Only Oscar (Wattys 2022 Shortlist!)

Chapter Two

"There's nothing going on with me and Oscar." 

End of subject.  

Now that was clear, Callie reached for her drink. "I know what you're doing. You're deflecting. The proposal on the table here is we all agree to do something about our love lives. Talia needs to cut Aaron loose so they both have a chance at happiness. Sign the damn papers, already."  She aimed a brief glare at Talia before moving on. "Avery needs to actually go on a date. Find someone at the High School reunion you were telling us about and have a one-night stand if that's what it takes to get started again." Her gaze shifted. "And Beth..."

Everyone's attention turned to Beth while Callie pursed her lips, narrowed her eyes and asked, "What do you need?"

Beth shrugged ruefully. "I need sex to be available on a menu like takeaway food. You make a phone call, place your order and a man arrives at your door to deliver it. You pay him, he leaves. No muss, no fuss."

Delivered in Beth's polite English accent, the statement caused a moment of stunned silence around the table. It was a bit like hearing a Jane Austen heroine suggest an orgy. Though, to be fair, Callie figured at least one of them was considering what they'd order off the menu.

"If there's no muss involved, he's not doing it right," Talia said emphatically. "Getting mussed is half the fun."

Callie nodded absentmindedly. "I'm also pretty certain what you're suggesting is illegal in the state of New York."

"I've seen advertisements," Beth quietly replied.

"Click on one and you'll probably get a shitload of dick pics sent to your phone," Callie commented.

"True," Talia agreed with a pensive expression on her face. "But I might know someone..."

Callie rolled her eyes. "Of course, you do."

"I'm serious. There's a guy on the top floor of my apartment complex I'm pretty certain is a male escort, or at least a man-whore. Either one would do." She turned to Beth. "I could ask for his number if you - "

"No," Callie said firmly. "You're not fixing her up with a hooker. This is about finding love."

"You just told Avery she should have sex with some random guy at her reunion," Talia argued.

"You can't go fishing 'til you break the ice."

"I knew you were a quarter Canadian. I didn't realize there was Alaskan blood in there, too."

Since all the Americans at their table were mutts, genetically speaking, Callie ignored the jibe. "She's been out of the game for so long she's practically a born-again virgin. Break the ice with a guy who knows what he's doing and she can focus on making herself emotionally available to the one."

"Hello?" Avery waved an elegant hand in the air. "I'm sitting right here." She laughed a little uncomfortably. "And I'm not emotionally unavailable."

"Yeah, you are," Talia nodded while she pointed at Beth. "And she's repressed. Until you both loosen up there's not a chance in hell you're gonna find the mythical happily-ever-after our little chestnut-haired Doris Day is trying to sell us."

Callie shook her head. "I'm not Doris Day. If I was anyone from back then, I'd be Mary Tyler-Moore."

"If you say so kid."

"I'm not a –"

"Yeah, you are. Life hasn't knocked all the shine off you yet. Enjoy it while you can."

There was a brief shadow in her eyes Callie had never seen before. Did something happen to Talia she wasn't aware of, some heartbreak or loss she kept hidden? It made Callie wonder how well she knew what was going on in her friends' lives and what right she had to dictate how they lived them. Just because she wasn't happy didn't mean –