Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"I hope the 4 bottles are enough wine."
Zoe muttered as she fixed the charcuterie board she set up for tonight. Jane laughed and set the wine glasses on the counter. "I think we'll be okay ZoBo." The atmosphere was a little different than their usual weekly wine night with Maddie. Normally the three women would pile on the couch or even Zoe's bed and chat for hours, sharing laughs and swapping work stories from the week. This was the first wine night since Maddie's abduction, and everyone agreed she needed to get back into a normal routine and spend time out of the apartment with loved ones. Zoe and Jane had been adopted into a friend group, which Jane was more than thankful for. Zoe was just happy to have friends who had crazier work days than she did.
Zoe answered the knock at the door and hugged Maddie. Her face was mostly healed, only a small yellow bruise left on her cheek. They stood there for a moment, holding each other before Jane spoke up.
"If there are hugs that I'm being left out of I'm going to be very disappointed." Maddie gave a small chuckle and entered the apartment, giving Jane her share in the hugfest.
"This is perfect, thank you both," Maddie said earnestly. Jane would never understand how a human could be as sweet as Maddie Buckley. Jane made her way back to the kitchen, as she was reaching for the platter hoping to grab some cheese, and somehow managed to dunk her hand in the french onion dip instead. She groaned and went to wash her hands off in the sink while Zoe and Maddie dished out the first round of Moscato. This charcuterie situation was already getting a little too hands-on for her.
"Well that answered my next question," Maddie giggled. "I was going to ask how your luck journey has been."
"Just as bad as before," Zoe answered for her. "She just got the cast off her pinkie after her latest run-in with my car door."
Jane grimaced. "Well, I had a pretty horrible interaction today at work, you'll never believe it. I had a meeting with the parents of one of the students and my freakin' belt broke right before. I was trying to, uh, adjust my bottoms just as they came in, 3 minutes minutes may I add, and it looked like I was trying to strip for them!" Maddie doubled over and sat at one of the bar stools as she laughed even harder. Jane leaned against the counter and took the wine Zoe offered her. "If all these things happened in isolated instances I would maybe understand, but this curse is ridiculous. I feel like I live in a sitcom montage."
The women ate and drank wine, Maddie needing Zoe's ER horror stories and Jane's adventures with misfortune to lift her spirits. They ended things a little earlier than normal, and Zoe offered their couch to Maddie since they had cleared three and a half of the four bottles. She took it gladly and Zoe went to go make up the sofa bed.
Jane was sitting next to Maddie now at the kitchen island. "How's Chimney doing?" She asked.
"He's...doing well I think. He might be the nicest man I know, and sometimes I feel like I don't know how to show him how much I truly appreciate it. I mean, after..." She trailed off and Jane heard her fingers drum gently against the glass that she held. "Well, after everything, he's still waiting for me. I don't know if I deserve that."
