The Drunk Logs (9 page)

I noticed that he’d started to smell a little ripe that day and still wore the same clothes that he came in with, except for the new pair of pants he exchanged for the soiled ones.

“Well, Barry Eugene, here is your stop. I’ve got to go over there. Maybe we’ll see each other later?”

I took a few steps, leaned against the wall, and waited for the nurse to scream, while I watched Barry Eugene and wondered how he was going to try to finagle his way home this time.

He hobbled up to the nurses’ station, looking like prey in the wild, alert but paranoid of the people and surroundings. He received no response from the nurse who sat behind the desk wall or even the nurses who roamed around in the background, so he banged his hand on the front desk and said, “I’m Barry Eugene and I’m ready to go home.”

The startled nurse seemed to struggle to stay calm. “Now Barry Eugene, how many times have we told you that your wife will not release you until you complete the entire program?”

I stared, and wondered what would happen next.

“She has no legal authority over me, and I said I am ready to go home.” He banged again on the desk wall, which forced the nurse to call over the intercom.

“Security, please come to the nurses’ station.”

Within seconds, Carl grabbed Barry Eugene by the arm and forced him into the nurses’ station away from the general population. Inside, Carl pushed him down into a chair and verbally disciplined him, but the conversation was inaudible. Carl clearly had had enough.

“Next,” Molly said behind the half-door.

I looked over and smiled. “It seems that you’re the only one who takes care of me.”

“Only the best for you, Matt. Come on in,” she said as she opened the door and pointed to the chair.

She ripped the Velcro, slid the blood pressure belt on, and pushed the start button; the motor hummed as the belt tightened.

“So, how has your stay been so far?” she asked.

“Pretty good. I’ve met some nice people and I’m tolerating Barry Eugene.”

“Yeah, I don’t understand that man. He keeps asking everyone who works here when he’s going home, but we keep telling him he needs to get permission from his wife first.”

“Yeah, but can’t he leave anytime he wants?”

“Sure. But there is a restraining order against him from his wife. Domestic violence or something. That’s why we keep him here. She doesn’t want to send him to prison. Like the other day, we found him on the second floor in a counselor’s office trying to use the phone. It’s like he has no concept of where he is or the help we’re trying to give him.”

I began to wonder why Molly relinquished so much information about patients, considering there was confidentiality among all individuals inside the center. I found out later that there was an unwritten Vegas style rule here. What happens at the center stays at the center.
Besides that, who in their right mind would want anyone to know they were here
, I thought.

The blood pressure monitor beeped and the belt deflated. Molly pulled it off and checked the readings.

“Good, your blood pressure is down, quite a bit, but we need to get approval from the doctor before we release you from detox.”

I was ecstatic.
But I need to pass that tremor test,
I thought.

“So why don’t they take him to a nursing home?”

“More than likely, they will in the end. And to think he’s only fifty-five and already has wet brain.” Molly positioned herself in front of me. “Okay, raise your arms out front.”

I held my arms out straight, but refused to look at my hands.

“So what exactly is wet brain?”

Molly stared and held my hands gently in the palm of her hand.

“It’s when your brain turns to mush from too much alcohol or drugs. You lose control of your bodily functions, you think and do things irrationally, and you shuffle your feet like an elderly person. Basically, your body is shutting down and you need twenty-four hour care. You can lower your arms.”

“Fifty-five years old and he looks like he’s seventy?” I said, stunned.

“You can lower your arms now, Matt,” she repeated, as she looked up from her clipboard. “Your tremors are at a minimum now, which is good, and the swelling in your face definitely looks like it has gone down. In fact, it’s healing quite nicely.”

She walked over to the medicine cabinet and pulled my medication. “Here you go, Matt,” she said as she handed me a cup of pills and a cup of water. “The doctor will be in tomorrow, so he’ll see you before noon. You’ll have time to get some breakfast, but make sure you’re in your room after that.”

I swallowed the pills and drank the water with one hand.
The tremors had gone down
, I thought.

“Can I go now?”

“Sure, unless you want to sit in here all day and help me with the other patients?”

