In Vino Veritas
By Publius Decius Mus
Contributor
“Now that we’re being honest, she told him she was playing you earlier this week. And about that text I sent in the group chat – remember when you were drunk at the cottage in the summer?” asked Dionysius.
“Well, yeah, I mostly remember not remembering anything after a certain point,” Iñaki replied.
“What happened is that you were there, saying to Octavia, ‘Don’t leave, don’t go upstairs.’ Most didn’t notice it, but later that night, both of us couples were talking about how strange that sounded, and with what you told me later in the summer…” He trailed off.
Iñaki walked away from the driveway, hoping it would take his mind off the shock. Distance would come later, but at that moment, it was a tragedy. He went around the block on one of those darker days that signalled fall was on borrowed time. It was not until he returned that he felt his friend’s betrayal: using this information against him before he was even aware of the story. It turned out that no space was safe from Dionysus’ relentless desire to one-up everybody else. He would go as far as to hint that Iñaki would follow his friend’s girlfriend anywhere so that the dozen who had shared the cabin could catch onto the information.
***
The warmth of the people in the idyllic cabin was only surpassed by the summer heat. The romantic tension had not been in the previous remarks, as it would have been seen as too outlandish. The issue wasn’t complicated; anything that could be interpreted as an expression of feelings for your friend’s girlfriend was not a good look. Some drew links between his noticeable fondness for her in years past with what he’d later said. At this point, the main topic was Logan’s pursuit of their other friend at the cabin. She had been tormented by the group earlier with impunity. Behind the embarrassment that the media sent from an anonymous email meant to her, there were no loose ends. Nobody there could bring themselves to be frank with her, sympathizing more with the chase of the flawed, blond, hopeless romantic.
Their last night at the cabin arrived and they found themselves having more undrunk cans and bottles than people in the room, which quickly became untenable.
“Why are you taking a call in the bathroom?” Zach inquired upon noticing Iñaki.
“It’s my friend in Miami,” Iñaki responded.
“Rizz?” Abdul asked teasingly.
“Fuck off,” he countered with as much seriousness as a drunken response could have.
Exiting the bathroom, he noticed how it felt different this time. He settled on the couch, thinking that, unlike at a party, there was nothing to remain alert for. It could’ve ended there, but it must not have.
“Don’t go upstairs,” he said to her with irrational passion.
Earlier in the day, Iñaki heard one of her boyfriend’s friends call for him to come downstairs while they were in their room. The friend’s persistence seemed to signal a belief that he should be the one in the room with him, which was a welcome distraction for Iñaki.
***
As they walked into a philistine’s idea of a refined steakhouse, there was something of much interest to address in the couple’s presence.
“Thoughts on what Dionysius had to say in the group chat last night?” Abdul asked, intrigued by the now-very-public nature of the subject.
“It’s not like I didn’t know, but he should keep me out of whatever he has going on with his friend. It’s weird,” Octavia said, uncomfortable.
As Iñaki walked into the steakhouse, the five o’clock darkness of November in Montreal annoyed him. The season had changed, but the group was still almost the same as it had been at the cabin. Goliath, who had been there the previous night, was as much of a leopard as Dionysius, but Iñaki’s face was not one he was interested in eating. He passed his sunglasses to him to hide the pain in his eyes.