Vodka Espresso

4. friendship

June, 2017

The video call could not take place, after all. Sienna had recently given birth and her baby often kept her from her plans. She wrote a lengthy apology to Ingrid, inviting her to brunch the next day. Ingrid couldn't help snorting. New York, quite possibly the brunch capital of the world, had put her off useless, Instagram-worthy brunches. Which were the only kind people her age were having these days.

Nevertheless, she accepted the invitation and, plugging her phone into the charger, discarded it on a chair somewhere. It got buried under a mass of clothes, towels and bedsheets as she unpacked and set up her room. Night fell by the time she was nearly done. The essentials were all in place, everything else could wait until the morning.

She showered and changed into comfy summer pyjamas. Her mind and body all relaxed now, the hunger finally kicked in and she headed downstairs for a late-night dinner. Edgar was already in the kitchen, fixing himself a sandwich.

"Well, hello there," he greeted.

"Hi." Ingrid went straight for the fridge.

"What are you doing up so late?"

He put the second slice of bread on top of his sandwich and brought his plate to the table.

"I just finished unpacking and I got hungry." She picked out a bowl from the cupboard. "You?"

"I had some work to do, besides the unpacking."

Ingrid stretched on her tiptoes, one foot up in the air, to reach the cornflakes.

Edgar's eyes were drawn to the olive skin on her exposed calves. Her muscles twitched with the movement.

"So what's our schedule for tomorrow?" Ingrid asked, mixing her cornflakes with yoghurt, and went to sit opposite him.

"There's nothing settled yet." He picked at his sandwich, unable to look up into her face. "Arthur should be joining us at some point in the evening, so we'll just kick it off on Monday. You'll have Sunday all to yourself, but it'd be nice if you could be around to welcome Arthur. It's not mandatory, of course."

Ingrid nodded, thoughtful. "Not sure what I'll be up to tomorrow, but I'll try."

"Thank you."

Edgar had just Skyped with his family, but the mere sight of Ingrid's shoulders and her collarbones within his immediate reach made him forget anyone or anything else existed in the world.

"Don't mention it. By the way," Ingrid licked her spoon clean, "is there any alcohol in this house of Brennan? Even Brennan whiskey. Anything."

Seeing her tongue twist around the spoon and slip back into her mouth made him gulp. Suddenly he noticed how her perky breasts stood to attention underneath her tank top.

He forced a smile behind his sandwich. "You don't like our whiskey? Is it really bad?"

Ingrid shrugged. "I used to prefer bourbon, but after all the free Brennan whiskey I got, I've come to appreciate it. It's not my favourite brand, though, to be honest."

"We should have some tucked away somewhere," Edgar said. He took his empty plate to the sink, then rummaged through cupboards for some liquor. "I'm afraid Brennan's will have to do."

He brought the whiskey bottle to the table, along with two tumblers. He fetched ice from the freezer, too, and filled the glasses halfway. Ingrid thanked him for the drink and had a sip even though she hadn't finished her yoghurt.

"Can I ask you a personal question?"

Edgar grinned at the inquiry mirroring his own from the airport. "Sure, go for it."