“I’m sure it’s fine,” I say. “Mom gets bored if she’s surrounded by Dad’s golfing buddies for too long. Bring Clive. Lance, too,” I add for Trix. “The more the merrier Christmas, as we Roses say. Sometimes, anyway.”
Trix shrugs. “Sure, we’ll come. Isn’t it a little early for a Christmas party, though?”
“Yeah, but Mom and Dad booked a cruise,” I explain. “They set sail next week and won’t be back until after New Year’s, so instead of canceling the party outright, they’re just throwing it early.”
Trix playfully sneers at Haley. “Rich people problems. Am I right?”
Haley chuckles.
Nora swoons. “I think it’s sweet your parents are enjoying their early retirement.”
“They are,” I say. “Unfortunately for Drew, they’re enjoying it a little too much. They’re enjoying it in the kitchen, in the living room, in the pool house…”
She gasps. “Oh, no…”
“Yup. The poor kid has apparently started announcing himself before entering a room. There is not enough eye bleach in the world to cleanse what he’s seen, or say he says.”
“Hey, you should do that,” Trix says to Haley. “Or wear a bell or something. You know, just a suggestion.”
Haley cringes.
Five
Robbie
“Hey, guys,” I say, looking at the faces in the circle of chairs. “My name is Robbie and I’m an alcoholic.”
“Hey, Robbie!” they all say in unison.
Their voices echo throughout the large gymnasium of the community center as they grin at me with familiarity.
“So...” I shift on my chair, leaning back as I bite my cheek and prep what I’m about to say. “I spent the night at my ex-wife’s last night...”
Their faces instantly drop, and they collectively let out a loud groan. A few of them throw up their hands in defeat while others tear out pages from their notebooks to ball up and throw at me.
“Hey! Hey!” I say, blocking a few paper missiles as they launch at my head. “Come on! I thought this was a support group.”
“Nope.” Betty wags her head back and forth from across the circle. “I can’t support this.”
“Bad idea, buddy,” Greg says in the chair beside her.
“Idiot,” someone says on my left.
They all nod in agreement.
I lift a hand as their voices rise. “Okay, first of all—”
“She destroyed you, Robbie,” Greg says. “What are you doing?”
Betty nods. “Girl ain’t nothing but trouble,” she mutters.
“Nothing happened,” I finish. “It’s not what you think, all right? I got a call from the bartender at my favorite place. My old favorite place. He said she was there all alone, and that she was pretty messed up. What was I supposed to do? Ignore it?”
“Yes!” they all say.
I roll my eyes. “I went out there, I put her in a cab, and I got her home safely. I did the right thing. I did the thing... the thing she did for me a hundred times.”
They go quiet, their eyes dropping in understanding.
I pause. “And then she tried to kiss me.”
They groan again.
“Nothing happened!” I point a stiff finger at them. “And what’s with this can’t support this crap? How many times have I defended you guys, huh? Greg.” I point at him. “When you snuck a glass of champagne at your daughter’s wedding, what did I say?”
He nods. “Your baby girl only gets hitched once.”
“That’s right! And Betty.” I shift to her. “Who helped you write the apology letter to the school board after you showed up wasted to a PTA meeting? Twice.”
“You did,” she answers with a reluctant groan.
“Roger!” I point at him in the chair to my right. He raises his head in acknowledgment. “When you dated that woman and her daughter at the same time behind their backs, did I judge you?”
“No, but you probably should have,” he says. “That was a low one for me.”
“But still.” I wag my finger at them. “I supported you guys. Where’s the love?”
“We do love you, Robbie,” Betty says. “That’s why we don’t want to see you get messed up again. That girl put you in a dark place and I don’t think it’s a good idea to bring her back into your life like that.”
The group nods in agreement.
“Look, I get it,” I say. “I do. But... come on, she needed my help. She’s the love of my life. The whole reason I’m here at all is because of her.”
Roger swoons, along with a few other ladies in the group.
“It’s your decision, Rob,” Greg says. “But being around her... don’t be surprised if some bad habits come back, too. Believe me, I’ve been there.”
They nod again.
“I have all of this under control,” I say. “I mean, I was sexting with her anonymously for weeks and I didn’t slip up once.”
Another paper ball launches at my head as the group recoils in disgust.
I open the door to my building, quickly sliding back as a guy tries to leave at the same time. We give each other a few manly head nods as he passes by and I continue on inside, fishing into my pocket for my keys. I pause in the lobby, zeroing in on my mailbox on the wall out of habit.
“There you are!”
A young woman descends the stairs behind me. Val from 4B. My landlord’s barely legal daughter. She just got back from a semester abroad in Paris, a fact she slips into literally every conversation possible just to show how deep and mature she is.
“Here I am...” I say, focusing on my mailbox.
“You’re out early for a Sunday,” she says, casually wrapping a green scarf around her neck.
“Just getting in, actually.”
Her head tilts with curiosity, making her bleached bangs dip to the side. “Oh?” she asks. “Did you go to a party last night?”
I grab the letters from my mailbox and close it up. “Crashed at a friend’s place.”
She forces a smile. “A girlfriend?”
“Long story.” I raise the envelopes to my forehead and give her a casual salute as I pass. “I got to
