I can't think.

Oh my God, how much was I given to drink? I feel like a complete wreck now. My head is spinning and I can barely keep my eyes open like oh- Oh wow. Those candles... They're on fire. Huh? Why are they on fire? That's so weird. Like are we going to burn the whole house down? Whoops, there goes the baby! Shit, keep yourself together, Jen.

Jen's parents exchanged weary looks as their beloved daughter dropped the small of chunk into the stew once again, splashing the oily base all over herself. She giggled at no one in particular and quickly tried to wipe herself up. But she only managed to smear the stain on her white sweater. Damn... She only just bought it last fall. Jen hiccupped.

"You mustn't drink if you can't handle your liquor," Jen's mother chided. The lady had an air of sophistication and it was only exuberated by her cashmere dress designed by Coco Chanel. Her coat made out of the fur of a snow leopard made fashion designers coo applaud her fierceness.  Aided by Botox, no wrinkle dared to make their debut on her dewy skin. Her emerald eyes were catty, seductive and intelligent, and they only made her look youthful yet still mature.

Jen's father, a man of few words, only sighed. He only offered his sharp tongue to his employees who often scurried away in fright at the sight of him. He was the CEO of his company and he ruled the nation's surgical equipment with an iron fist. Handsome with a face that showed only care for hard work and discipline, Jen's friends sometimes pined for him. Their comments made Jen feel sick.

Which was why she couldn't start thinking of that, especially when she could barely hold her stomach together. She stared at her plate as her eyes glazed over. She didn't care for family reunions but she was a sucker for wine. Not that she was a heavy drinker. All too contrary, she was a terrible drinker. 

Unlike her older brother, Chad. Damn. How she hated Chad. A perfect guy with a perfect life. Handsome like their dad and already settled down with a perfect family. Even his name was sickeningly perfect. Jen was also a sucker for names with just one syllable. Chad. Jen. Ben.

Ben.

Sheesh.

"So how's Ben?" Jen's mother asked, making her daughter choke on her baby carrot. She wheezed and spat it out. The vegetable landed on the plate with a spittle of saliva, earning an outraged mixture of disgust and horror from the older lady.

"Why are you asking me that?" Jen whimpered. She couldn't bear to think of the man who left her alone at the most expensive restaurant in town. She wore the most beautiful black Maxi to the date and waited for hours at the round table, to the point that everyone was giving her strange looks. It was only when her stomach was at its peak of complaints did she received a message from her ex-beloved that he had a meeting to attend to and he completely forgot about her.

So it shouldn't be such a big deal that she promptly dumped him through a text message. She didn't think much of him afterwards but her parents were pretty pissed about it. They told her that she wouldn't ever meet a man like him. Sure, she still liked him. But since he did have the nerves to abandon her like that and only message her and not call her...

"I just think that you should give him another chance," the older woman said firmly, slicing more turkey ham for her son. Chad nodded in agreement and Jen shot him a sour look. He always agreed with their parents. Apparently he thought that it would improve the odds of them handing the company to him. Not that Jen cared.

"I don't want to," Jen made to say it as calmly as possible, but they came out like the words of an immature teenager. She ducked her head in embarrassment and picked at her salad once more. She wanted to eat meat but her mother told her that she needed to lose the fats. To make up for the bitter taste, she promptly poured herself another glass of white wine and downed it in one gulp.

"Why not?" her father spoke up for the first time that night.

"Because he's an arse," Jen hissed, slamming the glass on the table. Her mother glared at her, obviously disapproving at her choice of language and crude actions. Whatever.

"You will have a good life if you marry him," she said sternly. Jen rolled her eyes.

"Whatever, Mom." She hiccupped again.

"You need to refine your attitude," her father said with a drawn-out sigh. Jen stared at him moodily and turned back to look at her plate. She didn't want another lecture from him. She didn't want to disappoint him but she wasn't going to change herself. They were always like this. Always arguing against her actions ever since she was a child. Telling her that she couldn't be an artist.

Jen blinked back her tears and took another sip of wine straight from its bottle. It tasted funny. She checked the label and saw that it was a brand she didn't recognise. Oh well, it was from France. Anything from France was great.

As she took more sips until it pretty much turned into gulps once more, she heard the doorbell ring. But by that point, she already felt too tipsy to care.  I want beer, she grumbled to herself. The room swam before her. The light bouncing off the glass in the chandelier was making her squint and it took her seconds to realize that she was draped all over her chair like an old loony drunkard.

"I'm sorry I'm late!" An extremely familiar voice was received by her unwilling ears. She looked up with a snap and her eyes widened as she saw the blurry image of the smiling Ben. Jen balked.

"What are you doing here?" she sputtered, nearly knocking her plate over in the process. But when she thought of it, she immediately knew who was to blame. "Mum!"

"It's Christmas Eve, darling," her mother said in reply and smiled at her pleasantly. Jen glared at her and stood up. She wasn't going to stand for this nonsense. She knew that her parents so badly wanted them to get together again that they were going to interrupt this precious family reunion. Well fine! She didn't mind staying in her room until Ben left, anyways.

"Jen," Ben said softly, making her flinch. She didn't even want to look at him for the second time. He was still as handsome as ever and she was afraid she would change her mind. But at least the memory of her that cringe-filled date was still fresh on her mind.

"I'm going to bed," she sniffed. For extra good measure and riddance, she grabbed another bottle of the strange French wine and drank it all. She wanted to show that she was a better man than Ben could ever be! But maybe it was a bad idea because she really felt worse after drinking it. Her stomach was bloated and she could barely walk straight. She leaned against the chair to steady herself before straightening up again.

"Jen please!" Her ex-boyfriend cried out and she felt herself being jerked back as he grabbed her wrist. She stumbled backwards into his arms and before she could pull away, he held her close to him. "I'm sorry... Please forgive me. I'll do anything to have you back."

Tears sprouted to Jen's eyes. She remembered how he always gave her a hug whenever she felt down and how he always encouraged her dreams. He even bought her a studio and still allowed her to work in it after they broke up. All the chocolates and flowers... The warmth and kind words. Maybe it was the wine but  she was starting to reminisce all the times they had together.

Maybe she was wrong. Maybe she should give him an extra chance. Hiccupping for the third time, she turned towards him and lifted her tear-stained face to meet his eyes. He smiled down at her gently, giving her time to compose herself. After a few seconds, Jen opened her mouth to speak.

But then, she took a whiff of that God-awful cologne that he always wore and promptly puked out her entire Christmas Eve dinner onto his custom-designed suit.