The B Girls - By Cari Cole Page 0,3

Gaynor was blaring from somewhere upstairs. "Lucy?" she called.

No answer.

Mae started up the stairs calling out every few steps and still not getting a response although the music got louder the closer she got to the source.

When she reached the second floor landing she thought she heard Lucy's drunken accompaniment to Gloria's disco tune.

She followed the trail of sound down the hall, to the master bedroom. An ancient Topsider lay in the doorway some of the stitching was loose and the sole worn thin over the ball, its mate was two feet further into the room. Next came a pair of blue jeans worn almost white, followed by a faded orange cotton tank top, a nude colored bra, and finally, in the doorway of the master bathroom, a pair of emerald green bikini panties.

"Oh my goodness," Mae whispered even as she blinked to make sure she wasn't hallucinating.

Nope. That was Lucy alright. Naked. In the bathtub. With a half gallon of Moose Tracks ice cream balanced on her knees and a box of wine on the edge of the tub.

As Mae stood there gaping, Lucy finished singing the last few bars of I Will Survive and hit a button on a remote in her hand causing the song to start over again.

When the first quiet notes of the song echoed through the room, Lucy tilted her head to position her mouth under the little plastic spigot on the wine box and flipped the tab allowing pale pink wine to splash toward her mouth. Some made it in. Some dribbled off her chin, onto her shoulder and into the bathwater.

The ice cream tipped alarmingly during this maneuver but didn't fall.

After swallowing a couple mouthfuls of wine, Lucy flipped the tab closed, straightened up, scooped out a big spoonful of Moose Tracks and shoved the spoon in her mouth.

"Ah mill sufive."

"Lucy!"

Lucy dropped the spoon back into the ice cream and turned her bleary-eyed gaze on Mae. "Mae day! Hey. Whatch doin here?"

"Saving you from drowning or alcohol poisoning."

"I fine. Ne'r better."

"You're drunk."

Lucy nodded. "Yep and gonna get drunker. Deserve it. Gar left me."

"So I heard." Mae reached down and pulled the iPod out of the dock in the portable speakers Lucy had put on the bathroom floor. Silence.

"Hey!" Lucy protested.

"You need to get out of the tub," Mae said. She grabbed a large bath towel off a bar next to the tub and held it out.

"Spoilsport."

"You can bring the wine. Jane's on her way over."

"Why?"

"Because you called her and scared her half to death. She thought you were on death's door."

Lucy swam upright, putting the ice cream on the edge of the tub with the wine. "I din't call Jane." She pushed to her feet and steadied herself on the marble tile wall and held out a hand for the towel.

Mae released the towel, poised to act if it looked like Lucy was going down. "You might not remember but you did call her."

Lucy wrapped the towel around her torso and looked at the side of the tub with a puzzled frown. How the hell was she supposed to get out?

"Here," Mae said offering her a hand.

Lucy made two passes before connecting. She swayed and clutched at Mae's arm nearly dragging Mae into the tub with her. "Whoops." She locked her knees and held on for dear life.

"Maybe you should sit back down until Jane gets here," Mae said.

Lucy shook her head. "Cold. Need to get clothes on."

"Fine, use the wall to steady yourself while I move this stuff off the tub."

Lucy let go of Mae's hand and steadied herself on the wall again.

Mae moved the ice cream and the wine away from the tub. "Now just sit down and swing your legs over."

Lucy followed directions and stood up outside the tub. "Good."

"Hello? Mae? Lucy?" Jane called up from the foyer.

"Master bedroom," Mae called down to her as she led Lucy out of the bathroom.

"Don't know why you're making such a fuss," Lucy said. "I'm old, useless and probably gonna be homeless soon. I earned the right to get drunk today."

Jane stepped into the bedroom, took one look at Lucy's bleary eyes, pruney fingers and rat's nest red hair and shook her head. "Getting drunk isn't the problem. Getting drunk alone at home is."

Lucy crumpled onto the edge of her bed. "Seemed like a good idea at the time."

"How long were you in the tub?" Mae asked.

Lucy tried to think. Couldn't come up with an answer. "Don't know. Maybe since lunchtime?"

"You're lucky