since he was away that weekend, I decided to utilize it.

Anna and I took a 4:15 train into New York City so we would get to Darlene's building right around the time she was getting out of work. I tried to find the right sundress that would maybe give people the wrong impression that I actually had a fancy job in Manhattan. Since most places in the city, Darlene's company included, observed Casual Fridays, I figured I could get away with it. I landed on a pale orange, strapless one. I threw a light gray sweater over it in case the bar was blasting the air condition.

Walking through Penn Station at 5 o'clock on a Friday afternoon is heaven. As we made our way to the staircase to walk up onto the street, I became flustered at all the attractive men in suits passing us.

"Would it be weird if I stationed myself here to find a husband?" I jokingly asked Anna.

She laughed. "I was just thinking the same thing," she responded as we maneuvered around all the people. "But you're not single, so I don't think that'd be a good idea."

"I was kidding," I said to her with a playful push that almost knocked her into a woman on a cell phone. "You know I'm into Justin."

We walked a couple of avenues and several blocks to Darlene's building. She was waiting outside when we got there.

"Hey, guys," she said greeting us each with a hug. "Wow, Caroline, you really got dressed up for this. You know you already have a boyfriend, right?"

I let out an offended laugh. "What is with you two?" I asked putting my left hand on my hip. "I'm allowed to look nice even though I have a boyfriend!"

Darlene waved her hand at me. "I know, I know. I'm sorry, I didn't know it was a sore subject." She glanced at Anna and smiled. "Anyway, the bar is only two subway stops away. Let's go!"

Anna and I followed Darlene around the corner to a subway entrance. I have lived on Long Island my whole life, so you'd think I know the mass transit system of the biggest city near me, but I sadly don't. Darlene, having worked in the city for almost a year now, knew it backwards and forwards though. I tried to act like I knew where I was going as I followed Darlene's every move.

Once we walked into the restaurant, Darlene saw her coworkers right away. We sat at the end of the bar, ordered that bar speciality drink of the day (tequila sunrises), and began making small talk with some of the other twenty-something-year-old employees, mainly  two named Doug and Rachel.

"So, what're you doing for your birthday, Darlene?" Rachel asked with an overly enthusiastic smile. Rachel was super sweet, even though she looked like a stuck up sorority girl.

"Probably just a bar or something. Nothing crazy," Darlene insisted. Darlene's birthday was on the 23rd, but she hadn't really told any of us her plans. We'd probably end up at Nostalgic, which was ay okay with me. I hadn't been there in so long.

"Go crazy," Doug chimed in, taking a large swig of his beer. "It's your 25th, right?"

Darlene playfully nudged him in the ribs. "Try 23rd!"

Doug laughed. "Hey, sorry. I always forget you started so much younger than most of us." I pegged Doug to be about 27 or 28 and he sounded like he had been at the company for a few years already.

Before ordering our next round of drinks, Darlene asked Rachel to take a picture of the three of us.

"We need to get this on Instagram before I start looking sloppy," Darlene insisted as she fixed the part in her hair. Yup, Darlene definitely wanted Jessica to see this picture. So juvenile. 

Poor Rachel had to take the picture four times before Darlene and Anna were both happy with it. Darlene began filtering it while I tried to flag down the bartender. Doug got his attention first, though.

"Five tequila shots, please." Everyone else was looking at their phones, but I raised my eyebrows at him. "What?" He asked with a laugh. "You have somewhere to be in the morning?"

"Nope," I said shaking my head. "I'm good."

We all took our shots and I immediately wished that I hadn't. Were tequila shots really necessary for happy hour?

As the evening continued, everybody reached various levels of intoxication. While I enjoyed my nice buzz, I noticed Darlene and Doug competing for the drunkest. I didn't worry about their mild flirtation. Darlene deserved to have some fun. It didn't even phase me when I noticed him placing his hand on her upper thigh. That is, until I saw his wedding ring.