"Still here huh? I asked seeing Taylor sitting on my couch.
"Yep," she replied. "How are you feeling?"
"I guess that depends on what happened last night."
"You really don't remember much do you?" she asked, almost too happy with herself.
"Not much, I don't" I admitted. Hell, it wasn't like she already knew I'd had just a little too much to drink.
"Just how much do you remember?" she inquired.
"Well," I thought for a minute. "Let me put it this way, the last thing that I clearly remember was something to do with mistletoe."
"Bos," she said, taking a moment before she continued. "You really don't remember much do you?"
"Why don't you just tell me what the hell I did last night?"
"Okay, okay fine," she replied turning to face me, her hands out in front of her almost as if defending herself.
"Well, for starters, I hope Faith is feeling a lot better this morning than you are."
"You telling me that Faith got drunk last night, oh this is just great."
"Well, at first she wasn't drinking but that was before someone challenged her at shots."
"What? No.no way.not Faith. She doesn't do shots. Hell she barely drinks. I mean how many times have you seen her go out with us at Haggerty's."
"It didn't start out with just the two of you. Actually I had a few shots, Kim had a few, Ty had a few, Jimmy had a few, and Faith just sort of joined in at the end."
"Damn Alex," I said, "I have to work with her. Do you have any idea how bad this is gonna be?"
"Oh uh Bos, I think the shots are the least of your problems and it's not just Faith that you should be concerned about facing."
I dropped my head into my hands. In my gut, I had this feeling that the hangover I was now experiencing was the least of what I had to deal with.
"Okay, who should I be concerned with facing and why. Come on. Spill it Taylor."
"Okay for starters, let me just say that Jimmy is just a little pissed at you although its not all your fault."
"And."
"Well you know Jimmy's a little overly protective of Kim at times and I don't think he was too happy with you and Kim and the earlier mentioned mistletoe."
"I kissed Kim?"
"Let's just say you and that mistletoe spent a lot of time together."
"Okay how bout if you just tell me who I didn't kiss."
"Uh well, you didn't kiss Ty or Sully or Jimmy," Alex said making no attempt to hold back a chuckle.
Either I was a glutton for punishment or just too stupid but by this point I was hoping it didn't get much worse. Judging by the look on Alex's face, that was exactly where this was headed.
"Go on."
"Well, one thing that I didn't know about you til last night was that you actually have a nice voice."
"Meaning what exactly?"
"Just that you I had no idea you could actually sing."
"Sing! What the hell! .I don't sing.I don't hum..I don't even whistle for crying out loud."
"Well normally maybe that's probably true, but last night you were definitely singing."
"Would it be stupid of me to ask what it was that I was singing?"
"Well, let me just say that I was wrong about you in another sense. You actually do know the words to several Christmas carols."
"Christmas carols.I was singing Christmas carols?"
"Well not just you..see uh Sully, that man can play a mean piano. And you and Ty did make a nice little duet on a couple of songs. I didn't know Ty could sing either. Tell me something Bosco, what other little talents are you guys at the 55th hiding anyway?"
"This is not funny Taylor. I have to work with these people.on a daily basis."
"Bos, it's not that bad. I mean you weren't the only one singing Christmas carols.
She paused for a moment and one thing I've learned is that a pause is not a good thing. One look at her and she must have read my mind as she continued with her thought.
"Of course you did do a few solos too but by then the crowd was thinning out a bit. I mean by then it was pretty much down to about 30 people."
"And this is supposed to make me feel better?"
"Hey don't blame me for something you did Bosco."
"Alright, alright, let's just skip the middle stuff and tell me the worst thing I did."
"Well, that depends on what you consider the 'worst' thing. See as far as everyone was concerned, I say that a certain song sung to a certain person was not a good idea."
I would think that by this time Alex would know better and just tell me what the hell she was talking about. Apparently she'd figured that out too.
"The song was called "You've lost that loving feeling by The Righteous Brothers. You know the song 'you never close your eyes anymore when I kiss your lips'
Alex glanced up at me seeing the expression on my face. It had to be obvious. Who the hell did I sing that song too?
"Uh Bos, that little song, you sang it to Faith."
"Faith! You've got to be kidding me.you are kidding me right.Taylor.."
"Sorry Bos, but you definitely sang that song to Faith and uh well, she sort of proved you wrong."
By this time I couldn't even look at Taylor anymore. The pain in my head was rapidly returning and I was pacing my apartment. The worse thing was, I had this feeling that it was only going to get worse. Taylor confirmed it, sending me over the edge.
"Uh Bosco, listen, it was just a couple of us who noticed that shortly after you sang that song to Faith, the two of you disappeared. Kim and I found the two of you.that little kiss earlier.the one with the mistletoe.uh, well the two of you put that one to shame."
"Me and Faith? .kissing?.you're telling me I was kissing my partner?"
"Yeah and another five minutes and I think the two of you would have redefined the term partner.if you get my drift."
"This is not happening," I said to myself. I must have said it several times but it didn't help.
"Listen, Bosco, I'd bet that given her condition, Faith isn't remembering this any better than you are."
