Shiny Celebrity Skin

I always seemed to make a fool of myself in front of Josh's parents.

It was New Years Eve, and Josh and I had had way too much to drink. We had tried to restrain ourselves, but in the end we were too set in our ways to stay sober on a night that was usually reserved for partying.

"You guys should have just gone out tonight and then come here in the morning," Miles told us, trying not to laugh as Josh produced a flask from the waist of his pants and poured a bit into his glass.

I liked Josh's family. I got along with them as well as I did my own parents. But I often felt that they shouldn't have accepted me the way that they did. They were all successful, and I was just a waitress. Josh had assured me time and time again that nobody cared what I did for a living. They only cared that I was a functioning member of society. But really, looking at my life, even that might have been pushing it.

"But Dad!" Josh protested with a slur. "I haven't come to visit in over a month. You're supposed to be happy to see me!"

Miles suppressed another laugh. "Maybe you should get some sleep. I have a feeling that you will be in pain tomorrow if you don't quit now."

Josh responded by adding a bit more liquor to my glass. I smiled at Miles in what I was certain was a winning fashion. "It's early! We haven't even made it to midnight yet!"

"And I'm just not sure you're going to," Corlynn grinned as she walked into the room. She set a steaming mug of coffee in front of her husband. "I think both of you have reached your limit."

Josh gave me a doe-eyed stare. "Do you think they know we've been drinking?"

"Yeah," I laughed. "I think they might have figured it out."

Josh tucked the flask back into the waist of his pants. He had been refilling it from a bottle in his suitcase every time he had gone to the bathroom. It wasn't that his parents had never seen him drink, it was that he was worried that they would compare it to his substance abuse in high school. He had stopped being stealthy about the alcohol about an hour before. Luckily, his parents seemed to be amused.

"Honey," Corlynn smiled at her son. "You don't have to hide it. We know that you're just celebrating the new year."

Josh smiled awkwardly. He didn't remove the flask from his pants. I was kind of glad that he didn't. We both enjoyed having the illusion that we were sneaky. I also felt uncomfortable having free reign to get rowdy in front of Josh's parents. I knew that would only end badly.

It did anyways.

We somehow managed to make it until midnight. Just as Josh and I were sharing a kiss at the end of the countdown, I felt my stomach begin to reject the liquor. I pulled away from Josh and gaped at him with wide eyes.

"I, um, I have to go," I whispered. I tried to leave the room as calmly as possible, but as soon as I hit the hallway I bolted. I made it to the bathroom and heaved until I was certain there was nothing left in my stomach.

"Becky?" Corlynn rapped her knuckles on the door. "Are you alright, dear?"

"I'm fine," I croaked unconvincingly.

"I'll get Josh," she said, sounding resolute.

The door creaked open a moment later, and Josh's worried face appeared. "Are you dying?"

Despite the pain in my stomach, I laughed. "No, Josh, I'm not dying. I almost always overdo it, remember?"

"Come on," he smiled patronizingly at me before he heaved me to my feet. "It's time for bed."

I couldn't find the strength or a reason to argue. I nodded and leaned against him. When we stepped out into the hallway, Corlynn was wringing her hands together.

"I'll get a bucket. Does she need anything? I'll get her some water, too."

"She's fine, Mom," Josh assured her. "The bucket and water are probably a good idea though. She might not have gotten rid of everything in her system."

When Josh's mother disappeared, I groaned and slumped against his shoulder even more. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" I noticed the slur in Josh's voice. "I kept filling your glass. If anything, I should apologize to you."

I waved off his words, but the effort nearly sent me crashing to the floor. Josh tightened his grip on me and heaved me toward the guest bedroom. When he lowered me to the mattress, I closed my eyes. Almost immediately, I realized my mistake and tried to sit up.

"Becky, lay down," Josh told me gently.

"The room is spinning. Make it stop."

"Just take deep breaths, okay?"

I'm pretty sure that I passed out before the room stood still. I woke up early the next morning. It was a strange side effect of drinking; I was almost never able to sleep in the following day. Josh was still slumbering peacefully beside me. He probably wouldn't be up for a few more hours.

Which meant that I had to face the embarassment of being alone with his parents.

I lay there for about ten more minutes before my insane thirst drove me to the kitchen. Corlynn was making coffee and bustling around the room. She dug out a frying pan from the drawer beneath the stove, then nearly dropped it when she noticed me in the room.

"Oh, Becky!" She breathed, clutching her chest. "You startled me!"

