"Violet," I commented.
The unthinkable happened. She relapsed into drinking. It was only one drink. I wasn't angry because anger doesn't produce anything but bad feelings.
"I feel dumb but peer pressure on this date and I shouldn't have because my sobriety means so much," she cried.
Grandma Mary was also there. We both weren't upset with her but because of her history, Violet felt ten times worse than it was.
"Two things Violet, that man who took you out on a date knew right well your values. Second off, peer pressure happens," Grandma Mary told her.
Violet sniffled.
"And Violet, it would be different if you came home drunk or something that would have been a lot worse. But you only had one drink," I consoled her.
She was making it a lot worse than it needed to be. Someone in recovery for a year was still an infant in many aspects.
"I'm just not proud and I guess everyone makes mistakes. But all I've ever done is make mistakes," Violet commented.
"Oh my god no Violet don't say that. This is just a little setback in your recovery," I remarked.
"Yeah Violet, sweetheart, it's not like you died or something. You are still one hundred times better than last year at this time," Grandma Mary told her.
Violet sighed.
"Well I mean yeah I suppose so," Violet told me.
I smiled at her.
"Yes, Violet. We are still here for you. Every step of the way," I told her.
"Yes Violet," Grandma Mary told her.
And it truly was a one-time thing. The next day at AA, she told her story. No one judged her for what had happened. Mostly, people wanted to yell at the man Violet trusted to go out on a date with. He was rude and inconsiderate.
After the AA meeting, as always, Andy called for our weekly call. Well, I called it our weekly call. He called me every Thursday night.
"You're telling me you never ever saw my brothers perform?" Andy commented.
Our conversation turned to concerts and shows. He was shocked to know I never ever got to see him or his brothers live. (Well of course I saw Andy not that long ago at that one show he did).
"Yes, Andrew I never have," I replied chuckling.
"Well, we need to change that. However, the only thing is my brothers aren't really doing concerts at the moment," Andy remarked.
"It's okay Andy I mean I'm sure one day I'll get to see them maybe," I told him.
"Well you could always fly out to Florida with me to meet them," Andy told me.
I nearly choked on my tea.
"Fly out to Florida?" I asked confused.
"Well you are a friend of mine, aren't you?" Andy asked me.
"Well yes I mean of course Andy," I replied.
"So wouldn't you like to Florida with me in the near future? I mean you've already met my parents and sister so," Andy remarked back.
Florida? He wanted me to go to Florida and meet his brothers. We weren't dating.
"I mean of course Andy I would love to meet your brothers," I told him.
You could tell he was smiling before even replying. He was like a little puppy still.
"D-did you say yes?" Andy asked.
"I think I did," I told him chuckling.
"Okay good good," Andy replied.
"You're smiling aren't you?" I asked him.
"H-how did you know?" Andy asked chuckling.
"I can hear it in your voice," I told him.
"You are like a psychic," he commented.
"Well yeah maybe," I chuckled.
"So when do you think you'll be able to go to Florida? I mean I know you work for a living technically but also I know you worry about Violet," Andy replied after a second.
I sighed.
"Well, I could see if I could take a few days off towards March. Early April," I told him.
"Okay I won't complain about that," he told me.
"Speaking of March, when's your birthday?" I asked him randomly.
It was only February but of course, I wanted to do something special for him. This was a year into his healing process just like Violet.
"My birthday? Oh, it's March 5th," Andy replied.
"You're a Pisces?" I commented.
"Yeah. When's your birthday?" Andy asked as a follow-up.
"March 15th," I told him.
"A Pisces, too?" Andy replied.
"Yes," I replied.
"I didn't know our birthdays were so close," he told me.
"Yeah I mean I didn't know that either," I chuckled.
"I won't forget your birthday I promise," he told me.
I smiled as if he could see it.
"I won't forget yours either Andy," I told him.
"I think this year I'm more happy for my birthday than last year," Andy commented.
"I can only imagine Andy," I told him as I stifled a yawn.
It'll be a beautiful birthday for Andy. I made that promise to myself and the universe.