said before calling to Penelope.
“Gina!” Penelope screamed, running up to Gina and hugging her. She was obviously drunk. “I never see you anymore. God. I haven’t seen you since the wedding.” She briefly acknowledged Peter and Linda and pulled Gina aside. She began chatting incessantly about her wedding, their new house, and her job as a manager at Bloomingdale’s. Gina smiled and nodded as Penelope continued to babble. Gina wasn’t really paying attention. She was amazed at the number of people in Penelope’s house. She wondered when Penelope had met all these people—or were they all Donny’s friends? When had Penelope become outgoing, and when had she become a manager at Bloomingdale’s? The last time Gina saw her, she was still assaulting women with perfume as they walked through the cosmetics aisle. It had been a few weeks since Gina met David at Rio Grande, and he still hadn’t called her. So listening to Penelope banter on and on about Donny and her job wasn’t exactly making her feel better.
“Gosh. Things are really going well for you,” Gina said with a phony smile.
“I’m a lucky girl.”
Gina couldn’t stand it anymore. “Where can a girl get a drink around here?”
“Upstairs in the bathtub,” Penelope replied.
“Great. Well, excuse me for a moment,” Gina said, bound for the stairway. She passed Peter and Linda on their way down the stairs.
“I’m going to grab a beer, and I’ll meet you guys downstairs,” Gina said, feeling a little down about her life. Penelope was such an introvert when they met in college. Back then, Gina felt sorry for her and even made a point of including Penelope when she made social plans. All of a sudden it seemed like the tables had turned. Penelope was the one with the husband, great job, and cutesy little house in the ’burbs.
Gina stared at the selection of beers covered with ice in the bathtub and decided on some foreign-looking beer she had never heard of. As she reached for her beer, she noticed the quaintness of the room. Penelope had decorated the bathroom in lavender and, of course, the rug, towels, and shower curtain were all perfectly coordinated. She even had matching accessories—the soap dish, toothbrush holder, and even the trash can exquisitely complemented the lavender decor.
God, even her bathroom says I’m a happy-assed bitch, Gina thought to herself. As she popped the cap off with a bottle opener, the toilet paper roller caught her eye. After she stood in the bathroom for a few seconds contemplating such a silly idea, she peeked out the door and saw that no one was on the steps. Then she took a breath and frantically began pulling toilet paper off the roll and throwing it in the toilet. She looked again to make sure no one was coming and shoved even more paper in the toilet, all the while laughing hysterically. She peeked out the door one more time, calmed herself down a little, and flushed the toilet. She then nonchalantly walked down the steps with her beer and joined Linda and Peter in the kitchen. They were leaning against the counter, chatting with an older black woman dressed in some sort of traditional African attire.
Gina was amused with herself as well as worried. God, she really had lost her mind. First she’s sleeping with guys like Griffin, then she’s overflowing toilets at parties. A few minutes later she saw some fat girl whisper something to Penelope, who immediately got a disturbed look on her face and ran upstairs. Slowly, more and more of the party guests wanted to see what the ruckus was about.
“What’s going on?” Gina asked some stranger on the steps as if she had no idea what had happened.
“I think someone made the toilet overflow.”
“You’re kidding? God, that sucks,” Gina said with a perfectly straight face, and headed back to the kitchen. Eventually the commotion on the stairs ended, and Penelope appeared in the kitchen.
“The toilet overflowed?” Peter asked
“Gina!” Penelope screamed, running up to Gina and hugging her. She was obviously drunk. “I never see you anymore. God. I haven’t seen you since the wedding.” She briefly acknowledged Peter and Linda and pulled Gina aside. She began chatting incessantly about her wedding, their new house, and her job as a manager at Bloomingdale’s. Gina smiled and nodded as Penelope continued to babble. Gina wasn’t really paying attention. She was amazed at the number of people in Penelope’s house. She wondered when Penelope had met all these people—or were they all Donny’s friends? When had Penelope become outgoing, and when had she become a manager at Bloomingdale’s? The last time Gina saw her, she was still assaulting women with perfume as they walked through the cosmetics aisle. It had been a few weeks since Gina met David at Rio Grande, and he still hadn’t called her. So listening to Penelope banter on and on about Donny and her job wasn’t exactly making her feel better.
“Gosh. Things are really going well for you,” Gina said with a phony smile.
“I’m a lucky girl.”
Gina couldn’t stand it anymore. “Where can a girl get a drink around here?”
“Upstairs in the bathtub,” Penelope replied.
“Great. Well, excuse me for a moment,” Gina said, bound for the stairway. She passed Peter and Linda on their way down the stairs.
“I’m going to grab a beer, and I’ll meet you guys downstairs,” Gina said, feeling a little down about her life. Penelope was such an introvert when they met in college. Back then, Gina felt sorry for her and even made a point of including Penelope when she made social plans. All of a sudden it seemed like the tables had turned. Penelope was the one with the husband, great job, and cutesy little house in the ’burbs.
Gina stared at the selection of beers covered with ice in the bathtub and decided on some foreign-looking beer she had never heard of. As she reached for her beer, she noticed the quaintness of the room. Penelope had decorated the bathroom in lavender and, of course, the rug, towels, and shower curtain were all perfectly coordinated. She even had matching accessories—the soap dish, toothbrush holder, and even the trash can exquisitely complemented the lavender decor.
God, even her bathroom says I’m a happy-assed bitch, Gina thought to herself. As she popped the cap off with a bottle opener, the toilet paper roller caught her eye. After she stood in the bathroom for a few seconds contemplating such a silly idea, she peeked out the door and saw that no one was on the steps. Then she took a breath and frantically began pulling toilet paper off the roll and throwing it in the toilet. She looked again to make sure no one was coming and shoved even more paper in the toilet, all the while laughing hysterically. She peeked out the door one more time, calmed herself down a little, and flushed the toilet. She then nonchalantly walked down the steps with her beer and joined Linda and Peter in the kitchen. They were leaning against the counter, chatting with an older black woman dressed in some sort of traditional African attire.
Gina was amused with herself as well as worried. God, she really had lost her mind. First she’s sleeping with guys like Griffin, then she’s overflowing toilets at parties. A few minutes later she saw some fat girl whisper something to Penelope, who immediately got a disturbed look on her face and ran upstairs. Slowly, more and more of the party guests wanted to see what the ruckus was about.
“What’s going on?” Gina asked some stranger on the steps as if she had no idea what had happened.
“I think someone made the toilet overflow.”
“You’re kidding? God, that sucks,” Gina said with a perfectly straight face, and headed back to the kitchen. Eventually the commotion on the stairs ended, and Penelope appeared in the kitchen.
“The toilet overflowed?” Peter asked
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