I didn’t even have to get out of bed. Who the hell did I bring home? What was his name...Zach? No that’s ridiculous; the only Zach I knew worked at the Cafe Du Monde. He would never be caught dead partying till sunrise in the Quarter. I just think Zach is a great name & he is a great guy. He’s the kind of guy I should be dating: in his final year of graduate school, doesn’t smoke, rarely drinks, doesn’t even eat the beignets at the cafe. Very environmentally conscious. His lifestyle was more like the farm values I was raised with. He has asked me go places with him but I’ve always said no. What was I thinking? Of course, I wasn’t thinking. I can’t think. I have booze brain. And, why were all of these thoughts colliding in my aching head right now?

My spirits lifted as my body celebrated the surge of caffeine working its way through my bloodstream. Maybe this will make me feel better? Maybe not. I didn’t care. I needed it. Food to soak up the alcohol. Beignets. All I needed was a beignet, I thought. I’ll worry about my diet tomorrow. Today’s a day for fat clothes anyway. Today? Oh my God, it’s Friday. I had to go to work. I remembered the Dunkin Donut’s one block from my office. It wasn’t the Cafe Du Monde, but it’d have to suffice. Sorry, Zach. My momentary panic faded, the sounds of the city coming to life outside my condo.

I turned on the TV just like every day to help me wake up and tell me what’s going on in the world. The TV was my roommate. I talked to it and it talked to me. Get up and do your normal things, I told myself. I was a city girl now and I needed to know current events.