Janet just rolled her eyes as Daniel stumbled in through the front door, clearly hopelessly drunk. She had watched from the living room window as he had fallen out of the taxi, and how Jack had just shut the door, letting the taxi drive off.
“Hey Jan,” he managed, propping himself up against the doorframe. At least he was capable of some form of speech, Janet thought to herself, thankful for small mercies. And he had managed to make it from the sidewalk to the house, which was another plus.
“Hi Daniel. Have a good time?” she asked, picking up a large plastic cup of water and bringing it across to where he was leaning.
“Um, I think so,” he replied, furrowing up his brow in concentration, before talking a gulp of water. “Why didn’t you come? Would have been more fun and remembered if you’d have been there.”
“I had to work, remember Daniel,” Janet sighed, as she tried not to choke him with the water.
“Oh yeah! Well, you’d have had fun until Jack started pennying me. But you’d have stopped him because he’s scared of you, so we’d still have had fun.” He paused and looked confused. “I don’t have any plans for tomorrow, do I?”
Janet hid a smile, and shook her head. Inwardly she was planning Jack’s next physical. Him tossing pennys into Daniel’s drink, then forcing him to down it certainly went a long way in explaining the archaeologist’s currently inebriated state. “No, nothing except to keep me company,” she replied, guiding the last of the water down. “There. Are you ready for bed now?”
“Uh, I need to get changed first,” he told her. “I sorta kinda maybe made a mess earlier.” He looked down and Janet followed his gaze.
There was a noticeable stain on his shirt and the top area of his pants. Ah.
“You dropped a drink down yourself?”
“Only one!” he defended. “The other one was split on me.”
Janet couldn’t help but roll her eyes again. “Okay then, we’ll get you cleaned up first then into bed,” she told him, moving towards the stairs. She had just started up them when she heard a plaintive “Janet” coming from the living room door.
“What is it Daniel?” she asked.
“I think I need help.”