"So what, with any luck Faith doesn't remember any of this? Is that supposed to make me feel better?"
"I'm not saying that. What I meant was that when it happened Bos.you and Faith weren't exactly thinking clearly at the time."
"That's not my point," I argued. "My point is.look what I'm saying is that I do a lot of dumb stuff okay. But not Faith.she doesn't deserve this.people like to talk and I don't want her to have to hear people talking about us.not like this."
"Bos, listen okay, it was just me and Kim okay.nobody else was there.nobody else saw the two of you. And Kim and I.we wouldn't do anything to hurt Faith."
"You're sure?" I asked almost pleading.
"I'm sure," Alex reassured me. "Listen..hey, you alright Bos, you're kinda scaring me here."
"Faith's my partner.she has enough to deal with just by being my partner.I just don't want her to have to deal with some clowns giving her a hard time about what happened last night."
"They won't okay? It was just me and Kim who saw it happen and like I said, we wouldn't do anything to hurt Faith."
"I'd never take advantage of her, you know that?"
"I know you wouldn't do that Bos. Listen, you and Faith.I don't know what it is about that woman but for some reason she seems to have some influence on you.God help her I don't know how she puts up with you sometimes but she does. I think everybody should have a best friend. You and Faith, I don't know. You're opposites but you seem to balance one another out."
"She believes in me.for some reason she has this crazy idea that I'm not all bad."
"Hey you can be a good guy" she replied with a serious face. That face changed to that silly grin before she finished her thought. "When you want to be."
I didn't reply, not with words anyway. I'm sure the look on my face said it all.
"Look, I got to get going. Supposed to be at my brother's in an hour." Alex said after glancing at her watch.
"Lucky guy."
"Who? My brother?"
"Yeah him. Does he realize how lucky he is to have you for a sister?"
"I keep trying to tell him that but for some reason, he just doesn't believe me. You got any brothers or sister?"
"No, well I have a brother, no idea where he is though."
"I can just see you as a big brother.poor girl.you'd probably interrogate all her dates."
"What dates?"
"Exactly my point," she said, laughing. "I got to go. I think my work here is done."
"Thanks.for that stuff, whatever it was.and for not telling anyone about." I started to say, still a little embarrassed over what Alex had told me.
"You're welcome.and for the record, any girl would be lucky to have you for a big brother. At least I would."
Having said that, Alex reached out and I gladly accepted the hug she offered.
"Thanks, I got to go too. I need to talk to Faith about last night before she starts remembering things and puts in a request for a new partner."
"Good luck," she offered.
"Thanks...Come on, I'll give you a ride. It's the least I can do."
"Yep," she replied. "How are you feeling?"
"I guess that depends on what happened last night."
"You really don't remember much do you?" she asked, almost too happy with herself.
"Not much, I don't" I admitted. Hell, it wasn't like she already knew I'd had just a little too much to drink.
"Just how much do you remember?" she inquired.
"Well," I thought for a minute. "Let me put it this way, the last thing that I clearly remember was something to do with mistletoe."
"Bos," she said, taking a moment before she continued. "You really don't remember much do you?"
"Why don't you just tell me what the hell I did last night?"
"Okay, okay fine," she replied turning to face me, her hands out in front of her almost as if defending herself.
"Well, for starters, I hope Faith is feeling a lot better this morning than you are."
"You telling me that Faith got drunk last night, oh this is just great."
"Well, at first she wasn't drinking but that was before someone challenged her at shots."
"What? No.no way.not Faith. She doesn't do shots. Hell she barely drinks. I mean how many times have you seen her go out with us at Haggerty's."
"It didn't start out with just the two of you. Actually I had a few shots, Kim had a few, Ty had a few, Jimmy had a few, and Faith just sort of joined in at the end."
"Damn Alex," I said, "I have to work with her. Do you have any idea how bad this is gonna be?"
"Oh uh Bos, I think the shots are the least of your problems and it's not just Faith that you should be concerned about facing."
I dropped my head into my hands. In my gut, I had this feeling that the hangover I was now experiencing was the least of what I had to deal with.
"Okay, who should I be concerned with facing and why. Come on. Spill it Taylor."
"Okay for starters, let me just say that Jimmy is just a little pissed at you although its not all your fault."
"And."
"Well you know Jimmy's a little overly protective of Kim at times and I don't think he was too happy with you and Kim and the earlier mentioned mistletoe."
"I kissed Kim?"
"Let's just say you and that mistletoe spent a lot of time together."
"Okay how bout if you just tell me who I didn't kiss."
"Uh well, you didn't kiss Ty or Sully or Jimmy," Alex said making no attempt to hold back a chuckle.
Either I was a glutton for punishment or just too stupid but by this point I was hoping it didn't get much worse. Judging by the look on Alex's face, that was exactly where this was headed.
"Go on."
"Well, one thing that I didn't know about you til last night was that you actually have a nice voice."
"Meaning what exactly?"
"Just that you I had no idea you could actually sing."
"Sing! What the hell! .I don't sing.I don't hum..I don't even whistle for crying out loud."
"Well normally maybe that's probably true, but last night you were definitely singing."
