a
six-pack were nothing to speak of. “I didn’t think about this. I
don’t have anything to wear that’s clean.”
“Well, I can wash your clothes in the
morning in the laundry room downstairs, but let me see what I have
for now.” They finally settled on a pair of stretchy sweat pants
and a large t-shirt that Katie sometimes wore as a night shirt. She
made up the couch with several blankets, a sheet, and a pillow. She
also placed a trashcan beside the couch. “Hey, Johnny?” she called
from the bathroom as he sat on the couch.
“Yeah?”
“I don’t have aspirin or Pepto. I do have
Tylenol and Maalox. Will they work?”
“They’ll do. Beggars can’t be choosers,
right?”
She brought them out and set them on the
coffee table. She took his water glass back to the kitchen, rinsed
it out, and filled it with fresh water and a couple of ice cubes.
She called to the living room, “Are you sure you want a beer?”
“Not right now, thanks. But maybe later.” He
looked up at Katie as she came back in the room. “Hey, thanks for
doing this.”
Katie lied. “No problem.” She did want to be
there for her friend, but what lay ahead actually scared the shit
out of her. She wanted to help, though, and she would. She wanted
her old Johnny back.
“Well, just so you know, the symptoms could
start anytime between now and tomorrow. I don’t know when. I just
wanted to warn you. And I might get scary--you know, shaking,
cramping, in a lot of pain, vomiting. And I’m sorry about
that.”
“Johnny, don’t worry about it. Just get
better, okay?”
She brought him a stack of DVDs, bolted the
front door, and hugged him. She told him there was beer in the
fridge if he wanted it and told him he could wake her up if he
needed her. His visit became a long three days that blurred in her
mind. She wound up calling off of work for two days to care for
him, and at one point she almost took him to the hospital until he
begged her not to. The first night he woke her up around 3:30 and
asked if he could sleep next to her in her bed. She wound up
holding him the rest of the night. He had been right about
everything that would happen, but his words weren’t able to prepare
her for how it would make her feel.
And seeing her friend like that removed all
traces of her infatuation. Katie knew that, because of Johnny’s
career, the temptation of drugs would always be there. They would
always be available, cheap, and easy. And now that Johnny was a
recovering addict (she hoped, at least, that he’d remain in
recovery), the siren song of heroin would always beckon to him. She
knew she would never be able to compete with the triad he’d named:
sex, drugs, and the music.
More than that, though, she pictured the two
of them together, Johnny in the shape he was in as a heroin addict
and Katie who was slowly seeking a healthier lifestyle after her
father had died from cancer. Johnny was now unappealing. She still
loved him as a friend and had no animosity toward him, and even
after seeing him at his worst, she wasn’t repulsed by him. He would
always be her friend, and she would always care for him. But the
fact that he’d buried himself in a drug and let it completely
overrun his life, that he’d been killing himself took any shine off
the apple that Johnny once was. Her old high school crush faded
away. And she was glad and relieved, because Johnny had held her
heart tightly for more than ten years, and it had caused her to say
no to third and fifth dates, discussions about the future, and far
too many interested men before they reached second base. When
Johnny left her apartment a week later a healthy man, Katie felt
that her head was healthy too.
Enter Grant. She’d known Grant for two
years, and he’d been content in the background, pursuing her with a
slow-and-steady pace. She hadn’t led him on, but she hadn’t had the
heart to push him away. The next time he asked her on a date, she
accepted. And Katie found that,
six-pack were nothing to speak of. “I didn’t think about this. I
don’t have anything to wear that’s clean.”
“Well, I can wash your clothes in the
morning in the laundry room downstairs, but let me see what I have
for now.” They finally settled on a pair of stretchy sweat pants
and a large t-shirt that Katie sometimes wore as a night shirt. She
made up the couch with several blankets, a sheet, and a pillow. She
also placed a trashcan beside the couch. “Hey, Johnny?” she called
from the bathroom as he sat on the couch.
“Yeah?”
“I don’t have aspirin or Pepto. I do have
Tylenol and Maalox. Will they work?”
“They’ll do. Beggars can’t be choosers,
right?”
She brought them out and set them on the
coffee table. She took his water glass back to the kitchen, rinsed
it out, and filled it with fresh water and a couple of ice cubes.
She called to the living room, “Are you sure you want a beer?”
“Not right now, thanks. But maybe later.” He
looked up at Katie as she came back in the room. “Hey, thanks for
doing this.”
Katie lied. “No problem.” She did want to be
there for her friend, but what lay ahead actually scared the shit
out of her. She wanted to help, though, and she would. She wanted
her old Johnny back.
“Well, just so you know, the symptoms could
start anytime between now and tomorrow. I don’t know when. I just
wanted to warn you. And I might get scary--you know, shaking,
cramping, in a lot of pain, vomiting. And I’m sorry about
that.”
“Johnny, don’t worry about it. Just get
better, okay?”
She brought him a stack of DVDs, bolted the
front door, and hugged him. She told him there was beer in the
fridge if he wanted it and told him he could wake her up if he
needed her. His visit became a long three days that blurred in her
mind. She wound up calling off of work for two days to care for
him, and at one point she almost took him to the hospital until he
begged her not to. The first night he woke her up around 3:30 and
asked if he could sleep next to her in her bed. She wound up
holding him the rest of the night. He had been right about
everything that would happen, but his words weren’t able to prepare
her for how it would make her feel.
And seeing her friend like that removed all
traces of her infatuation. Katie knew that, because of Johnny’s
career, the temptation of drugs would always be there. They would
always be available, cheap, and easy. And now that Johnny was a
recovering addict (she hoped, at least, that he’d remain in
recovery), the siren song of heroin would always beckon to him. She
knew she would never be able to compete with the triad he’d named:
sex, drugs, and the music.
More than that, though, she pictured the two
of them together, Johnny in the shape he was in as a heroin addict
and Katie who was slowly seeking a healthier lifestyle after her
father had died from cancer. Johnny was now unappealing. She still
loved him as a friend and had no animosity toward him, and even
after seeing him at his worst, she wasn’t repulsed by him. He would
always be her friend, and she would always care for him. But the
fact that he’d buried himself in a drug and let it completely
overrun his life, that he’d been killing himself took any shine off
the apple that Johnny once was. Her old high school crush faded
away. And she was glad and relieved, because Johnny had held her
heart tightly for more than ten years, and it had caused her to say
no to third and fifth dates, discussions about the future, and far
too many interested men before they reached second base. When
Johnny left her apartment a week later a healthy man, Katie felt
that her head was healthy too.
Enter Grant. She’d known Grant for two
years, and he’d been content in the background, pursuing her with a
slow-and-steady pace. She hadn’t led him on, but she hadn’t had the
heart to push him away. The next time he asked her on a date, she
accepted. And Katie found that,
Similar Books
