Chapter 42 Girls’ Night
Chapter forty-two
Girls' Night
Jo
“Who wants to play Truth or Dare?” Michelle asks.
We all give her a confused look before Ronnie says, “No, I don’t’ think any of us want to do that.”
Michelle rolls her eyes and sips her margarita. “Sorry. Just trying to liven up girls night.”
Ronnie holds up her own glass. “That’s what these are for. So, drink up! It will make you way more fun.”
“Hey, I’m fun!” Michelle squeaks.
Liz pats her arm. “We know, sweetie. We know.”
Ronnie jumps back in. “Now, Jo. Would you care to explain how you and Beau went from hating each other to screwing in the auto shop to you shacking up with him?”
Liz looks confused. “Wait, you two fucked in the auto shop?”
Ronnie says, “On the hood of a car!”
Liz looks appalled. “You know, my husband owns that shop.”
Ronnie’s head snaps toward our oldest sister. “Liz! We all know you and Jack have fucked in that shop more times than I can count. You've had your fun. Let Jo have hers.”
Reluctantly, Liz shuts up.
Leah says, “Are you and Beau serious?”
“We’re getting there. He said the L word.”
“Did you say it back?” Ronnie asks.
“No. I’m trying not to be an idiot like I have before.”
“How’s the sex?” Liz asks. When everyone stares at her, she adds, “Oh, come on. Like you all weren’t thinking it too.”
“The sex is great,” I say. “He may be kind of nerdy, but in bed, he’s an animal.”
They poke and prod some more, wanting to know all the details of how Beau and I came to be. I answer their questions, but I’m ready to get the spotlight off of myself.
I pivot the conversation to start asking them questions about what’s going on in their lives.
Michelle clears her throat. “I do have something to announce. I was going to wait, but we all know tequila makes me chatty.”
Ronna says, “It’s not just tequila.”
Michelle ignores her. She pulls something out of her pocket and slides it on her finger. Holding up her hand, she says, “Dane asked me to marry him.” Everyone starts squealing in excitement.
Even Ronnie, who isn’t a big fan of marriage, is cheering. Michelle has been dealt a shitty hand in the relationship department, and it’s good to see her happy with a guy as great as Dane.
The next few minutes are spent with everyone asking questions about the proposal and any plans that have already been made.
After Michelle’s news, the rest of my sisters all share their recent achievements.
Liz just bought another property that she’s converting into a second inn.
Leah is opening her own tattoo shop, and Ronnie just landed a great photography gig where she’ll be taking pictures of a new theme park in Dubai.
They all look at me, silently asking if I have anything I want to contribute.
With a small smile, I say, “I’m having great sex again.”
Ronnie cheers, “Here, here!”
We all clink glasses, and I try to hide the fact that I feel like a complete failure. I know my sisters are older than me, but I feel like they were all further along when they were my age. Not wanting to be a buzzkill because I’m all in my feelings, I chug my margarita and pour myself another.
A couple drinks later, and I’m feeling no pain. In fact, none of us are. Our evening of heavy conversation has turned into a dance party.
All of us are bopping around to early 2000’s hits.
Leah says, “Look! I can river dance!” She shuffles her feet a little, and while I don’t think she’s anywhere close to river dancing, Michelle cries, “That’s so good! You should join a river dance company!”
She tries again and spills the last bit of margarita in her glass all over the carpet. “Oops.”
Ronnie cries, “It’s okay! We have more!”
Liz asks, “What do we want to do?”
Michelle taps her finger on her chin. “Hmm. What did we used to do when were kids staying up late on a Saturday night?”
Ronnie squeals, “We could do a seance!”
“No!” I shout. “I was always the one lying down for Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board. I don’t need all that bad juju again.”
Leah looks me up and down. “That explains a lot.”
“Ha ha,” I say with an eye roll. “But seriously, we are not doing that again.”
“Okay, what else?” Michelle asks.
Ronnie jumps in again. “We could put on a concert!”
Liz snaps her finger. “Yes! I like it!”
I say, “But now, Mom and Dad aren’t here for us to force them to watch.”
Michelle yells, “We could record it on our phones and send it to them!”
I look over at her. “When you get drunk, I don’t think you realize how loud you are.”
“Huh?” She shouts.
“Never mind.”
Leah asks, “What do we want to sing?”
Immediately, Liz jumps in with, “Spice Girls!”
They all excitedly agree. I could argue. I mean, the Spice Girls were slightly before my time, but my sisters always loving them ensured I always knew all of their songs. I know I’ll be outvoted if I suggest anything else.
“Fine,” I sigh.
“Let’s dress up!” Liz says while doing a little dance.
“Dear, God, why?” I groan.
“It’ll be fun!” She squeals. “Ronnie has a whole closet full of stuff here we can use!”
I think Ronnie will shut this down because she won’t want us wearing her clothes.
But she says, “Yes! We can each be a Spice Girl!”
I’m going to need a bigger margarita.
***
An hour later, all of them are in very tiny dresses and very tall heels.
After much debate, we decided I would be Sporty Spice, which earned me sweatpants and sneakers.
Thank God. I don’t even know if I could walk in heels if my life depended on it.
We get YouTube going on the TV with some music videos to get us in the mood.
We try to choreograph a dance, but the more margaritas we have, the less cohesive it becomes.
Finally, we decide to wing it and just start recording and see what happens.
The first take is a mess. Honestly, the second and third are probably crap too, but the alcohol makes us think they’re brilliant.
On take four, I announce, “I have an idea! I’m going to do a backflip off the couch!”
You’d think one of my four older sisters would voice their concern.
Nope.
They all think it’s brilliant.
So, I climb on the back of the couch while Ronnie hits record on her phone. When the song hits a high point, I leap backwards. The trouble is that I don’t flip all the way over.
Instead, I fall to the ground while hearing a very loud crack.