Second Chances by Lincoln Cole Page B

and Greg had her
dressed up in braided pigtails like a little princess.  She was so
adorable when she looked up at me and…and it just broke my heart to think of
the last three years…”
    She trailed off, a tear streaming down her cheek.
    “…and she told me about…”
    She stopped, wringing her hands in front of her, choked
up.  A few moments passed in silence, everyone watching in collective
silence.  She cleared her throat and smiled sadly at the group.
    “Sorry, I didn’t think it would be this hard. I just wake up
every morning and thank God that I started coming here. I’m thankful that you
all accepted me and treated me like I was family. I don’t think I could have
done this alone. 
    “And Greg has really come around, now that I’m getting
better. We haven’t reached the court date yet, but Greg wants to try and work
out a visitation system without needing to see a judge. I’m seeing them once
every few weeks for now, but he’s hoping we can make it more often soon. 
He said that all children need their mothers and he isn’t going to try and keep
me away anymore.
    “I’ve been able to see my children again, and they don’t
seem to remember just how bad…I just…thank you, everyone.  Thank you.”
    She sat back down quickly, covering her face with her
hands.  Jason stood up and started clapping his hands. Everyone else
followed suit. 
    “Thank you for sharing Angelina. We knew Greg would come
around, so we really appreciate you telling us about all of this.  We are
all here to talk about our failures and be supportive of each other, but it’s
more than that. We want to hear about the successes too. You are family,
Angelina, and don’t you ever forget it.”
    She nodded, smiling through her tears.  
    “Okay, who’s next?” Jason asked.
    Marlene’s hand shot up again. Everyone else looked
away.  Jason sighed in exasperation. 
    “Okay, Marlene. The floor is yours.”
    She stood up, grinning like a loon, and then cleared her
throat.  Richard saw a few looks of exasperation from the other members.
    “Hi everyone,” Marlene said.  “I’m Marlene, and I am an
alkee-holic.”
    A few people mumbled a response back. One older man just
yawned.  
    “As most of you know, I lost a lot of things in my life due
to alcohol. It was hard trying to get by when I was drinking regularly and it
took a lot for me to overcome it.  I mean I used to be a banker, but
because of alcohol I just lost interest.”
    Richard cocked his head sideways. He glanced at the people
in their seats. A few looked annoyed, some disinterested, and a couple were
smiling in bemusement.
    “Heck, you could go all the way back to my childhood: I used
to know how to throw a boomerang,” Marlene continued.  “But then because
of alcohol I forgot. But, now that I quit drinking, it came back to me!”
    She grinned and chuckled.  Richard furrowed his brow,
almost expecting to hear a rim shot.
    “Recently I learned sign language, though, and it’s been
pretty handy.”
    Richard shook his head and leaned toward Jason. “You have
got to be kidding me—”
    “But alcohol did some good things for me, too,” Marlene
continued, feigning sincerity.  “I mean I used to have a fear of hurdles,
but because of alcohol, I got over it.”
    “Really?” he whispered to his brother. “Puns?”
    Jason sighed and nodded. He whispered back:  “Almost every
week. She says it helps with her therapy.”
    “Hey, did you any of you hear about the accident that
happened in the parking garage a few nights ago?” Marlene continued. 
“Man, it was wrong on so many levels.”
    “And you let her?”
    Jason shrugged.  “I’m not going to tell anyone they
can’t talk,” he said.  “But there’s only so much I can take.”
    Marlene was on a roll:
    “I ate some food coloring yesterday.  I went to the
doctor and he said I was okay, but I feel like I’ve dyed a little inside.”
    Richard shook his head. One person chuckled.