"I'm sorry," I apologized. It sounded odd and rough. "I just needed some water."

"You know where the glasses are," she nodded toward a nearby cupboard. "Make yourself at home."

"I always do," I smiled at her. "About last night," I began, feeling the need to address the elephant in the room.

"There's no need to explain, dear," she assured me as she took a carton of eggs from the fridge. "It happens to the best of us. Besides, you keep Josh from doing anything too stupid."

I filled a glass with water from the tap and frowned at her. "What do you mean? I thought last night was a pretty excellent example of just how stupid we can be."

"Oh, no. On the contrary, Becky. Sometimes you take care of him, and sometimes he takes care of you. He has responsibilities in your relationship, and he doesn't shy away from them. It makes me very confident that he won't go back to the drugs."

"But he was clean for years before I came back," I pointed out.

"And I could see the struggle he faced every single day. Now it doesn't seem like he's trying. He's just living. I couldn't hope for better. There's no need for you to apologize to me when everything that you do keeps my son alive. I remember the day I met you. I think Josh was even more nervous than you were. But I thought that you were something special, even then. And then there was the day that he and Stacey broke up. When you showed up with Matt, I knew that everything would be okay. Things have a way of working themselves out. The two of you were bound to find your way back to each other."

I gulped down my water to try and prevent myself from getting choked up. "Thank you. That means a lot."

"Besides," she continued, cracking an egg on the edge of the frying pan. "I never really cared for that Stacey girl. She was too quiet. You're kind of quiet, but at least you can keep up a conversation. You can hold your own, which is crucial for survival in this family."

I smiled warmly. I knew that she was probably just saying it for my benefit, but I had to admit that I enjoyed her words. It was nice to know for sure that Josh's mom liked me. Collectively, we were the most important women in his life.

"How do you like your eggs?"

I shrugged, taking another sip of water. "However you decide to cook them. Actually, no, that's a lie. Sunny side up freaks me out. I definitely need them to be flipped over and cooked on both sides."

"You see?" Corlynn said in an almost congratulatory tone. "You speak up when you need to."

"Oh God," Josh groaned as he walked into the kitchen. "What were you guys talking about? The fact that you were alone in here does not seem reassuring."

"We were just debating whether or not you're more feminine than I am," I told him, smirking at my own joke.

"Oh, of course I am. Hands down," he nodded enthusiastically.

"I wasn't expecting you to be up yet," I said.

Josh reached past me and grabbed a glass for himself from the cupboard. "I woke up and you weren't there. I don't like it when that happens."

"When am I going to get some grandchildren from the two of you? Come on, Josh, join your sisters. You would be a good dad."

The two of us froze at Corlynn's words. I set my water down on the counter out of fear that I would drop it. Josh did the same with his empty glass, then carefully faced his mother.

"We're not even discussing that yet. Becky almost attacked me when I pretended to propose. Multiple times. Let's just take it one day at a time, okay?"

I was used to hearing that sort of thing from my mom, but that was only because she didn't have any other children. If I never reproduced, she would never have the chance to be a grandmother. Josh's parents had never even brought up marriage before, let alone a baby.

Corlynn returned her attention to the stove. "Of course, dear. Just consider it, okay? You've been together awhile now."

Josh tugged gently at the hem of my shirt, and I followed him from the room. He smiled in a cute way. "Don't mind her. I think she's finally finished with menopause, and it's made her realize that she doesn't have the option of having kids anymore."

"I'm not worried about it. My mom is the same way, remember? Besides, we've both got a lot of things to do before we worry about kids."

"You're right," he nodded his head. "I've got an album to finish, and you've got... what is it that you do, again?"

I shoved him. "I have a normal person job."

"Yeah, but you haven't been to it in like two weeks. How are you paying your rent?"

"I had some money saved up. Besides, I'm on the schedule for the day after tomorrow. Then I'll be out of your hair again."

"Your eggs are ready!" Corlynn called from the kitchen.

I groaned pitifully and put a hand on my stomach. "Food does not seem like a good idea right now."

Josh pulled my hand from my belly and clutched it inside of his own. "Don't draw attention to that part of your body, just to be safe."

I scowled at him, but let him lead me into the kitchen. He gave me an innocent grin.

"A greasy breakfast will help, Becky. Trust me."

All I could manage to do was let out a sickly moan in response. Corlynn smiled and winked at me. I had to suppress a laugh. Maybe she was right; I gave Josh something to occupy himself. He didn't have the time to do anything too risky while I was around.