Aitches, Charleston Sunday

Geoffry brushed his teeth. He brushed them slowly and deliberately trying to hold on to one action so that he wouldn't vomit. His mind was a dull throb barley having been able to force his feet into his Homer Simpson head slippers. He spat into the sink and took a palm fool of water splashing his face with it. His bathrobe loosely tide he stumbled into the kitchen. 'Bacon?' he thought as he held onto the door frame.
"It;s your turn to take the trash out." Geoffry's room mate chirped. Henrietta, had been named after was four eight but perpetually pranced on her tiptoes. At times she was painfully cheerful.
"What's for breakfast, Hen?" She just kept dancing around the kitchen stirring eggs and putting toast in the toaster oven. "What? Did I do something last night?" Instead of responding Henrietta stopped and just looked at Geoffry. He thought what she must see. His disheveled hair and suntanned skin. If only she were a little taller and maybe not such big hips but then again-
"Geoffers!" Came a muffled yawn from his bedroom behind him. Henrietta smirked and resumed her breakfast. Geoffry turned and saw a girl curled up in his bed she seemed to be just starting to realize that she had a hangover.
"Hen, who is that?" Geoffry breathed between his teeth. "Hen, come on I seriously had no idea when I came in here."

"Geoffry! Where are you?" Geoffry bolted for the living room and grabbed a pair of jeans from the couch.
"Where are you going?" Henrietta, was whisking some eggs in a mixing bowl.
"Hen come on, I need you here." Geoffry was pulling on his collard shirt from last night and trying not to dry heave. "You're my best friend can't you-"
"No way Geoffry you promised. There is no way that I am covering for you this time. I don't care if you don't remember her name and she weighs 500 pounds or if she has a hook and a lazy eye, you are dealing with her."
"Come on Hen one last time. I promise I will never bring anyone over here again, I will go to their place every time. Please." Geoffry took a sip of what he hoped was last nights, now watery Gin and Tonic.
"That's what you said last time. No there is no way, Geoffry I'm not doing it." Henrietta was resolved she would cook a pleasant breakfast but that was it.
"Hey I hate to be a bitch but could you guys not yell?" The girl from Geoffry's bed was now wearing one of his white button downs and though she had a small frame the buttons still seamed pushed to capacity by her chest.
"Hen I've got to run, love you, got to meet 'you know who' for brunch though so..."
"Geoffry Tranton if your ass takes even one step out that door I will throw all you crap to the curb." But before she could finish the door slammed shut. Finding herself left alone with Geoffry's Saturday night bed mate Henrietta sighed and continued to whisk. "Would you like some eggs and toast?"

Geoffry pulled out his sunglasses from last nights jeans, glad that he had left them in the living room. The sun was merciless on this gorgeous fall day. The sky was a bright blue and lazy clouds crept across the sky. He did feel a little bad for leaving Hen with that girl but it couldn't be helped. What was he going to do? Take her out to brunch make awkward small talk? No, he thought Hen was a life saver though he knew she was going to be pissed later. That girl did look good though. Upward and onward, though, time to get ready. Geoffry pushed the door to A.C.'s open the interior pleasantly dimmed for the "morning after" clientele. Geoffry approached the bar to order his brunch and bloody Mary when he realized that he didn't have his wallet.
"Two bloody Mary's please." Came a voice from behind.
"Lauren?" Geoffry turned around and there she was, dressed in a huge sun hat, turquoise beach rap, and white Jacky O' glasses.
"Geoffry, It's good to see you. Before you ask France was boring," she swept up both bloody Marys and walked to a booth. "Paris was lovely but it rained almost every day, it was so depressing. Though I did get a lot of work done." Geoffry tried to think how many women he had slept with with while she was in Europe and wondered how many men she had been with. "I found a great studio to work in and got some great shots of the city." They had never agreed to exclusivity before, and they kind of broke up for her summer abroad. "You would have loved it Geoff, great food and wine and the women were all toothpicks. They would look at me like I was crazy if I had more then a cracker."
"Sounds like you had an OK time then?" Geoffry's hangover was hitting hard again and he tried to find a remedy in his drink.
"I suppose I did, there were some great parties. You wouldn't believe the views from my apartment, I could see the river. Well if I leaned out the window I could catch a glimpse but it was marvelous. Oh, and you could smoke wherever you wanted. speaking of let me go take a drag and you order for us would you?" She smiled beautifully up at him as she plucked her cigarettes out of her purse and headed for the door. Geoffry watched her go and realized that he had actually missed her. After going up to the bar and ordering for both of them he sat at the booth. The food came and she came in the door just getting off of her cell. Geoffry had started in on his chicken and waffles, the best hangover cure in Charleston.
"Who was that?"
"No one, my fiancé, oh Geoff I can't possibly eat all this."
"Your what?" Geoffry had lost his appetite.
"Oh I forgot to mention didn't I?"
"What?" Geoffry could feel the bloody Mary fighting to get back up, the acid burning the back of his throat."
"I met someone while I was in France. It was so uber romantic, he proposed in the Luv everyone was staring. I just had to say yes. There is nowhere else in the world to get breakfast like this except A.C.'s. Gawed I missed Charleston." Geoffry felt the night before flooding back into his stomach.
"Lauren, I've got to..." Geoffry got up and ran for the back of the bar.
"You OK Geoff?" Geoffry was only steps away from the bathroom when he realized that he wasn't going to make it.
"Dude, what the fuck?" The people at the table he had hurled next to quickly got up, some of them visibly hung over themselves rushed to the bathroom. "You done?" Geoffry felt disgusting on his hands and knees his hands splattered with his sick, She bartender was standing behind him. "You have five minutes to go to the bathroom clean yourself up and get out." Geoffry looked back at the man, large and angry. He was ready with a bucket of saw dust and a mop. "You got me, bro?" Geoffry could only nod not wanting to throw up again.

