Chapter 28
When I picked up Garrett for the weekend, I forced myself to put that creep out of my head. There was more on my mind than August's dumb games.
Despite settling things with my sweet landlord, there was still a level of uneasiness. There was still the knowledge of what happened – that I kissed a man I wasn't allowed to be with. It made me feel extremely guilty; I picked to have a moment of vulnerability over my kids. So, my guilt fueled me to have a fun-filled weekend and show Garrett how much I loved him. And it started Saturday morning with a big breakfast.
Once our large chocolate-chip pancake breakfast was devoured, my son was in for a surprise. I told him to get his swim trunks on and wait by the door. He was immediately bouncing with excitement, already guessing it was going to be a beach day. He wasn't exactly wrong.
Wearing my yellow and purple striped bikini, I put my cover-up on and flip flops. "Ready?" I asked, opening the door with the bag of sunblock and towels.
"Heck yes I am mom!" he said, running out to the car. He jumped in the backseat and slammed the car door closed.
Stepping out and locking the house under the intense sun, I smiled slyly. He had to be sweating bullets already in that hot car. Walking down the driveway, I opened the car door. "I thought you hated saunas?"
"I do! So hurry up, get in, and start the air before I suffocate," he said, putting his hands dramatically up to his neck.
"Dummy, we aren't driving anywhere. Get out of the car."
"What? Why?" he whined, hopping out of the car with sagging shoulders.
"We're walking to the beach," I chuckled, heading towards the road.
"That's going to take forever! And you hate walking."
I turned around to him. "It's not a far walk. We aren't going to the beach we usually go to. Now, would you hurry up before we die under the sun from suffocation," I said, mocking him by clutching my throat too.
He looked at me, surprised, but he quickly reached my side. We headed down the gravel road towards the boat launch, then turned left down the grassy bank. The intense heat was already making us sweat – but it was worth it to see how puzzled Garrett was. It made me smile. That's right, I am the cool parent; I have surprises and fun around every corner. I even packed a squirt gun to ambush him with later.
With the sound of our pattering flip-flops and breeze, we passed Blake's dock, going further down. Soon, we reached a section of sand between the grass and water. It wasn't a huge area; not a beach by my definition. But it would pass under Garrett's definition and that's all that mattered.
When that was where I dropped our beach bag, Garrett was confused. "Why did we stop here?"
"This is where we are swimming."
"You're going to swim? Here?"
The amount of surprise and confusion was a little sad. Was I really that predictable and prissy? To be fair, at the beginning of summer, I flat out refused to go in this water. "I was thinking about it... I don't know, it does look a little gross for me," I said, looking around me in distaste like he expected. Then, I whipped my cover-up off and sprinted into the water. Fuck, cold, cold, cold! God, I hated how cold it was! But knowing Garrett was not expecting this, I dove down into the water once it was thigh-deep.
Surfacing, I noticed he was staring at me, stunned. Then, he charged into the water after me, all excited. Squealing from the cold, he dove under too, and reached me. "Mom, I can't believe you did that!"
"Well, be ready little man. I could swim in this water all day!" Then, grabbing him, I started tickling and wrestling him, throwing water at him as he did the same thing back. I quickly and purposefully paused though with a gasp. "Oh, I forgot."
"What?"
"I'm allowed to swim out here. But you—"
"Mom, I'm not trespassing," he said with begging eyes, wading towards me in the shallow water. "Please, just this once, I don't want any sunblock!"
"Nope, you're trespassing until you go put on that sunblock. Let's go," I said, following him up the beach with a smirk. "You think I'm going to let the beach police arrest me? Just because you don't want to wear sunblock?"
After I put sunblock on him, he raced back off into the water. This time, I followed him with my hidden squirt-gun. And just when he felt safe to swim... I ambushed him, squirting him in the face unexpectedly. He laughed and gasped, surprised. His little face lit up with that hyper excited smile. "You have a squirt-gun?!"
In answer, I kept squirting him with water. Over and over. I didn't stop, even as he rushed towards me through the water. It was up to his chest by the time he threw himself at me, making me laugh as we both went under. He still wasn't the best swimmer, so I was careful to make sure he was able to touch the bottom.
