Bernie sighed when she heard the iconic song that had somewhat shaped her marriage. ABBA seemed to rub salt in the wound, wailing about their losses and misery and it felt like she was a hamster in a wheel frantically peddling with no way to get off. She slumped in her chair and took a moment to pity the shitshow her life had become. Except she had no one but herself to blame.
Her heart lifted at the rustle next to her, a flash of orange and that familiar fruity fresh scent that enveloped her like a cool drink of water. She always sensed when Serena was near, it was something she'd never experienced with anyone else. She'd been oblivious to other people for most of her life but with Serena it was like a burst of sunshine behind her lids. She could pinpoint where she was in a busy ward with her eyes closed. Sharing an office made for a comfortable cocoon they could wrap themselves in and lose some of the grievances of the day. Much of the time the highlight of her day was sharing a packet of Hobnobs with a strong cup of coffee with her equal.
'I take it things aren't going well?'
Bernie wasn't in the mood to talk. Serena had read her mood right. It was an annoying habit of hers but sometimes Bernie was grateful for it. She wasn't very good at explaining herself. She shook her head gloomily.
'This song is pissing me off.'
Serena sat back and said nothing. They stared ahead and sipped their coffee in silence. Everyone around them was busy, a blur of faces and names tumbled by but the equals had their own ways of determining moods and feelings.
Bernie sighed heavily, her divorce set to explode her future. Serena concurred.
'Wine? My place? Tonight?'
Bernie nodded. Wine it would be. Might as well set the timer for self-destruction, it was going to happen anyway.