Alex’s smile dropped off her face almost immediately as her friend let out something close to a wail and began to cry without so much as a hello. She wasn’t offended, though. Her callused hands, thankfully clean from her brief stop earlier, reached up to wrap around her friend’s upper arms. Alex could feel Cora trembling beneath her and silently rubbed her hands up and down reassuringly as she listened. There were a few choice things she wished she could say to Cora’s mother but she kept that to herself. Alex had never really approved of the marriage and especially not the way Cor’s parents had insisted on things. They’d been so young. How could you even know what you wanted to do with your life at 18, 19, or even 21, let alone fully understand what you were committing to at the altar?
Still, this wasn’t what her friend needed to hear right now. Alex clenched her toes inside of her boots and prepared to answer when Cora’s cell phone started to ring. Adrian’s name scrolled across the screen when Cora deposited it on the sticky tabletop. Alex took one look from her friend’s tear-stained face to the device on the table before reaching out a hand to silence the call. There were plenty of things she’d like to say to that no-good P.O.S. but now wasn’t the time. Turning the phone to silent, Alex shoved it in her pocket and took her friend’s hands in her own.
”Here’s the plan. We’re going to find a hotel for the night. You’re going to change into something comfier than that dress and I’m going to take a shower so I don’t smell like horse sh-t. Then we’re going to order some room service because I’m starving and I bet you could use something to eat. And then we’ll either talk it out, or go to sleep and figure it out in the morning. Up to you.” Alex shrugged at this last bit and leaned back in her chair. ”Are you all ready to go? Do we need to close out your tab?” she asked, eyeing the glasses on the side of the table. She could tell from the shadow through the brown glass that the beer was full but two other glasses had the dregs of something orange at the bottom. Probably not too drunk then. Giving her friend a reassuring smile, Alex waited to see what Cora thought of the plan she had laid out.