He sprung up and tried wrestling the squirt-gun from me, splashing me, causing us both to laugh. Then, somehow, he pulled it off. He swiped the gun from me in a laughing fit and swam away under the water. Resurfacing, he laughed and waved the toy he stole.
Nearing him, I said, "Fork it over. Or... I might have to take you out to where the sea-monster lives."
"No, mom, no," he laughed, trying to get away.
"Yup!"
It was cute when I caught up and trapped him in my arms. Unable to break free, he heaved a deep sigh and gave up the gun to me. "Here. It's not worth the sea-monster."
"Good." Immediately, I started squirting him again, continuing the water war.
So yes, to say the least, it ended up being a great day at the beach. We swam, played games, made sandcastles, and went rock hunting. Connor loved collecting rocks, and since he was in the hospital, we found a couple neat ones we could give him. Even when we got home, I wasn't done with the surprises. Still soaking wet, I pulled out part two of the water fun: a slip-and-slide! I picked it up a few days ago, and Garrett flipped out when I set it up in the back yard.
Hooking the hose up to it, multiple streams of water shot out on each side of the long blue plastic mat, pooling at the end. Garrett didn't wait, running and sliding on his stomach, laughing in glee.
"Wow! It's even better than on TV!" he exclaimed, getting up and racing back to the start to do it again.
He was having so much fun, I didn't even need to do it with him (which was a nice break). Sitting out and watching him, drying off under the sun, it was satisfying to see how much of a blast he was having. Even after his new summer sport exhausted him, we weren't done with surprises. After drying off, we went out to dinner, then came home to the last surprise of the day: a monster truck board game. It was as stupid as it sounded, but Garrett's been wanting it for a while, and we had fun playing it.
Though I hated seeing my son go, when Matt picked him up the next day, I felt proud. Seeing his father get out of the car, Garrett bounded out the door. "Dad! Dad, you would not believe all we did!" he called, running into his dad's arms.
With a smile, Matt grunted with the impact and wrapped his arms around him. "Oh yeah?"
"Yeah! It was awesome," he said in a dramatic voice. He starting rambling on and on about this weekend to him. I had to hide a cocky smile as I walked out the door with Garrett's things. Matt listened and nodded patiently as I put Garrett's things in the car. That's right Matt; I'm a fun and spontaneous mom when I wanted to be.
"Sounds like an awesome time, kiddo," he said as he opened the back door for him.
Hopping in the car, he looked to me with a grin. "It was!"
Smiling, I stepped closer to the open door. "Good. Now, you be good for your dad and grandma, okay?" Bending slightly into the car, I gave him a hug and kiss, trying to ignore the weekly pain in my chest.
"Okay, mom."
Stepping back, Matt shut the door, then nonchalantly glanced to the house next door. "How is everything?"
"Weird and creepy. Just waiting to see what else August is planning to do," I said, turning to head back up to the house.
"Hang in there," he said as he got in his car and left.
How reassuring. Walking up the driveway, I sighed, already missing my son. However, a sound caught my attention. It was Blake's truck door slamming shut. Glancing behind me, I noticed he got out of his truck and headed up to his house without glancing to me. He must have just gotten home – and probably witnessed that whole exchange between Matt and I. That whole two second, bland, and boring exchange between a 'couple' who is 'trying to work it out.'
Well, I wouldn't be surprised if that made him a little suspicious. Little did I know that was the least of my concerns.
***
Irene and I were on our way to my AA meeting. Picking her up (and making it clear she was not allowed to roll the windows down), I made the mistake of telling her the latest project my landlord gave me. It made her so excited, she wouldn't shut up about it. I guess I couldn't blame her. She's been trying to get me to paint again for ages.
"Have you painted yet? Was it as easy or any different?" she asked, beaming with a grin.
"Yesterday was the first day. Surprisingly, it was just as easy and came naturally, and I really didn't think it would," I said pleasingly with a nod.
That's right, I finally painted. It was... a weird but relieving return to the past. I was nervous I wouldn't be as good, nervous my mind would wander too much, but it was relaxing. Sure, my worries and stressors occurred to me, but it was surprisingly more of an escape. And I started bright and early at seven yesterday morning.