"Would it be stupid of me to ask what it was that I was singing?"
"Well, let me just say that I was wrong about you in another sense. You actually do know the words to several Christmas carols."
"Christmas carols.I was singing Christmas carols?"
"Well not just you..see uh Sully, that man can play a mean piano. And you and Ty did make a nice little duet on a couple of songs. I didn't know Ty could sing either. Tell me something Bosco, what other little talents are you guys at the 55th hiding anyway?"
"This is not funny Taylor. I have to work with these people.on a daily basis."
"Bos, it's not that bad. I mean you weren't the only one singing Christmas carols.
She paused for a moment and one thing I've learned is that a pause is not a good thing. One look at her and she must have read my mind as she continued with her thought.
"Of course you did do a few solos too but by then the crowd was thinning out a bit. I mean by then it was pretty much down to about 30 people."
"And this is supposed to make me feel better?"
"Hey don't blame me for something you did Bosco."
"Alright, alright, let's just skip the middle stuff and tell me the worst thing I did."
"Well, that depends on what you consider the 'worst' thing. See as far as everyone was concerned, I say that a certain song sung to a certain person was not a good idea."
I would think that by this time Alex would know better and just tell me what the hell she was talking about. Apparently she'd figured that out too.
"The song was called "You've lost that loving feeling by The Righteous Brothers. You know the song 'you never close your eyes anymore when I kiss your lips'
Alex glanced up at me seeing the expression on my face. It had to be obvious. Who the hell did I sing that song too?
"Uh Bos, that little song, you sang it to Faith."
"Faith! You've got to be kidding me.you are kidding me right.Taylor.."
"Sorry Bos, but you definitely sang that song to Faith and uh well, she sort of proved you wrong."
By this time I couldn't even look at Taylor anymore. The pain in my head was rapidly returning and I was pacing my apartment. The worse thing was, I had this feeling that it was only going to get worse. Taylor confirmed it, sending me over the edge.
"Uh Bosco, listen, it was just a couple of us who noticed that shortly after you sang that song to Faith, the two of you disappeared. Kim and I found the two of you.that little kiss earlier.the one with the mistletoe.uh, well the two of you put that one to shame."
"Me and Faith? .kissing?.you're telling me I was kissing my partner?"
"Yeah and another five minutes and I think the two of you would have redefined the term partner.if you get my drift."
"This is not happening," I said to myself. I must have said it several times but it didn't help.
"Listen, Bosco, I'd bet that given her condition, Faith isn't remembering this any better than you are."
"So what, with any luck Faith doesn't remember any of this? Is that supposed to make me feel better?"
"I'm not saying that. What I meant was that when it happened Bos.you and Faith weren't exactly thinking clearly at the time."
"That's not my point," I argued. "My point is.look what I'm saying is that I do a lot of dumb stuff okay. But not Faith.she doesn't deserve this.people like to talk and I don't want her to have to hear people talking about us.not like this."
"Bos, listen okay, it was just me and Kim okay.nobody else was there.nobody else saw the two of you. And Kim and I.we wouldn't do anything to hurt Faith."
"You're sure?" I asked almost pleading.
"I'm sure," Alex reassured me. "Listen..hey, you alright Bos, you're kinda scaring me here."
"Faith's my partner.she has enough to deal with just by being my partner.I just don't want her to have to deal with some clowns giving her a hard time about what happened last night."
"They won't okay? It was just me and Kim who saw it happen and like I said, we wouldn't do anything to hurt Faith."
"I'd never take advantage of her, you know that?"
"I know you wouldn't do that Bos. Listen, you and Faith.I don't know what it is about that woman but for some reason she seems to have some influence on you.God help her I don't know how she puts up with you sometimes but she does. I think everybody should have a best friend. You and Faith, I don't know. You're opposites but you seem to balance one another out."
"She believes in me.for some reason she has this crazy idea that I'm not all bad."
"Hey you can be a good guy" she replied with a serious face. That face changed to that silly grin before she finished her thought. "When you want to be."
I didn't reply, not with words anyway. I'm sure the look on my face said it all.
"Look, I got to get going. Supposed to be at my brother's in an hour." Alex said after glancing at her watch.
"Lucky guy."
"Who? My brother?"
"Yeah him. Does he realize how lucky he is to have you for a sister?"
"I keep trying to tell him that but for some reason, he just doesn't believe me. You got any brothers or sister?"
"No, well I have a brother, no idea where he is though."
"I can just see you as a big brother.poor girl.you'd probably interrogate all her dates."
"What dates?"
"Exactly my point," she said, laughing. "I got to go. I think my work here is done."
"Thanks.for that stuff, whatever it was.and for not telling anyone about." I started to say, still a little embarrassed over what Alex had told me.
"You're welcome.and for the record, any girl would be lucky to have you for a big brother. At least I would."
Having said that, Alex reached out and I gladly accepted the hug she offered.
"Thanks, I got to go too. I need to talk to Faith about last night before she starts remembering things and puts in a request for a new partner."
"Good luck," she offered.
"Thanks...Come on, I'll give you a ride. It's the least I can do."