Flora, explaining her abstention, spoke with a firmness that belied her usual easy going nature. “I had a bad hangover, and I told myself I won’t drink for now.” Her words, a clear statement of self-imposed restriction, were delivered with a touch of self-deprecating humor.

Stella smiled, her amusement a gentle response to Flora’s candid confession. “Really? Then I’m going to drink alone,” She replied, her voice laced with a hint of playful defiance.

But Flora, sensing a ...