I wasn't used to having to meet new people. It had been awhile since I'd had a conversation with anyone other than Tara. She was usually the only one interested in chatting with me while I sat by the window and downed shots of whiskey. On this particular night, I was well into my 13th shot, when a man I'd never seen around before passed out at a table near where I was forgetting my sorrows. He had a small girl with him. She too was asleep on his lap. My heart fluttered. This little child had been me. I could remember falling asleep with my drunk mother in a bar almost every night. "Well shit" I muttered under my alcohol-sodden breath.

"TARA!" I yelled. "I need another round!"

She hurried over to me and poured yet another beverage for me.

"You need to slow down, Madalene" she said, never taking her eyes off the small girl.
"Your going to kill yourself one of these days" she remarked as she walked away.

I pretended I hadn't heard her and went back to forgetting life as I knew it.