Love and Fate - Evelyn's Story

Chapter 3

It's Monday afternoon, and I'm heading into that time of day, just after lunch, where you're ready to take a 3-hour nap. I can't nap though, not when my boss is hovering over my desk, waiting for the newest resident to arrive at our retirement home facility. From the paperwork I filed, she is an 86-year old woman named Lillian Burr, with no serious medical needs. She is mentally competent with only arthritis and osteoporosis to worry about. Her husband of 60 years passed away a year ago of a heart attack from high blood pressure and cholesterol. Her oldest children, Selma and Robert, are bringing her in voluntarily.

At Sunnydale Terrace, I work the front desk and I am the person people see first when they walk through the doors. I'm told my cheerful, dimpled smile, and easy-going attitude puts people at ease, so my boss likes it when I'm around for newcomers. I'm set to welcome the newest resident and her children, when my phone beeps. It's a text message from Amber.

"Don't answer that." My boss warns. "It can wait till later."

I slip my phone into my back pocket and wait with my boss for Lillian to arrive. The whole process takes about 2-hours and by the time Lillian is settled in, and Selma and Robert have left, I have 9 new text messages on my phone, some from Amber and some from Chrissy's mom. I scroll through the messages in a panic and call Amber.

"Tell me again what happened?" I whisper to Amber as we sit in the uncomfortable waiting room chairs at the General Hospital.

From what I gathered from Amber on the phone, Chrissy had lost her job this morning and went to Camila Tequila to drown her shame. She became aggressive and belligerent with the bartender and other patrons and she got kicked out. She attempted to drive to another bar, but crashed into a stop sign before making it there. An ambulance picked her up and brought her to the hospital to be checked over.

"They're keeping her here for observation." Amber whispers back. "They want her to sober up so she can talk to the cop who found her. She's in a lot of trouble."

"Can we go see her?" I ask, shifting in the small seat.

"Yes, but she's kind of out of it. I think she was already drunk when she went into work this morning. Her mom was here but left to get some food, she'll be back later on tonight."

Amber and I walk together down the cold corridor, past open rooms with sick people in them. Hospitals give me the heebie jeebies, and I'm anxious to get out of here. We reach Chrissy's room and find her vomiting into a kidney shaped bowl. She wipes her mouth with a napkin and flops back against the flat paper pillow on her bed.

"Hey guys." Chrissy mutters when she sees us standing in the doorway. "Come on in."

I swallow the lump that's forming in my throat. I really hate hospitals! Amber and I shuffle a few inches into the room and stand awkwardly around Chrissy's bed. She looks awful; pale and scared and maybe still a bit drunk.

"I screwed up." Chrissy says softly, then bursts into sobs. "I lost my job, my car! Everything! I have to go to court too. I'm so scared!"

Chrissy's shoulders shake as she cries into her hands. "The doctor wants me to go to rehab after all this!" Chrissy gestures to the room.

I think that's a good idea and I tell her so. "I'll even take you there myself if you want. Just tell me when, and I'll be there for you."

Chrissy closes her eyes and shakes her head no, and for a moment I worry she won't go. But when she opens her bloodshot eyes again, she nods her agreement. Amber and I hug her and tell her she will get better, that things will be better from now on.

I hope we're right.

The court day comes and goes without much fanfare and Chrissy is required to pay a thousand dollar fine along with losing her licence for a year. Since this is her first offence, they go lightly on her. The hard part is yet to come.

Chrissy is hammered when I pick her up to take her to rehab. She's in a new bar, one we've never been to before, and is announcing to all the other daytime drinkers that this is the end of the road for her.

"I'm done with drinking! Today, is the big day and everyone here should come with me since I love you all! We can get through this together!"

Chrissy has her arm around an older man who seems oblivious of life in general. His rheumy eyes stare off into a sad world of his own. I kind of wish I could bring him to rehab too, but I'm here for Chrissy and right now she's busy taking another shot of whiskey. It's easy to think about recovery when you're wasted.

"It's time to go now Chrissy." I say this firmly. The group around me objects in a wave of unintelligible grumbles. I'm relieved when Chrissy willingly leans against me and lets me steer her toward the door. This could have gone bad quickly and even though the chummy group of drinkers had complained just a moment ago, now they were cheering Chrissy on.

"You got this girlie! Come see us when you get out!"

I pull into the "Sober Living House" parking lot and by now the reality has hit Chrissy and she is refusing to get out of the car. No matter how much I beg and threaten and plead with her, she won't budge.

"I miss my friends at the bar." Chrissy says through tears.

"You'll make a lot of new friends, I promise."

My nerves are being tested and I can feel myself nearing the end of my patience. I don't know how to deal with this. I don't know how to make her go in, but I'm not about to let her off the hook, so I go into the building to look for reinforcements. I go to the front desk and tell them Chrissy's name and ask for help. A big bear of a man with a gentle smile introduces himself as Tom and follows me outside to my car where Chrissy is waiting. He drops into the driver seat and moves it back to fit his frame.

"Hi Chrissy, my name is Tom and I work here at Sober Living. I hear you're having second thoughts about joining us today?"

Chrissy stares straight ahead without blinking, resolute in her position. "I changed my mind. I don't want to do this."

Tom nods his head, taking in what Chrissy said seriously. "I get it. It's scary giving up the life you know for something new. And overcoming addiction isn't easy, by any means, it's hard work. But it's worth it. The life you're living now is in shambles, and it isn't serving you well. Our first goal here, right now, is to simply step out of the car and walk into that building over there. I'll help you if you want me to stay with you."

"You can stay with me?" Chrissy asks. She looks so vulnerable, and tired!

"We'll go in together." Tom says lifting himself out of the driver's seat.

I follow behind Tom and Chrissy and breathe a sigh of relief. I'm thinking about the bag of Dorito chips at home that I can't wait to rip into. Call it my reward for a job well done.

Chrissy follows Tom into the intake office and I wait for them in the waiting room. I'm just starting to wonder if I'm still needed here when I hear a familiar name.

"Dagna? Is that you?"