"Well, that was fast." Randall said as I went to stand next to him, "I guess the boy hasn't had that much time to get good at, you know, self-control."

"God, what is it with you demons and gross sexual comments?"

"You just have no sense of humor."

I had to stop my eyes from rolling to the back of my head, "Yeah, let's call it that."

He laughed and smacked me on the ass lightly, "Look who's getting some of her spark back. That's what I like to see."

I stepped to the side in order to avoid anymore similar contact, "Then why did you spend so much time trying to get rid of it."

"I just wanted to see how easy it would be."

"To do what exactly?"

He just laughed again and turned to one of the men passing by, "Brad! You old dog, did Mandy have the baby yet?"

A man with slick silver hair smiled and said, "Not yet, almost though 38 weeks," then he turned his attention to me, "When are you guys planning on popping one out?"

If I'd had a drink in my mouth I would have spat it all over him.

Randall wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me close to his side, "We're just going to let it happen when it happens."

"We are?" I asked.

"Well I would get on it if I was you two," Brad said, "You're not getting any younger."

Both of them men laughed but I just stared, not even trying to contain the horror that was playing out on my face.

"Don't look so scared, I was only joking," And then he turned to Randall and dropped his voice, "Enjoy that body for as long as you can, they don't stay that way forever."

"I need to get drunk," I mumbled, too nauseous to be a part of that conversation any longer.

I sped across the room, almost dizzy from disgust. This was my new social circle. I bumped into a few people but didn't stop, for fear of them trying to strike up conversion. I'd gotten my fill of interacting with these strangers for the day.

The bartender looked at me for a second, probably aware of the fact that was I under age. But I shot him a "Have you seen what I'm married to" look, and he asked me what drink I wanted.

I paused, all the drinking I'd ever done was from plastic cups or gulped directly from glass bottles. No drink names popped into my mind, at least not ones that appealed.

"Something strong."

He smiled and nodded his head knowingly. I took a seat on one of the stools and set my elbows on the bar. People passed by me without even looking at me. I guess without the white puffy dress none of these strangers are really concerned with me. They're just at a party. They don't know that this is the worst day of my life.

The bartender interrupted my train of thought by sliding something pink and fruity in front of my face. I plucked the chunk of pineapple off the rim and bit into it before diving into the actual drink. It tasted as obnoxiously fruity as It looked. I flashed the bartender a thumbs up without even taking the straw out of my mouth.

The drink was gone in under a minute and I was left with massive brain freeze.

"Want any more?" He asked, taking the empty glass from me.

"Very much," I said, pinching the bridge of my nose.

"Another one of these?"

"Use your creativity."

"Yes, ma'am." He said, handing someone else a white wine before starting on my next drink.

"I like you mister bartender," I said.

The alcohol hadn't hit me in its entirety yet, but I was anxious to get to the part where I forgot where I was. I'd done it, gone through the proper motions, it was done. Why did I have to sit through all this drivel?

The drink he put in front of me next was clear and bubbly. It wasn't nearly as sweet as the first one, but it went down easy anyway, along without another one. I cringed at the burn both times but felt myself melt into the comforting heat that spread throughout my belly.

The bartender gave me a warning look, but I shot a similar look right back at him, and he gave me another drink. It was fruity as well but tasted weaker than  the first two. Figures.

I decided to take that one a bit slower. As I sipped on it I tried to do a bit of people watching but realized how challenging it was to focus my eyes on individual people. I felt like I was trapped in a glass jar, separated from all the old rich people and my impending future. It was a sensation I definitely couldn't argue with.

Suddenly I felt the glass get pulled out of my numb fingers.

"Well someone looked like they're having fun." I heard a voice just over my shoulder.

I turned around to see a vaguely familiar face, one I didn't have a name for.

"Ivan," he offered, apparently sensing my confusion, "We met at the greenhouse opening, I have you my card."

I snapped my fingers in recognition, "You work for the news station."

"Yep."

I took a long drag from my straw, "So what can I do for you, Ivan from the news station?"

He sat down on the stool next to me, "I just wanted to ask you some questions."

"About what?" I smashed my straw into the ice, trying to harvest any remnants of my drink.

"Your new husband."

"What about him?"

"I've been doing some research, and I figured you would be the best person to fill in the blanks."

I shook my head quickly and stared into my glass.  In my state, I knew I was a breath away from just spilling every insane detail. If anything he would think I was insane, so I kept my jaw clamped shut.

"You have to know something about him. I mean the mans a rags to riches story without a middle. No one knows how he suddenly became a millionaire."

I shrugged my shoulders, hoping he would think I'm just a ditz and leave me alone. Randall would murder me if he knew I was even entertaining the idea of talking to this man.

I just did my best to keep my thoughts contained. They kept slipping through my fingers, and I knew this bastard would be waiting just below to lap up the drippings

"So you're not going to say anything." I could hear the annoyance in his voice, but it was covered in a thick layer of curiosity.

I shrugged again while making loud sucking noises with my straw.

He stared at me for another moment before sighing loudly.  I didn't look at him, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw him stand up and then lean in close to me.

"I'm going to figure I out, one way or another."

And with that, he left.