I set up my little 'art studio' in the kitchen next to the sliding glass window. And when I started painting, I didn't stop until I was done. My hand recalled the movements and dance with the brushes, the techniques and all the tricks. By noon, I finished the painting – and I was really happy with it. It was fulfilling, being able to create something – and be proud of it. When Blake came by to see it after work, he was just as thrilled as me by it. I still didn't understand why, but he bought it off me too like he said he would. It will continue to drive me crazy, not knowing what he was planning to do with all these paintings. I won't complain though. I unexpectedly enjoyed it and was making bank.
"So what did you paint? Just city stuff again?"
"Yeah. It was an aerial view of a few buildings, factories, and parking lots. Just the stuff I always do. Not sure if I can manage doing anything else," I said, turning into the parking lot of the familiar boring building. "But I don't mind; it was still really fun."
Parking and getting out, I felt the anxiety slowly creep into my system. Coming here weekly helped calm the intensity of my nervousness, but it still was a shitty reminder of my past – and not to mention, a waste of time. However, this wasn't going to be the usual boring drag I expected. Today, this place taught me it was possible to feel even more miserable at an AA meeting. And it started a few moments after we sat down in the circle of people.
Every chair in the circle was almost occupied by the time we took our seats. Soft chatter echoed in the large room as everyone was getting settled. Setting her gaudy yellow purse under her chair, Irene said, "So when do you think you're finally going to open up? About anything?"
Sighing, I crossed one leg over the other. "I don't know. Never."
"If I were you, I'd stay after and talk to Mr. Sexy," she said, watching as our meeting leader, Clive, entered the room. My sister clearly didn't get out enough to lay eyes on a decently attractive man. "Pour your heart out and take him home."
"I'd pay to see you give that a whirl," I scoffed, glancing over to see Clive take a seat – and in the process, someone else caught my attention. Someone that made me immediately sit up straight and drop my relaxed leg.
August was sitting directly across from me.
Yes, August. What the fuck was he doing here?! Stomach dropping, I just stared at him for a long second. Short dark brown hair framing his long face, the middle age asshole was relaxed back in his chair. His eyes casually met mine – like he didn't even know me! Clive started the weekly introduction, making everyone, including the psycho, look to him.
"Irene," I hissed under my breath.
"What?" she asked, leaning towards me.
Stiff in my seat, l scowled at the ground. "Look who's fucking here."
A moment later, I knew she spotted the AA poser. From my side-vision, she slumped back into her chair and cupped her mouth. "Oh my god, what... in... the hell?" she muffled, trying to contain herself. I knew the feeling. I was tempted to get up and walk out.
I wasn't the only one who noticed August. Clive directed everyone's attention to the newbie. "I also see we have a few face this week. Welcome. Would you like to introduce yourself and share what brought you here, today?"
August nodded to Clive a few chairs down. "Um, sure." He looked around the circle. "Um, hi everyone, I'm August. I'm not sure I'm ready for this, but figure I need to take some kind of action because my drinking is getting out of hand."
"I feel all of us can relate to that," Clive said thoughtfully. "Even if you aren't ready though, I hope you know coming here was the right choice. So, August, what do you consider to be the final component that led you to realizing your drinking was getting out of hand?"
"There is a lot to it, and it's kind of complicated." Then, he pointedly looked right at me.
'Complicated' was an understatement! August being here was no coincidence. He wasn't an alcoholic, he was here for me. But why? What was his motive?! Frozen in place, all I could do was watch this unfold before me.
"If you don't wish to share, it's alright. Group work like this can seem weird or awkward, but it can help you broaden your perspective. We are all here to listen and help."
Pausing for a moment (as if considering Clive's words), he took a deep breath. "I'll share. It's somewhat of a long story," he said, straightening his tall form, eyes flickering back to mine. "So... there are a few things I've been struggling with for a long while. My wife left me. I lost her, my daughter, I lost my home, and I lost my business. Everything just went to hell and the only time I felt good was when I would drink. But it didn't get out of control until recently." Pausing, he took a deep breath (as if his 'narrative' was difficult to share). "Not long ago, I started a new job, and I figured this new job would help me. But the stress is unimaginable. My job is to basically guard and monitor a young woman. I have to keep an eye on her, her surroundings, and what she does throughout her daily life."
