SandScript 2023 [Digital Exclusive]

I rest my elbows on the table. Closing my eyes, I push them against the heels of my palms. Why
did she text? I don’t want to be here. It’s only been three weeks since she… I need a drink.
The waiter is back with my drinks. I sip my Bloody Mary. The clamato is strong, and it is mild at
best. I take a bite of a bacon strip that came with the drink.
The host brings a family of four to a table next to my booth. The children with their pudgy foodstained
faces sit next to each parent. They look like they're six and three maybe. The parents
are husks in their late thirties.
Xochitl walks up to the table. I slump back into my seat sliding my sunglasses down. She sits
down across the table. “You look like shit,” she says. Her voice sounds a bit strained. Her eyes
were puffy and red and the nail of her right index finger had been chewed. Her fingers rap
against the table.
I shrug. “Well, I feel like shit.”
“Did you get a place or are you still staying with Chewy?”
“Just moved in a couple of days ago.”
She plays with her necklace, twirling the crucifix between her fingers as she chews the chain.
She watches outside the window.
“So, what do you want?" My arms cross, as my knee bounces.
She stops playing with her necklace. “Well,” she starts to talk, but the waiter walks up.
He has a pitcher of water. He fills up my empty glass. Placing the pitcher on another table, he
comes back with his notepad. “Are you ready to order?”
I don’t ask her what she’s having. I order carnitas, eggs, another drink.
"What beer do you want?"
"Corona." The waiter jots it down and then looks at Xochitl. She just wants water. My eyebrow
raises. The waiter leaves. Huh. “So, what’s wrong with you?”
“I’m pregnant.”
“That sucks for you.” I finish my Bloody Mary. When my empty glass hits on the table, I realize.
“Are you sure?” I lean forward. I take off my sunglasses and stare into her dark brown eyes.
How nauseating. I hear the constant badgering of the older children for the mother's phone.
Finally getting it, the child plays a video with the volume on full blast. My chest feels tight,
hurting.
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