her tail off in a factory that made boats. So Garrett and I had grown up together, making me a bit tougher than your average girly girl being around a boy so much.
It wasn’t until the hormones started to kick in did I see a difference in my best friend, both physically and emotionally. I had actually started to notice and feel things about Garrett, taking in his wavy brown hair and laughing blue eyes more so than I ever had. Of course, every other girl in school had started to notice him as well and on more than one occasion I had been forced to pass along a phone number or a note to him. Between the two of us, I doubted he ever saw me in any other light than his buddy, for I was far too awkward and flat chested, the beginnings of a few bad years of acne setting in.
Then horrible things started to happen in both of our lives. First, my mom lost her job and filled that void with a bottle, causing her and my dad to fight constantly about everything. Garrett’s dad suffered a heart attack while driving home one night and died, leaving his mom behind to pick up the pieces of what had been a great life.
And picked up she did. In a years’ time, his mom had found a handsome, wealthy new husband and no longer was the middle class neighborhood good enough for her. I remember the day he told me they were moving and how I had cried in my bed that night, thinking my life was over as well. It was devastation to lose your only support system at the tender age of thirteen.
Shaking my head free of those thoughts I had forgotten about, I closed the file and ran a hand over my face. Suddenly, this job didn’t seem so exciting after all. Would Garrett remember me? What would he say, what would he look like? More importantly, what if I found something against him?
***
The workday seemed to drag on after the arriving of the file. The rest of the day I spent eyeing it on my desk while I finished up the rest of the work on another case I had neglected to turn in, wanting all of the information finished up as I was heading to Miami in just a few days. Jeanne had already booked my flight and I was going to stay in on one of the many rental holdings that Brian had around the country. I wasn’t sure why he had them, but that was one of the many secrets I did not know about our boss.
As the clock approached five o’clock, I grabbed my stuff, including the file and walked out with the rest of the crew, headed to my little car in the staff parking lot. My phone rang as I was climbing into my car, and I fumbled around in my Hobo bag until I found it, pulling it out of the dark hole that was the inside of my bag before looking at the screen.
Mom. Eh. Now don’t get me wrong, I love my mom. After all, she raised me and supported me until alcohol became her best friend and I was no longer her number one. At thirteen, it was hard for me to not have a mom who was totally invested in me and when my parents divorced a year later, I made the decision to live with my dad.
My mom was what they call a functioning alcoholic. She could hold down a job to support herself, but once those hours were over, to the bottle she went. Recently though, she had found a pretty decent guy named Bob, who was a recovering alcoholic and he had started to take her to those AA meetings. I hope that he’ll be the push she needs.
Pressing accept, I lifted the phone to my ear. “Hey mom.”
“Hi, honey,” she said back cheerfully. “I’ve got some news, really great news and I wanted you to be the first to know.”
“Um, okay,” I said, turning the engine over so that I could get some cool air in my face. “What’s that?”
“Well,” she answered. “Bob and I, well, we are getting married. Isn’t that wonderful?”
“Haven’t you only known each other for three months?” I asked as I pulled out of the parking lot and onto the main road. “Don’t you think it’s kinda soon, mom?”
“People do it all the time,” she replied, a slight bit
It wasn’t until the hormones started to kick in did I see a difference in my best friend, both physically and emotionally. I had actually started to notice and feel things about Garrett, taking in his wavy brown hair and laughing blue eyes more so than I ever had. Of course, every other girl in school had started to notice him as well and on more than one occasion I had been forced to pass along a phone number or a note to him. Between the two of us, I doubted he ever saw me in any other light than his buddy, for I was far too awkward and flat chested, the beginnings of a few bad years of acne setting in.
Then horrible things started to happen in both of our lives. First, my mom lost her job and filled that void with a bottle, causing her and my dad to fight constantly about everything. Garrett’s dad suffered a heart attack while driving home one night and died, leaving his mom behind to pick up the pieces of what had been a great life.
And picked up she did. In a years’ time, his mom had found a handsome, wealthy new husband and no longer was the middle class neighborhood good enough for her. I remember the day he told me they were moving and how I had cried in my bed that night, thinking my life was over as well. It was devastation to lose your only support system at the tender age of thirteen.
Shaking my head free of those thoughts I had forgotten about, I closed the file and ran a hand over my face. Suddenly, this job didn’t seem so exciting after all. Would Garrett remember me? What would he say, what would he look like? More importantly, what if I found something against him?
***
The workday seemed to drag on after the arriving of the file. The rest of the day I spent eyeing it on my desk while I finished up the rest of the work on another case I had neglected to turn in, wanting all of the information finished up as I was heading to Miami in just a few days. Jeanne had already booked my flight and I was going to stay in on one of the many rental holdings that Brian had around the country. I wasn’t sure why he had them, but that was one of the many secrets I did not know about our boss.
As the clock approached five o’clock, I grabbed my stuff, including the file and walked out with the rest of the crew, headed to my little car in the staff parking lot. My phone rang as I was climbing into my car, and I fumbled around in my Hobo bag until I found it, pulling it out of the dark hole that was the inside of my bag before looking at the screen.
Mom. Eh. Now don’t get me wrong, I love my mom. After all, she raised me and supported me until alcohol became her best friend and I was no longer her number one. At thirteen, it was hard for me to not have a mom who was totally invested in me and when my parents divorced a year later, I made the decision to live with my dad.
My mom was what they call a functioning alcoholic. She could hold down a job to support herself, but once those hours were over, to the bottle she went. Recently though, she had found a pretty decent guy named Bob, who was a recovering alcoholic and he had started to take her to those AA meetings. I hope that he’ll be the push she needs.
Pressing accept, I lifted the phone to my ear. “Hey mom.”
“Hi, honey,” she said back cheerfully. “I’ve got some news, really great news and I wanted you to be the first to know.”
“Um, okay,” I said, turning the engine over so that I could get some cool air in my face. “What’s that?”
“Well,” she answered. “Bob and I, well, we are getting married. Isn’t that wonderful?”
“Haven’t you only known each other for three months?” I asked as I pulled out of the parking lot and onto the main road. “Don’t you think it’s kinda soon, mom?”
“People do it all the time,” she replied, a slight bit
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