I didn't realize he took over Sid's stalking job. Jesus, I needed a cigarette. I would have definitely lit up if I didn't already get scolded for it in the past. I was not ready for this. Stiff in my chair, I stared intently at the man. He continued his weird story, very often glancing to me.
"This girl, she did some pretty disturbing things in her past. She upset a great deal of people. There's a few instances she went so far, that it destroyed people's lives. So, I was hired to monitor her and protect her, to make sure nothing happens to her."
Clive tapped his chin, intrigued. "She has people wanting to cause her harm?"
"Oh yes," he said, eyes lingering on me. "One man in particular is set on ruining her. He's done a few things to scare her, but I fear it could get much worse. Much worse," he stressed. "She just doesn't realize how much danger she is in – and I really wish she would. I would hate to see anything tragic happen to her."
His veiled threats made my heart race. What was he planning on doing to me? How much worse? All I wanted to do was get up and leave, but his words nailed me to my seat.
"Wow. That is stressful. To have a girl's safety at stake, that's a lot of pressure, a lot on your shoulders. To break alcoholism, stress of that magnitude is the last thing you need."
"Thing is, there isn't much I can do about it. I can't ensure she stays safe. She's got to be the one to make smarter choices in her life."
"The police can't get involved? What about a restraining order maybe...?"
"Believe me, we've tried those things. It won't make this guy stop harassing her – and it will continue to get worse for her. Until her life is as miserable as his," he said, shifting in his seat, eyes finding mine. This time, almost smugly. "Until her life is essentially ruined."
"There is nothing she can do about this? Nothing at all to stop it?" I asked, a little too aggressively.
Interjecting myself made everyone look at me, but I couldn't help myself. He was making his message very clear. His harassment would escalate to a scary level I didn't want to face. But there must be something he wanted from me, right? Why else was he here?
Pursing his lips, propping his arms on his legs, August focused only on me now. "I'm sure there's something, but she's a stubborn young woman. She doesn't like acknowledging her past mistakes or trying to right the wrong."
Question was, what exactly did he want? How could I right the wrong? He was right; I was stubborn. Whatever he wanted, I'm sure it would somehow hurt me or expose me – and I wasn't sure if I could handle that. Regardless, I wanted to know what options I had. "Let's say she sucks up her pride. What do you think it would take?"
He considered my words for a moment, searching my eyes. "I don't know how she would resolve it. But I think she should at least try to talk or communicate with the man she wronged. See what he wants."
Ugh, the last thing I wanted was to talk to August; it was hard enough right now! This was the first time talking to him since it all happened, and currently, the air moving through my nose was fast and uneven. It was hard staying stern and composed, and I wasn't sure if I could mirror this in a private chat with him. The man unnerved me, filled me with emotions I didn't want to face, and filled me with memories I wanted to forget.
However, that was the message I received, and nothing more. Clive continued talking to him about how he could relieve his stress, how he should go about his drinking issue... blah, blah, blah. Now that August said what he needed to me, he wrapped up his fake story and allowed the meeting to progress. The whole time though, I obviously couldn't focus or relax.
August made things clear. If I didn't want things getting worse, I needed to talk to him. The thought made me anxious, scared, and almost sick. But I believed him; things would get worse.
So, later that night before bed, I said fuck it. I left my house, walked next door, and held my breath when I knocked on August's front door.
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Hey guys, hope you enjoyed this chapter - and this interesting turn. How do you think their chat is going to go? Thank you for your support! Keep reading (I'm sure you have more time with what's going on :P )
I hope everyone is doing well right now. This virus is affecting everyone - including myself. I am not at work for 2 weeks at least and am going to try to write as much as possible, which is awesome. Though I'm not getting paid, I'm looking at it like a little writing vacation. Anyway, stay strong guys! Dive into the world of stories and get lost because now is the time. Thank you for reading and your support! I appreciate you guys :)