Free The Kitchen Shrink by Dee Detarsio

saying anything. God this was cool, I thought as I entered. And dark. I really don’t get out much. I guess I’ve lived in the Pleasantville known as suburbia for way too long. I was thinking a night club called ‘Lush’ would be an adjective, conjuring up dim lighting, cozy cushy seats stuffed with royal blue, gold and rich red raw silk pillows, cocooning groups of friends and colleagues in a conversation cove. Silly me.
    While there were dim bulbs, and they were sloshing their drinks on me, I quickly realized ‘Lush’ was in full uninhibited use as a noun. I scrunched up my eyes, worried that I’d never find anyone. I rode a wave of people to the far back corner and tried not to notice when someone’s platform shoes clomped on my toes. Isn’t there a fire code here? Surely there are too many people. Where was everyone? If this was supposed to be fun, I really needed to get out more. If I could slip to edge of the bar I bet I could sidle my way back to the entrance. I mean exit. All of a sudden a chorus of voices greeted me.
    “Lisby!”
    Aw. There they were. My crew. And they seemed really glad to see me.
    “What are you drinking, sweetheart?” Eglin sprayed his question over my face. “My treat.”
    “Oh, I’m driving, but thanks. I’ll just have a diet coke.”
    “Dr. Pepper,” everyone shouted.
    “Oh no you di-n’t,” Daria said, coming up to me wagging her finger in front of my face. “We’re celebrating tonight. Party with your crew! Come on, just one drink.”
    I was no longer a sixth grade girl, I was now hmmm, somewhere in my late teens, succumbing to peer pressure. “What are you having?”
    “Mojitos for everyone,” Elgin squealed. They all cheered.
    When the drinks arrived, Sam raised his glass in a toast. “To Lisby.” Seems this crowd would cheer for pretty much anything.
    I took a sip and immediately felt it zing through my arms and legs. My feet stopped hurting and my smile felt ginormous. I didn’t think it could get any bigger until Phil-O showed up. He was drinking a beer and clanked it against my glass. “Good job, today. You’re going to have a great kitchen.”
    “You think so?” I flirted. Ooh, Mr. Man, share your great knowledge with me.
    He nodded. “Yeah, I heard you were freaked about the teal cabinets, but I think you’ll like it.” We looked at each other and at the same time said, “Teal, or no teal.” That really tickled my funny bone.
    “Elgin’s something else,” Phil-O said when he stopped laughing, “but he’s good. I’ve worked on other rooms he’s done and they’ve been brilliant.”
    “I’m glad to hear it. So what do you do? Just drywall?” Oh geeze, who did I think I was? How pretentious of me. “Not that there’s anything wrong with that…” I tried to back peddle. I really wanted to know what Phil-O was all about.
    “Chill, Lisby. It’s OK. No, I’m a carpenter by trade, but I take on these jobs for extra money. I do a lot of custom work. In fact, I just finished up my own loft.”
    “What did you do?” I loved HGTV and was a total sucker for house makeovers, not to mention very impressed with the craftspeople that were able to make it happen. Combine a talented handy man with a handy-some man, and I was hooked. I took another drink and tried to remember to tell that one to Daria.
    “I bought a loft in an old warehouse near here, gutted it and totally redid it. I’m pretty happy with it,” he added.
    “What style is it? Describe it to me.”
    “Well, it’s my own style.”
    “Trinidadian?” I teased.
    “You could say. I hate clutter, so it’s almost Scandinavian looking. Lots of clean lines.” He shrugged. “I like it.”
    “That sounds so great. Good for you. I’d love to see it. It must be so satisfying to build your own space.”
    “Yeah, it is. I could show you, if you want.”
    Uh oh. Did he think I was angling for an invite? “Oh. Sure. Sometime.”
    “Finish your drink and we can go see it. I’ll give