Okay, where were
we. Oh yes, I was having a fit. I am finished now.
All I can say is, what a summer. Whew!
To put it plainly, Beloved’s company went under. So sad.
I knew it was my job to be strong for Beloved and the boys, and as soon
as they were able to drag me out from under the covers, I was.
They say when
crisis hits, a person’s true character is revealed and I think that is
true. I coolly appraised our situation,
realized Beloved was not sufficiently sympathetic to my trauma probably needed some
quiet time to re-group, so the boys and I bolted to Florida and into the caring arms of my
sister. It was a God-send! My sister put cool compresses on my head, listened to my story (over and over and over) and brought me endless cups of tea. What she didn’t do, and I don’t mean to be fussy,
is to allow me to drown my sorrows in alcohol. Somehow in
the midst of my ordeal I had forgotten she is a recovering alcoholic. Which I whole-heartedly support! I guess I didn’t realize she took it so…seriously. I (obviously!) did not expect pre-dinner cocktails, but really, not even a measly little glass of (proven to be
healthful) dinner wine? I mean I get it…for sure…it’s just that I was
going through a CRISIS! I wondered idly
how my (imbibing) brother was doing in San
Antonio. But
frankly, as sweet as he is, he would probably side with Beloved, give me no cool compresses and tell me to get my
worthless self home to my husband.
So there we were,
in Florida,
in July, stone cold sober.
Then I met Harold,
my sister’s neighbor. We spent many a
pleasant evening in his backyard discussing life. He was darling man and very active
considering that breathing apparatus he had to lug around. Harold had some startling right wing ideas
about the world, but I forgave him, and not
just because he was generous with his gin!
He thought my sister’s “new age-y” sobriety slightly ridiculous. “Ooh, so we’re all alcoholics now. It’s just showing off that’s what it is! In my day you weren’t an ‘alcoholic’ until you
saw the Pink Elephants!!” Well, he did
have a point, and as I re-filled my coffee cup with gin & tonic, I told him
so.
It was all going so
well, and I felt the trip was really doing me some good when a surprising thing
happened. I was laying on my usual spot on the sofa,
drinking iced tea, yelling at the boys to stop bugging me to take them to the
beach (it was HOT for God’s sake) when suddenly a shadow loomed above me. I adopted my usual pained expression
thinking it was my sister ready with a cool compress. What a surprise to realize it was my
brother-in-law home in the middle of the day (inappropriate if you ask me)! He wanted to know if I was "quite comfortable"
to which I replied I was. He said he was
delighted (I did not like his tone when he said that) then he asked how long it usually took for me to get over my "general
malaise." Well, I must say, it was rather
a shock to realize the little value some people place on family. I decided right then and there that the boys
and I would not put up with that sort
of attitude so, in a week or two, we packed right up and left for home.
