home, she didn’t pay much attention to Randy. She didn’t get excited about his first step, first words. Hell, she didn’t even call every night to check in. I’m not sure why she even got married. Within five years, we split up.”
“I thought you said you’d only been divorced for five years.”
He shook his head. “Yeah, after five years of separation, she came back. Wanted to try again. I guess I’m glutton for punishment. Besides, Randy was crazy about her. I took her back. She went local, and all was normal. Well, normal for us. She still didn’t pay all that much attention to Randy. After a couple of months, she didn’t even pay that much attention to me. About a year later, she went on the road again. Only a few days a week at first. Before I knew it, she was gone weeks at a time.”
Carr scrubbed his face, took a swig of his beer and motioned the waitress to bring him another. “ Five years ago, she walked in, announced she was leaving, packing her bags, and we’ve not seen or heard hide nor hair of her since.”
He raised his hand. “Wait, I take that back. She called once to tell me she filed for divorce. But I hear things through the grapevine. That’s how I found out she’s living with this guy. Not that I care. But Randy. Shit.” He took a long swallow from his bottle. As hard as he set it down, I’m surprised it didn’t break. “Okay, you heard my sob story, now how about you? I know your husband is dead. I know you were divorced. What else?”
“There’s not much to tell. Johnny didn’t want me to work, so I quit. Successful men’s wives didn’t work. I certainly couldn’t make him look unsuccessful, could I?”
He shook his head, seemingly at a loss for words and took another swig of beer.
“So, tell me more about your work,” I said.
He shrugged. “Not sure where to even start.”
“What exactly do you do? I mean, what’s involved with your job?”
“I’m a chemical dependency counselor and work with kids in foster care and supervise visitation at a safe domestic violence center.”
I let out a low whistle. The whole thing fascinated and scared me at the same time. “How old are the kids you usually work with?”
Carr twirled his bottle on the table. “I work with infants to 18 year olds.”
“So are the kids on drugs? Obviously not the infants, but gosh, I hardly know what to ask. Tell me about the kids.”
“The reasons kids come into placement vary. In court the parents would be adjudicated for dependency or neglect. Dependency is the lesser of the two charges and usually means the parent is simply unable to care for their children at the time – housing issues, unruly teenagers, that sort of thing.”
He took another long swig of beer and stared off into space.
“I’m sorry. If you don’t want to talk about it. I understand. It must be very difficult.”
Carr looked at me and smiled. “It is difficult, but it’s also very rewarding. Are you really interested?”
“Yes, of course. It saddens me to think there are so many abused kids out there. The whole thing about drugs scares me. Tell me more.”
“Where to start? There’s so much involved. It’s hard to explain in a few sentences.”
“What about the abused kids?” I wasn’t sure why I wanted to know, something about the subject fascinated me. Besides I liked the passion in Carr’s voice when he talked about it.
“Neglect often includes child endangerment issues – physical abuse, sexual abuse, drug abuse, domestic violence, abandonment, so much more. After the kids are taken into custody and placed into foster care, my job starts. Along with the foster parent, we address health issues, psychiatric/therapeutic needs, and basic needs like food, clothing, stability and security. I have a strong network of providers in the area that I trust and who trust me. We get to work right away.” He paused and looked at me. “Are you sure you want to hear this? I feel like I’m monopolizing
“I thought you said you’d only been divorced for five years.”
He shook his head. “Yeah, after five years of separation, she came back. Wanted to try again. I guess I’m glutton for punishment. Besides, Randy was crazy about her. I took her back. She went local, and all was normal. Well, normal for us. She still didn’t pay all that much attention to Randy. After a couple of months, she didn’t even pay that much attention to me. About a year later, she went on the road again. Only a few days a week at first. Before I knew it, she was gone weeks at a time.”
Carr scrubbed his face, took a swig of his beer and motioned the waitress to bring him another. “ Five years ago, she walked in, announced she was leaving, packing her bags, and we’ve not seen or heard hide nor hair of her since.”
He raised his hand. “Wait, I take that back. She called once to tell me she filed for divorce. But I hear things through the grapevine. That’s how I found out she’s living with this guy. Not that I care. But Randy. Shit.” He took a long swallow from his bottle. As hard as he set it down, I’m surprised it didn’t break. “Okay, you heard my sob story, now how about you? I know your husband is dead. I know you were divorced. What else?”
“There’s not much to tell. Johnny didn’t want me to work, so I quit. Successful men’s wives didn’t work. I certainly couldn’t make him look unsuccessful, could I?”
He shook his head, seemingly at a loss for words and took another swig of beer.
“So, tell me more about your work,” I said.
He shrugged. “Not sure where to even start.”
“What exactly do you do? I mean, what’s involved with your job?”
“I’m a chemical dependency counselor and work with kids in foster care and supervise visitation at a safe domestic violence center.”
I let out a low whistle. The whole thing fascinated and scared me at the same time. “How old are the kids you usually work with?”
Carr twirled his bottle on the table. “I work with infants to 18 year olds.”
“So are the kids on drugs? Obviously not the infants, but gosh, I hardly know what to ask. Tell me about the kids.”
“The reasons kids come into placement vary. In court the parents would be adjudicated for dependency or neglect. Dependency is the lesser of the two charges and usually means the parent is simply unable to care for their children at the time – housing issues, unruly teenagers, that sort of thing.”
He took another long swig of beer and stared off into space.
“I’m sorry. If you don’t want to talk about it. I understand. It must be very difficult.”
Carr looked at me and smiled. “It is difficult, but it’s also very rewarding. Are you really interested?”
“Yes, of course. It saddens me to think there are so many abused kids out there. The whole thing about drugs scares me. Tell me more.”
“Where to start? There’s so much involved. It’s hard to explain in a few sentences.”
“What about the abused kids?” I wasn’t sure why I wanted to know, something about the subject fascinated me. Besides I liked the passion in Carr’s voice when he talked about it.
“Neglect often includes child endangerment issues – physical abuse, sexual abuse, drug abuse, domestic violence, abandonment, so much more. After the kids are taken into custody and placed into foster care, my job starts. Along with the foster parent, we address health issues, psychiatric/therapeutic needs, and basic needs like food, clothing, stability and security. I have a strong network of providers in the area that I trust and who trust me. We get to work right away.” He paused and looked at me. “Are you sure you want to hear this? I feel like I’m monopolizing
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