When I woke, dusk appeared to be coming on. Had I slept away the afternoon? I thought of Ray. Had he drank it away?
I dressed and hurried downstairs to Foxy’s, where I found him slumped at the bar. He was talking to an older woman, who sounded way too enthusiastic. I slid onto the stool on his other side and put a hand on his shoulder. “Hi, honey,” I said.
He turned to me and lit up. “Marty! Where you been? This is Joy.”
“Joyce,” the woman corrected. “Nice to meet you, but I have to be going.”
As she slipped away, Ray said, “What’s her problem?”
He reeked of liquor. I sniffed his near-empty glass. Bourbon, and he didn’t even like the stuff. It was his f**k-you drink.
Foxy’s bar was L-shaped and we sat at the long part, the shorter section cutting over to a wall. I ordered a mineral w