“No, thanks,” I said, grinning as I proceeded out the door.

I walked past the nurses’ station and looked to see if Barry Eugene was still inside, but there was no sign of him.
Maybe they finally released the old fool like he wanted
, I thought.

“Have one for me, Barry Eugene, because that’s what they call you,” I said as I giggled.

I was glad to see that there was no sign of Barry Eugene inside the room, as I walked over to my nightstand and opened the folder given to me when I first arrived. I could still smell the hypnotic perfume from Sarah on the front cover. Inside was the schedule for the entire week, from wakeup, to meals, to classes and extracurricular activities, to lights out. From the clock on the wall I noticed that I was already ten minutes late for one of the lectures, so I grabbed a notepad and pen from the desk, and scampered down the hall.

The room was completely dark as I slowly opened the creaking door, while a movie played on the screen. I tiptoed in, shut the door quietly behind me, and sat at the first available spot that was open. As I slid into an aisle, I kicked a cane that lay on the floor. Turned out, the cane belonged to Father Tom.

“Sorry, Father Tom,” I whispered, as I looked around to see if I had woken anyone.

Father Tom bent over, grunted, and picked up his cane. “No harm, I shouldn’t have had it on the floor anyway.”

Still excited that I might be leaving detox the next day, I pretended to watch the movie, but my attention was soon diverted over to Father Tom who breathed extremely heavy. Eyes closed with a hand that supported his head, he sat quietly in his own slumber.
Apparently Bobby was right
, I thought. They shouldn’t show movies after a large meal; I wondered if one of the snoring people in the distance was him.

My eyes become heavy as the monotone voice of the speaker forced my head to bob up and down. I copied Father Tom’s example and rested my head on my hand; a little nap wouldn’t hurt, I thought. As sleep began to close my eyes, something hit my shoulder. I didn’t pay particular attention, and tried to go back to sleep. I took a deep breath and shifted in my chair to get comfortable, when something struck me in the back of the head. Irritated, I spun around, and looked for the culprit through the shadowed darkness, where I noticed Victoria as she smiled and waved.

What the hell is wrong with her?
I thought, as I turned my back.

“I think she might like you,” Father Tom whispered with his eyes still shut.

“How do you know? Your eyes are closed.”

“I’ve been here for twenty-four days, Matt, and I don’t need to open them in order to see what’s going on in here.”

Father Tom switched hands and fell back asleep. I tried to do the same.

It seemed to be a second’s sleep as the lights broke in the darkness, followed by the shuffle of patients as they exited.

“Well, look at these two love birds, just like Siegfried and Roy,” Jack Jack said as he laughed.

Father Tom began to lick his dry, cracked lips and opened his weary eyes. “Those without sin should cast the first stone, Jack Jack.”

Everyone smirked as the smile quickly vanished from Jack Jack’s face.

“Come on, everybody, move,” Sam said as he motioned everyone forward.

Still next to Father Tom, I glanced over his schedule and noticed there were a few hours before dinner, so I decided to go to my room and get some sleep.

Barry Eugene was asleep in his own bed as I closed the door half-way, quietly walked into the room, and hoped not to wake him, when the intercom screamed from the hallway, causing him to rustle and fart as he moved. I stopped dead in my tracks and waited for him to lie still, when the door creaked behind me. I turned and saw Victoria in the doorway.

“You want to go for a walk?” she whispered.

“No, I want to get some sleep.” I mouthed the words.

“I’ll see you later then.”

I proceeded to my bed, and heard the door close behind me. As I floated to my pillow, my breathing became long and shallow and the strength in my muscles evaporated through my skin as my body deflated. I welcomed the darkness and what it brought, as the back of my eyelids sparkled like the night sky.

Chapter 5

With a long yawn, I awoke, thankful for the amount of rest I had been given. Even Barry Eugene, whose bed was empty, was kind enough to let me sleep. It was 5:15 p.m. and I was only late for dinner by fifteen minutes. I stood and tried to shake out my cramped muscles, wandered over to the mirror on the wall, and stared at my face. The swelling had gone down and the black and purple color seemed to be fading. I poked around my eye and felt it was still tender.
That part might take a little longer to heal
, I thought.

