Choices

You both clean up in silence, the earlier heat settling into something more complicated now that the call has ended. The alcohol buzz has been exercised a little. Alice fixes her skirt and hair with practical efficiency. You straighten your clothes. Neither of you mentions Tanya’s face on the screen.

Outside the bar the early evening air feels cooler. Alice checks the time on her phone and exhales.

“I was supposed to pick up groceries an hour ago.” She steps in, kisses you once, firm and lingering, then pulls back. “Call me. Properly. Not just because your life exploded today.”

She turns and walks away down the pavement, blonde hair catching the last of the light, the stunning shape of her disappearing into the ordinary evening crowd. You stand there for a moment longer, the taste of her still on your mouth, the weight of everything that has happened since this morning pressing in from all sides.

The day is getting on. Home is waiting, along with Natasha and the pregnancy that isn’t yours and the three names Tanya gave you. Alice’s number is in your phone now with an open invitation. Ruby is still a possibility, the attraction and the near-misses and everything that has already happened between you unresolved. Or you could simply walk in a different direction entirely and not choose any of them yet.