When Geoffry had cleaned himself up and left, with everyone staring and some people openly laughing at him, he found Lauren out on the street. Lauren was smoking, she leaned against the brick one leg bent under her. "Lauren", Geoffry could only look at the ground, "I'm sorry".
"Not the first time I've seen you over do it the night before Geoffry." She turned, rubbed her cigarette into the wall, and smiled. "Come on you can get me some coffee." She started walking, he followed.
"I left my wallet at home." She turned her head looking at him. He wondered what she was thinking behind her Jackie O's.
They walked together to Kudu Coffee around the corner. Surrounded by Go Green pamphlets and fare trade coffee products. "So where did you meet this guy?"
"Is this a problem? Are you pissed, you're pissed."
"No I'm not pissed, it's just I didn't think you were gonna, you know..."
"What? You didn't think I was going to meet someone?" She was looking at him with her dark hazel eyes. He couldn't meet her gaze. "You were with someone last night I bet."
"I'm not getting married to her."
"Well I am getting married, and he is a great guy. He is worldly and handsome and rich, I..."
"You love him?"
"He loves me." Her lips turned down slightly.
"Well it was good seeing you, I've got to go." Geoffry stood and walked to the door, he could feel the eyes of the hipster patrons and pot head barista on him.
"Geoff." Lauren stood up and grabbed Geoffry's arm, "I didn't want today to go like this."
"You're right, it should have been different. I'll see you later just give me a couple of days."
"Geoffry." Geoffry turned to face Lauren, the small coffee shop full of a blogger, a group of hipsters and a hippie barista turned back to what they were doing. "I'm going back to Paris tomorrow, I'm gonna finish up school there and... well I have a place to stay."
"Oh." Geoffry started feeling sick again, even with an empty stomach.
"Yeah."
"Well, I'll text you later on OK?"
"Geoffry, where are you going?"
"I've just got some stuff to take care of, I'll see you later I promise." Geoffry stepped through the door.
"Make sure to call me."

Geoffry started walking home, he focused on his hang over. He tried not to think of Lauren. When he got up the steps he was so wrapped up in his own world that he only barley registered the laughter coming from inside. Henrietta and the blond from earlier were sitting surrounded by loads of half eaten breakfast food, strips of bacon, carved up pancakes, muffins, and omlettes . "Hey there." Geoffry said cautiously. "What are you guys up to?" Henrietta sipped some coffee and rolled her eyes to the window playing at innocence.
"Hi Geoffy Woffy," The blond said. "We missed you, the bacon's gotten cold but it's still good." She proved this by eating half a piece. "Henny here makes the best breakfast and," She smiled wide and paused for dramatic effect. "Mimosas!" Geoffry shot a glare at Henrietta who was still looking absently out their living room window.
"Henny?" Geoffry said through a forced smile, "Can I talk to you in the kitchen?"
"Don't you two be too long now or I might get jealous." The blond giggled into her orange cocktail. Once Henrietta and Geoffry were alone together his voice became hushed and urgent.
"Hen you were supposed to get rid of her."
"I said I wasn't going to do it anymore and I meant it." Hen wore a scowl and downed the rest of her mimosa. "She is really nice Geoffry, you should talk to her, maybe try to get to know this one."
"Are you kidding? She's crazy. Geoffy? Henny? It's like she is chicken-head little."
"That is horrible you should be nice to Rebecca."
"You've named her."
"She came with a name, I just bothered to learn it."
"There is no way that you will let her go now, you'll be BFF's totes fore EVS now." Geoffry smiled feeling good for the first time since his bloody Mary. "Fine, it's fine. I just came back to tell you that Lauren is running off to Paris to merry some millionaire."
"Geoffry, I'm so sorry I forgot that you were getting brunch with Lauren." Henrietta tiptoe/walked over to him, hugging him around the waist. "Tell me everything." Geoffry recapped the horrific brunch experience being interrupted only once by Rebecca saying, "What's going on in there?" Which was easily ignored.
"Geoff, I know that you like her if you want her you are going to have to fight for her." Henrietta was tiptoeing around the kitchen now fully absorbed. "You are going to have to take her out and show her a great time, show her what she is going to miss not being with you or in Charleston."
"I don't think so Hen."
"Why not, you love this girl she is the only one you have ever talked to me about.'
"She doesn't matter to me there is only one person who has ever understood me Hen, and that's you." Geoffry leaned in to kiss her, their height difference fairly evident, Henrietta held his shoulders walking backwards. "What's wrong?" Geoffry was confused and hurt.
"Geoff you are a good friend, handsome, and from what I have heard through these too thin walls a great lay. But you are a selfish spoiled ass, and as much as I love you I am not going to fuck up this awesome rent situation just because you don't have the balls to go after your true love." Henrietta pranced past him and went into her room closing the door behind her. Geoffry stood their for a moment not knowing what just happened. The silence was broken by Rebecca shouting from the other room.
"Geoffy! I feel tipsy from all the champagne, I wish you were here to keep the room still." Geoffry smiled and strode into the living room. He thought to himself, 'their was always another girl.'