Unrevealed

didn’t buy a bottle and bring it home only to pour it down the sink.” She stared
at the glass-topped bar, weaving figure eight swirls with her finger against the glass. “Life has been difficult, Jane.” A thought crossed her mind, and she turned to Jane with a cheerful smile. “How is your little brother, Mike?”
    Considering all the people Courtney knew, Jane found it astounding that she remembered her brother’s name — a name she might have only mentioned once in passing at one of the AA meetings. “He’s good. He’s engaged to a girl named Lisa.”
    “Oh! How wonderful! I do love love ! I’m such a softie for engagements and weddings! There’s nothing more important than finding your soul mate and living your life as one heart.”
    The bartender brought Jane’s water and lime and walked away. Jane took a much-needed sip. “You believe in soul mates, huh?”
    “ Absolutely !” Courtney swept the lemon peel seductively around the lip of the martini glass. “Are you seeing anyone?”
    Jane sucked a long sip through the straw. This conversation was not what she’d planned. “No. It’s all I can do right now to deal with my job and…you know…not fuck up my sobriety.”
    “Jane, look at me.” Courtney leaned forward. Jane obliged. “Don’t ever turn your back on love. Without love, the world’s a terrible place to hang your hat.”
    Jane stared at Courtney. “Oh, Courtney…”
    “What?” she asked quizzically.
    “Courtney — ”
    “Wait a second.” She strained to hear the song playing over the speakers. “Can you please turn that up?” she asked the bartender.
    The bartender did as he was told. The warm, inviting opening strains of Etta James’s “At Last” filled the bar.
Courtney smiled broadly and clasped her hands together. “Oh, Jane! This was our wedding song when we danced our first dance sixteen years ago! Isn’t it divine ?! ‘My love has come along…my lonely days are over…” Courtney softly sang along with Etta as she swayed on the barstool. “This song was my personal soundtrack for so many years.”
    “Is that right?” Jane said, ditching her straw and gulping the sparkling water.
    Courtney looked at Jane’s drink. “You need more lime in that, don’t you?” She leaned forward and grabbed a piece of lime from a dish under the bar. As she reached for it, the white sleeve of her jacket pulled up, revealing a series of bruises — some fresh and others fading. Courtney plopped back in her seat and handed Jane the lime. “There you go, honey.”
    “Those are pretty bad bruises you got there,” Jane said carefully, squeezing the lime into her water.
    Courtney pulled down the sleeve of her jacket and stared at her martini.
    “You okay, Courtney?”
    She forced a well-worn yet threadbare pageant smile and tilted her head. “Things aren’t always what they seem, Jane.”
    “Oh, I…I know that, Courtney.”
    Courtney sang along with Etta again. “Oh, yeah when you smile, you smile…Oh, and then the spell was cast…” A grim sadness suddenly fell hard over her. She leaned forward, speaking to the bartender. “Excuse me? Would you mind please turning this song down?” Her voice was anxious.
    Jane turned to the bartender. “How about shutting it off?” She regarded Courtney. “That okay with you?”
    Sweat beads formed along the rim of Courtney’s lips. “Yes. Thank you.”

    The bartender turned off the music, leaving a stony silence in the place. Courtney took a generous gulp of her martini.
    Jane gently spoke. “You know my story of why I started drinking…and I know yours.”
    “I should never have gone to those damn meetings!” Her visage became agitated as she let out a weary sigh. “But the judge told me that it was either that or jail for the DUI. And Craig was able to work his PR magic to make the public forget about my transgression. But spillin’ my guts like I did at those meetings was so wrong !”
    “Talking is always good. Hey, I had to learn that one too.”
    “Talk, talk, talk…What good did it do me?” She reached into her purse and removed an orange prescription bottle. “Nothing changed on the home front. If anything, it got worse.” Popping the cap with her chipped thumbnail, she slid a tablet into her palm and then slammed it into her mouth, washing it down with the martini.
    Jane couldn’t help but see the name on the pill bottle. “Hey, I don’t think you’re supposed to mix alcohol with