Thursday (Sequel to 'From Eden')

two

Thursday that week was Thanksgiving. I woke up feeling pretty excited, because I would get to see my family for an extra couple of hours, and eat with them if they wanted to stay for our Thanksgiving feast in the mid afternoon. I still felt kind of sad that I couldn't go home and spend it there, with the dogs, my extended family, and my mother's cooking, (minus the alcohol) but I was still thankful I got to see them.

Breakfast that morning was large, and I could tell the employees were trying to make us feel as at home as possible. It seemed like there was every breakfast food you could think of available at the mess hall. I settled for pancakes, to treat myself. Carla and Nick followed my lead on that one, but Liam got eggs...something about "staying fit" and "needing protein". Loser.

Group therapy was being cut short that day for other extra, fun activities, so when Jackson sat in his chair, he clapped his hands together and began talking right away. "Let's begin today, everyone. Holidays can be pretty hard for some of us. Does anyone want to share any experiences they had?" No one really reacted; I noticed a lot of people avoided eye contact. "Alright, how about I share first? So, the two Thanksgivings that really stuck out to me were when I was twenty three and twenty four.

"When I was twenty three, I spent my Thanksgiving on all kinds of alcohol, and even some xanax. My family and I didn't get along very well, so I wanted to be as far gone from them as possible...because, though we all fought, we all still got together for this day, which was wild to me." A lot of people nodded, and I assumed some of them had similar experiences. "That was the day I ran over my niece's foot with my car. I'm not proud of it." He bit the inside of his cheek and let the information soak. "My Thanksgiving when I was twenty four was after rehab; I actually didn't even see my family that year in order to keep myself from that triggering environment. It worked, and was probably the most enlightening holiday of my life."

I smiled, and a couple people congratulated him to validate his experience. The triggers around my family were some things I wasn't looking forward to when I got out, especially since my family loves to consume alochol. I guess it was one extra thing I would have to bring up in post rehab therapy, or really listen in on AA meetings, which I was required to attend for a month after discharge anyway.

After a few more people told some stories and Jackson either comforted them or offered them some advice, we got into the next thing, which made my skin prickle. I actually felt a little bit nervous, and automatically started picking at my leggings absentmindedly.

"I would like to let everyone know that the mail arrived yesterday for some of you. The pen pal letters are filtering in, and the last load of them will be delivered tomorrow, since it's a holiday today." Jackson grinned. "Make sure to check at the desk for your mail."

After group, we had a half hour to change and relax before our families were allowed to visit. Lunch was going to be later than usual that day, scheduled for three, but I didn't mind since breakfast was so big. No way I was eating for another couple hours; I probably would have skipped lunch if it was at the normal twelve thirty.

Before I went up to my room, I went to the front desk to check for my mail like Jackson had said to do. The receptionist handed me a small envelope that was torn open with my name on it, and I thanked her quietly. Why the letter was so threatening to me, I wasn't sure, but fuck, was my heart thumping hard. Obviously whoever wrote it must have been kind, because the people who read the mail let the letter go through to me. Swallowing, I went upstairs to try and read it, but I was stopped outside my door.

"Hey, Paige," Angela waved, approaching me from the other end of the hall. "Whatcha got there?"

"Oh, I think my pen pal letter," I held it up weakly, glad my voice didn't crack. Angela scared the shit out of me, after asking boldly in front of the entire group therapy class if I was one of the girls from Dance Moms. "Some of them came today."