Curious Wine by Katherine V. Forrest

“Millie can be a pain, but she’d give you the shirt off her back.”
    Millie beamed.
    “Toss in her bra too, if you’re a man.”
    “Your turn, Millie,” Madge said as Millie stared at Liz, her smile fading. “Is there anything at all about me that you like?”
    Millie sighed, looked at Madge. “Sure. Lots of things. You’re so interested in new ideas, and you’re entertaining. You have a dry sense of humor I like.”
    “Liz is right, you’re a generous person,” Madge said.
    “What I like about Chris is her good heart. She’s a kind person, and it’s her basic nature.”
    “Oh what a lovely thing to say, Madge!” Chris turned to Diana and said falteringly, “She’s such a lovely girl, that’s what I like about Diana. So sweet and gentle, someone I’d like to have for a daughter.”
    Diana, very moved, looked at Chris, moisture coming to her eyes. Chris was no older than her mid-forties, yet the lonely old woman in her was already visible. Diana took Chris’s hand and squeezed it.
    She cleared her throat and looked at Lane. “What I like about Lane is her appreciation of her life, and that she wants her life to have meaning.”
    “Very high sounding sentiments,” Liz said. “What does it mean?” She drained the rest of her bourbon.
    “Thank you,” Lane said to Diana. “What I like about Liz is her strength and confidence. They’re such rare qualities. Most people are too insecure to really express themselves as individuals.”
    Surely this belligerent woman would be disarmed by such a compliment, Diana thought.
    “Except you and me, right babe?” Liz sneered.
    Lane did not reply. Diana was mystified by Liz’s hostility.
    “Anybody besides me want more to drink?” Liz got to her feet with difficulty. “My ass is falling asleep. Somebody toss a log on the fire.”
    Liz and Chris went to the kitchen, Madge and Millie to the bathroom.
    “Like more wine?” Diana asked as Lane selected a log.
    “No, I’ve got plenty, thanks.”
    “What’s with her?” Diana inclined her head toward the kitchen.
    Lane threw the log on the fire and straightened it with a thrust of the poker. “Bourbon, probably. Don’t worry about it.”
    “Anybody want grass?” Madge was rummaging through her purse.
    “You’ve got grass?” Liz had returned from the kitchen. “What the hell were you saving it for?”
    “I don’t have much. We’re going to be here all week.”
    “Tell me,” Liz demanded, sitting down and peering at Lane, “what does our lady barrister have to say about grass?”
    “Simple possession of marijuana is a misdemeanor in the state of California.”
    “Does that mean we go to the gas chamber?”
    Lane smiled. “Only if you kill somebody while you’re smoking it.”
    Madge lit a joint and passed it to Chris. To Diana’s surprise, Chris took a deep drag and passed it to her, explaining apologetically, “Everybody I know in San Francisco smokes. I finally tried it and I must confess I like it better than alcohol.”
    Diana passed the joint to Lane, who gave it to Liz. Liz said sweetly, “You girls don’t indulge?”
    “It makes me stupid and sleepy,” Diana said.
    “I like wine,” Lane said.
    Liz took a long drag, inhaled deeply. “If you ask me, our dear little barrister doesn’t want to be a lawbreaker, that’s all. She doesn’t smoke, drink, or swear, if you notice. But you’re not too pure to fuck, are you dear.”
    “No,” Lane said calmly.
    “And fuck a lot, too. Really fuck up a storm.”
    “Liz, stop that,” Chris said. “You’re being nasty. Perfectly nasty, and for no reason.”
    Liz grinned at her sister. “Far be it from me to be nasty to dear Lane. As in Mar-lane-a,” she continued, drawing out the name, “namesake of another, much older blonde bombshell. What’s next, Madge sweetie?”
    Madge was looking cautiously from Lane to Liz. “Well, we repay the strokes we’ve just received with a negative. You talk about the person who just said