Mirifical Catharsis

Chapter 5

A sharp knock on the door.

It flies open and music blares into the hallway from the small, yet well-lit flat.

"Bushwa! It is absolutely preposterous! How does it even register as 'normal' in your tiny brain!" Olga, who answers to door, continues to bark at Walter who sits on an awfully fluffy ottoman and leans back onto the arm of a sofa, angrily emptying the squared glass of what looks like wine, into his mouth.

"Easy there, bearcat." Edith laughs as she hops into the apartment holding a bottle of wine that Lilian, a 'wine enthusiast' as she liked to call herself, had picked out on the way over.

"Guys! Listen to this," Olga shuts the door behind the flock of three that walk in and begin to get comfortable on the sofa. "This bimbo, got a woman, a secretary in his office fired, simply because he slept with her and didn't want to see her again! He even got another man to do it for him! Absurde!" She shakes her head and towers over him with an angry demeanor. "And he says it's normal and sees nothing wrong with it."

Up until this point, Walter seemed unphased.

"I didn't say that there was nothing wrong with it! All I said was that things like this happen all the time, woman! Don't you twist my words." He points at her with a bottle in his hand, filling up the empty glass.

Olga scoffs angrily and plummets onto the edge of the sofa. "You see what I've gotta deal with? You're the one who should've gotten fired!"

"Chère, you wouldn't want that. Where do you think I get the cash to buy you gifts every year on your endless birthdays?"

"Oh, I don't know, from the poor women you sleep with and then fire?" She holds her forehead with the tips of her fingers she shakes her head in disappointment.

"Dieu sauve-moi... Lilian, won't you be a dear and get me some of the food that Olga is failing to prepare from the kitchen?" Walter empties yet another glass.

"Leave some drunk snob for the rest of us, won't you?" Olga snaps. The angry look he shoots her makes Lilian giggle.

"What food?" She gets up and begins to walk over towards what seems to be the kitchen.

"I'll come with you." Edith flies to her feet and follows behind Lilian.

"Just some finger sandwiches, saltine-type crackers, some cheesy breadsticks... that sorta thing." He makes a dreamy look at the mention of the breadsticks.

"Emelie and I ate those!" Olga mocks.

"Well aren't you a dumb Dora!"

Lilian tunes out the rest of the bickering as she carefully eyes the rest of the place. The walls seem murky and dull, almost breaking apart but the furniture is tasteful and simple with a beautiful style.

"Who are you looking for?" She asks Edith whose head looks as if it's about to snap from the profusive movements.

"Emelie..." She trails off, looking behind every wall but eventually groans and begins to fiddle with the cheesy breadsticks almost... angrily? "Whatever, grab those crackers."

Lilian does, composing them carefully onto the platter but slipping one into her mouth as well.

"Bonjour, you cellar smellers!" Emelie waltzes into the little kitchen with a bright, festive look that makes Lilian laugh but Edith fix. "Sorry, Sal was showing me some work. How are you two?" She hops on the counter behind the two women.

"Formidable! How are you? How's work." Lilian rinses her hands in the sink and starts to rearrange the finger sandwiches on another platter.