Read Online No offence Intended - Barbara Seranella by Barbara Seranella - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Barbara Seranella
Ads: Link
glance toward the group of men
lounging against the back wall. "So you got a date Monday huh?"
Danielle threw back her head and laughed.
Munch watched the men watch her.
"It's an AA date. A meeting and coffee
afterwards."
"Beats a blank."
"Do you want me to ask him if he's got a
friend?"
"Naw, then I'd have to watch both of them ogling
you all night."
Danielle laughed again. "Don't exaggerate."
She looked around the room, her gaze lingering on the group of men by
the coffee machine. Munch noted how the men puffed out their chests.
Danielle ran her hand through her hair. Munch noted that, too.
"Anything here look good to you?" Danielle
asked, as if consulting a menu.
"Every time I think a guy is cute," Munch
said, "he raises his hand as a newcomer"
"Sounds like you're still attracted to the
disease."
"That's what Ruby says."
"I know," Danielle admitted. "That's
what she always used to tell me when I was new."
"So what's the answer?"
"Time, just give it time. C'mon," Danielle
said, grabbing Munch's hand again. "The meetings about to
start."
They took their seats and the meeting began. Munch
had trouble following the discussion. She kept thinking about that
boot dangling from the open truck door, and then those bodies in
Venice. What were the odds that she'd be at two murder scenes in the
same day? She felt as if she existed in a bubble, protected by her
secrets. When that bubble finally burst, she suspected, reality would
come crushing in. But until then, she planned to coast on this
curious sense of detachment as long as possible.
At the coffee break, Danielle flitted from man to
man. Munch envied the ease with which she made small talk. Munch sat
in her folding chair and watched the large clock on the wall. She
wondered if this was how she'd be spending the rest of her life,
sitting on other peoples furniture and waiting for time to pass.
What was the point of it all? You grow up, you go to
work, you get married and have kids so they can grow up, go to work,
and get married. Eventually everybody dies. She didn't see her own
involvement in the life equation. Maybe if she had her own kid, life
would feel different. Relationships with men didn't seem to be
happening. The few dates she had been on had all ended in disaster.
Ruby had suggested that maybe Munch shouldn't reveal so much about
herself, that it scared men away Munch said she didn't want secrets
in her relationships. A man took her how she was or forget him.
Besides, she argued, the guy had a right to know what he was getting
into. Ruby maintained that not all needed to be revealed on the first
date.
The meeting started again. While the speaker droned
on, Munch sat back in her chair feeling disconnected. Without really
thinking about what she was doing, she grasped the biceps of her left
arm with her right hand and made a fist until the veins popped up.
At last ten o'clock arrived. Munch stood by the door,
holding up the wall and waiting for Danielle to say all her goodbyes.
"You about ready?" Danielle finally asked,
standing next to Munch, her face flushed.
"If you are."
"God, yes. Let's get out of here."
In the car, Danielle said, "I really admire how
comfortable you are within yourself."
"What are you talking about?"
"I mean, I can never sit still. I jump from
person to person like a madwoman. I don't even know what I say to
half of them. And then I'd look over at you sitting there so
perfectly relaxed and I wished I could be calm like that."
"Any more calm, I'd be dead," Munch said.
She looked out the window then back at her friend. "Do you ever
miss it?"
"Miss what?"
"The life, the excitement, the rush?"
"The jail, the shakes . . ."
"Yeah, yeah," Munch interrupted. "Thats
how we're conditioned to think about it now. But this is me talking
to you. Don't you just sometimes wish you could be out there in the
thick of it again?"
"I think that's why I go so overboard on the sex
thing," Danielle said. "It's like the only thrill I
lounging against the back wall. "So you got a date Monday huh?"
Danielle threw back her head and laughed.
Munch watched the men watch her.
"It's an AA date. A meeting and coffee
afterwards."
"Beats a blank."
"Do you want me to ask him if he's got a
friend?"
"Naw, then I'd have to watch both of them ogling
you all night."
Danielle laughed again. "Don't exaggerate."
She looked around the room, her gaze lingering on the group of men by
the coffee machine. Munch noted how the men puffed out their chests.
Danielle ran her hand through her hair. Munch noted that, too.
"Anything here look good to you?" Danielle
asked, as if consulting a menu.
"Every time I think a guy is cute," Munch
said, "he raises his hand as a newcomer"
"Sounds like you're still attracted to the
disease."
"That's what Ruby says."
"I know," Danielle admitted. "That's
what she always used to tell me when I was new."
"So what's the answer?"
"Time, just give it time. C'mon," Danielle
said, grabbing Munch's hand again. "The meetings about to
start."
They took their seats and the meeting began. Munch
had trouble following the discussion. She kept thinking about that
boot dangling from the open truck door, and then those bodies in
Venice. What were the odds that she'd be at two murder scenes in the
same day? She felt as if she existed in a bubble, protected by her
secrets. When that bubble finally burst, she suspected, reality would
come crushing in. But until then, she planned to coast on this
curious sense of detachment as long as possible.
At the coffee break, Danielle flitted from man to
man. Munch envied the ease with which she made small talk. Munch sat
in her folding chair and watched the large clock on the wall. She
wondered if this was how she'd be spending the rest of her life,
sitting on other peoples furniture and waiting for time to pass.
What was the point of it all? You grow up, you go to
work, you get married and have kids so they can grow up, go to work,
and get married. Eventually everybody dies. She didn't see her own
involvement in the life equation. Maybe if she had her own kid, life
would feel different. Relationships with men didn't seem to be
happening. The few dates she had been on had all ended in disaster.
Ruby had suggested that maybe Munch shouldn't reveal so much about
herself, that it scared men away Munch said she didn't want secrets
in her relationships. A man took her how she was or forget him.
Besides, she argued, the guy had a right to know what he was getting
into. Ruby maintained that not all needed to be revealed on the first
date.
The meeting started again. While the speaker droned
on, Munch sat back in her chair feeling disconnected. Without really
thinking about what she was doing, she grasped the biceps of her left
arm with her right hand and made a fist until the veins popped up.
At last ten o'clock arrived. Munch stood by the door,
holding up the wall and waiting for Danielle to say all her goodbyes.
"You about ready?" Danielle finally asked,
standing next to Munch, her face flushed.
"If you are."
"God, yes. Let's get out of here."
In the car, Danielle said, "I really admire how
comfortable you are within yourself."
"What are you talking about?"
"I mean, I can never sit still. I jump from
person to person like a madwoman. I don't even know what I say to
half of them. And then I'd look over at you sitting there so
perfectly relaxed and I wished I could be calm like that."
"Any more calm, I'd be dead," Munch said.
She looked out the window then back at her friend. "Do you ever
miss it?"
"Miss what?"
"The life, the excitement, the rush?"
"The jail, the shakes . . ."
"Yeah, yeah," Munch interrupted. "Thats
how we're conditioned to think about it now. But this is me talking
to you. Don't you just sometimes wish you could be out there in the
thick of it again?"
"I think that's why I go so overboard on the sex
thing," Danielle said. "It's like the only thrill I
Similar Books
