As the ping-pong ball bounced its way across the table towards the awaiting beer cup, the room held its breath. The ball splashed its way into the remaining half full cup and Patsy's team roared in triumph. The game had been won and Delia took her losers punishment and downed the beer in one, turning the cup upside down and slamming it onto the table in defeat, sticking up her middle finger at Patsy across the table.
"Fuck you Pats."
"You already have Deels," came the retort and Delia stuck out her tongue in response.
Stumbling from the table, Delia received consoling pats to her back and mumbled drunken claims of cheating. Pushing past a couple with their tongues down each others throat, Delia tripped up the stairs into the bathroom. Shutting the door behind her, she slid down the door and sat with her legs propped up on the bath on the other side of the room.
Smiling to herself, she took a drink of her vodka lemonade and felt the smile slip from her face as quickly as it had appeared. Looking around the room, she could not remember where she was. Her breathing came in short, sharp gasps; tears rolled from her eyes and she began to sob for no apparent reason.
Delia closed her eyes tightly, bunching her hands into tight fists, short nails digging into her palms. The pain gave her some grip on reality. Taking slow, deep breaths, Delia felt the panic washing from her body. Using her t-shirt to wipe away the tears from her eyes, she snorted at her own moment of weakness.
Resting her head back on the door she continued her deep breathing and tried to stem the tears still flowing from her eyes. She heard the party buzzing along below where she sat, the laughter of her friends brought a smile to her face. Lost in visualising the movements causing the commotion below, Delia missed the faint creak of the stairs as someone ascended them; she did not miss the tentative knock on the door.
"Delia?"
"Two minutes," Delia responded in a bright voice, attempting to hide her puffy eyes and feign happiness.
Opening the door, Delia was faced with a concerned Patsy. She pasted a large grin on her face and tried to push her way past, mumbling something about needing a drink. Patsy, however, was having none of it and proved to be an immovable force, instead she gathered Delia into her arms and walked her backwards into the bathroom, closing the door behind them.
"M'okay, Pats, honest."
"Don't lie to me Delia Busby. I know when you are not 'okay', please don't insult me."
"Sorry."
"And you don't ever have to apologise to me. What is wrong?"
The two stood in silence. Delia refused to meet Patsy's gaze.
"How long have you been feeling like this?" Patsy asked the question with such love and concern that Delia's body became racked with sobs, causing her to lean her weight against Patsy and be enveloped in an all-encompassing hug. Patsy already knew the answer to the question but just wanted Delia to verbalise it. The accident still played on Delia's mind a lot more than she would care to admit that it did.
Patsy and Delia slid down onto the bathroom floor, still holding one another. Patsy pulled Delia's face from her shoulder and peppered kisses over every inch of it.
"I don't know what came over me. I just got all panicked. I feel so much better now that you're here," Delia whispered, "you make me feel like I'm home."
Patsy smiled sadly, "I feel the same, my love. Do you want to leave?"
"No, no, I'm fine," Delia sniffed and fixed her make-up, "I want to go back out."
"Ok if you feel you are ready sweetie."
Standing together, they ventured back out of the bathroom but only made it as far as the stairs before they became the couple that blocked the path for others. Wrapped in each others arms, the party downstairs forgotten, their passion and love for each other were the only things that mattered in the world at that moment.