Every time Jonesy goes through a nasty breakup, we meet at the Mutch Crater Denny's for midnight breakfast, then go to my tiny apartment in the west dome and watch old movies. She crashes on the couch and I go to bed, and by morning she's all better. It's a ritual.

 

We've been friends since high school in Worcester Dome, and when I got my job mining ice she got one in the head office — so she could keep an eye on me, she said. I still mine ice; she’s had six other jobs since then. I've had a crush on her most of that time, but to her I'm just a friend. Her best friend, definitely, but never more. Which is fine; can't force it, and I'd rather be a friend than nothing. So I accepted reality and moved on.

 

I saw her silhouette in the bottle-glass barrier by the door and waved her over. She grinned and ran over, giving me a massive hug and incidentally bumping into and smashing a rogue coffee mug that had been left on the counter nearby. Jonesy didn't notice (she never does), but the waitress swung by a moment later with a broom and dustpan. That's one advantage to living inside a giant regolith mining complex: cheap disposable pottery.

 

"Hey, Kim! Meet Jonesy, my oldest friend!"

 

Kim set down the broom and shook hands with Jonesy, who corrected me. "Euphoria Jones, at your service."

 

In response to Kim's raised eyebrow, I explained. "Her mother was aiming for 'Euphonia' but got a letter wrong."

 

"My friends call me Forry," said Jonesy.

 

"I guess that makes sense," lied Kim. "Take your order?"

 

I got my usual: eggs, soy bacon, toast. Jonesy ordered enough for any two miners, and never mind that she works at a computer. She'd eat every bite. How she stays so skinny I'll never know.

 

Kim went to put in the order. We watched. Kim's easy to watch. Smart, too. She's half the reason I keep coming back here.

 

"She's pretty," said Jonesy, reading my mind. "You should ask her out."

 

"I tried. She doesn't date customers."

 

"Hm. Too bad. When was your last date?"

 

I deflected. "I get enough drama from you. What happened this time?"

 

That kept us occupied through breakfast. There was nothing new about this breakup compared to any of the others — he'd wanted a family and she got scared — but I sympathized, nodding at the right points and cursing out the hapless schmuck she'd bulldozed. (Look, she's my best friend, but that doesn't magically make her any better at relationships. She's a one-woman wrecking machine, and she knows it, but that doesn't slow her down one bit.)

 

One thing really worried me: While she was describing her (over)reaction to her now-ex-boyfriend's neglect (imagined), she mentioned stealing his surface rover and abandoning it somewhere in the middle of Xanthe Terra by way of payback. It's usually best to avoid getting sucked in, but I couldn't help but ask, "How did you manage to get back to the dome?"

 

It caught her off guard, I guess because she's used to me not asking, and I could see... Could that that fear in her eyes? Of me?

 

I processed all this quickly, and gave her some cover before she panicked and said something she'd regret. "Knowing you, there was some amazingly complex plan involved." She snapped at it greedily and, on the spot I'm sure, invented a fantasy worthy of Dunsany about her amazing adventures on the surface.

 

Jonesy doesn't always consider the consequences, and she can do some extremely reckless things when she's upset. I was convinced that she'd actually ended up walking home, and it was only pure luck that she'd survived. One of these days she won't, and there isn't one damn thing I can do about it.

 

After the emotional purge, Jonesy hit the bathroom and I dug out my wallet. Kim came right over and made change.

 

"What's her deal?" she asked. I explained our ritual, and she looked at me pityingly.

 

"You've got it bad for her, don't you?" she asked.

 

Kim's good people, and rates honesty. "Used to," I said. "She is exciting. But eventually I realized, I'd rather be with someone less chaotic and more reliable. Exciting gets old awfully fast."

 

She didn't buy it, but nodded diplomatically and changed the subject. I told you she's good people. "So what's next on the plan?"

 

"Back to my place to watch Labyrinth on the Tri-D."

 

"David Bowie at his best," Kim said, grinning. We exchanged favorite scenes and started quoting lines at each other. She's got great taste in movies, too.

 

"You should join us!" Jonesy appeared at Kim's elbow with zero warning and gave me an exaggerated wink. "It'll be fun!"

 

Kim protested, but to no avail. Her shift was over and Jonesy had made up her mind, and that was all there was to it. When Kim objected, quite reasonably, that she was just getting off an eight hour shift and she needed a shower, Jonesy countered by volunteering my shower and bathrobe. Generous of her.

 

While Kim cashed out, Jonesy grinned at me. "There," she said, satisfied. "Finally got you hooked up with someone."

 

"With my luck, it's you she'll end up with," I said, only half joking. There was a flash of something that might have been guilt in Jonesy's eyes, and then Kim was ready and we left.

 

Boy, can I call it.