I exited into the hall and listened to the clatter that came from the cafeteria, which sounded like it had a full house.
But then it was always a full house here
, I thought.

There wasn’t a line in the cafeteria, only patients going up for seconds. As I came back around, I found my friends as they pointed to a seat they had opened for me. I grabbed a tray and felt confident that I’d be able to eat much more than at lunch, until they handed me a plate of a roast beef sandwich dripping with gravy and cream of corn. The smell rose up and into my nostrils, before I had time to turn away. I began to get queasy, but remembered what the doctor said and grabbed a small carton of chocolate milk to settle my stomach on my way over to the table.

“So did you get some sleep like most of us?” Sam asked.

“Yes, finally…ever since I got here, they’ve been taking my vitals or giving me pills. With that and having to deal with Barry Eugene, I’m lucky to get any sleep at all.”

I sat down and noticed that everyone was almost done eating.

“Who’s your roommate?” Sam asked.

“Barry Eugene.”

Sam choked a little on his food and covered his mouth while he chuckled.

“Sorry, I forgot,” he said.

Jack Jack saw an opportunity and cleared his throat to tell a story.

“Hell, remember the one that Bobby had when he first came here?”

“This is a good one,” said Father Tom as he wiped the gravy from his beard.

“Well Bobby comes in here all high on, what was it? Oh yeah, coke, booze, and weed. Anyway, they put him on a bunch of stuff to bring him down and shoved him off into his room. His roommate was this sloppy, heavyset guy who snored constantly and was always tossing and turning all night. Now you saw that the beds have wheels on them right?”

“Yes,” I said as I lowered my small carton of chocolate milk.

“Well Bobby, since he’s all drugged up, fell asleep, and when he woke up, his roommate was lying right next to him snoring in his ear. Since he was tossing and turning all night, it made the bed slide all the way over to Bobby’s side.”

Everyone laughed except Bobby.

“Tell him the best part, Jack Jack,” Bobby said, disgusted.

“I will, Bobby. Well, along comes Carl to do his normal wake up call and sees both of them lying together. So, he looked at Bobby and in his feminine voice says, ‘well apparently being sober has its advantages.’ Bobby freaked out and it took Carl and a couple of nurses to finally calm him down.”

Immediately, I felt a presence behind me as the entire table stopped laughing. I became apprehensive from turning around just from the expressions on my friends faces.

“Why is it that I cannot have a meaningful, intelligent conversation with you gentlemen every time we meet? Instead, it is usually a certain individual’s lack of civility and manners to the individuals around them, that prevents the group’s growth.” The figure said. “Furthermore, it puzzles me, that with my extensive education and professional experience, I do not comprehend why a ‘Father’ would even participate with such an individual. For how quickly some are drawn into the good times this person has to offer.”

Startled, I felt the touch of a stiff hand on my shoulder. I looked at Jack Jack for help, but none was given. He was more concerned to stand his ground.

“Patients are here to receive help to combat their afflictions, and we at the hospital frown on anyone who does not complete the program in its entirety. It will pain the institution for me to brandish my authority and revoke your care here. But, I need to be concerned about the individuals who are sincerely seeking help and release the bad ones from spreading their disease. Furthermore, if any one is released from this institution without our written successful completion, the insurance companies will want their money back…and they will not be asking us.”

Nothing was said as the presence of the figure vanished and their blank expressions were the only things left.

“Screw Lyedecker, my father pays for everything,” Jack Jack said.

Sam threw his napkin on his tray. “Yeah, but the rest of us aren’t as lucky as you. So, let’s just cool it for a while and not give him any reasons.”

“He’s just bluffing, you guys. He’s not going to do anything. I mean, come on, all we’re doing is telling a story and getting a little loud.”

Meanwhile, I realized that through all of the commotion, I had eaten all of my dinner. Content, I decided to treat myself to an after-dinner cigarette and left, unconcerned with the soap opera that had played in front of me. The others followed, to Jack Jack’s apparent surprise.