They heard Ryan coming in around 6:30. They were still eating dinner when
he came in. Seth wasn't sure, but he thought he heard Ryan bump into
something and then mumble under his breath.
God, Seth thought, please do not let Ryan still be drunk. He knew, however, the second he saw Ryan, that he still was. He watched as Ryan walked into the den and right into the side of the chair.
"Oops, sorry," Ryan mumbled.
"Hey, I'm home," he shouted as he walked into the kitchen.
"We can see that," Kirsten answered, and she wasn't too happy to see the condition Ryan was home in.
"So, what'd you guys do?" Sandy asked, although just by looking at Ryan, it was pretty obvious what they had been doing.
"Not much," Ryan answered as he walked into the kitchen chair. "Oops, sorry," he mumbled again.
"Would you like to sit down and join us?" Kirsten asked as she pointed to the chair Ryan had just bumped into.
Ryan shook his head,
"Nay, didn't Seth tell you, we went to that diner for dinner."
Sandy asked, "What diner?"
Ryan thought for a second and then said,
"Uh, I don't remember the name. You know the one, Seth, on the pier. The one where I punched out Luke this summer."
"Is that all you guys did?" Sandy asked, only slightly amused.
"Nope. We went there after the batting cages." Ryan answered.
"Batting cages?" Kirsten asked.
"Yah, batting cages. Loser paid for dinner, and that was Chip."
"Chip?" Kirsten was not the least bit amused.
"Yah, Chip," Ryan answered, "Man, he really sucks!"
"Sucks?" Sandy repeated.
Seth just hung his head. This was probably the first time he really wanted Ryan to just shut up. He was really digging himself into a hole. A big, big hole, Seth thought.
Unfortunately for Ryan, he didn't notice, and he continued to talk,
"Yah. Luke and I had this bet going. Who was the better hitter. I was really kicking his ass when Brad and Chip showed up. Lucky for Luke. Otherwise, Luke was paying. But Chip can't hit worth a crap. Brad wasn't that bad. Neither was Luke."
Ryan was really very animated when he talked, so much so that Kirsten said to him,
"Would you like to sit down for desert then, and you can tell us more about your day"
"Really, I'm full. We chowed. Food's really not bad there, especially with Chip paying," and then Ryan laughed, at his own joke.
"So, you guys hung out at the batting cages and at the diner. Is that it?" Sandy asked. He was still trying to figure out when and where Ryan and Luke would have been able to drink.
Ryan nodded and said, "Yah. After Luke's father's boat. We took that out and hung out for a while. It's a nice boat."
So that's where they were drinking, Sandy thought.
"Ok. So you guys went out on Luke's father's boat, then to the batting cages and then the diner. Any thing else?"
"Nope," Ryan answered, "That's it. No fights," and Ryan laughed again.
"We're supposed to go again next weekend. Chip wants another shot, when he says we're all so... oh."
Then Ryan realized it. This wasn't small talk anymore. He needed to shut up. He looked over at Seth, who just shook his head.
Kirsten asked, "When you're all so what?"
Come on, Ryan, she thought, say it. Say when you're sober, I dare you!
Ryan started to fidget with the back of the chair and said,
"Um, so back in school. Uh, yah, you know, I go back to school tomorrow. I better go and get ready. Ok?"
"Speaking of which," Sandy reminded him, "You need to be ready early tomorrow. We need to meet with Dr. Kim first before school starts so we have to leave here by 7:15. You'll need to be up early." And lots of luck there, Sandy thought.
Ryan just made a face and mumbled,
"Dr. Kim. Dr. Stick-up-her-ass, crack-her-face-if-she-smiled Kim!" and then turned to Sandy and said,
"Ok, can't wait! Good night."
And with that, Ryan attempted to walk out the door. Except he forgot, the door opens in, not out, so he walked into it instead.
"Oops, sorry. Opens this way." he mumbled as he pulled it open and walked out towards the pool house.
Sandy watched him leave and said,
"Well, that was interesting..."
Kirsten found it anything but interesting,
"I can not believe it! I can't believe he's drunk!" Turning to Seth she demanded,
"Did you know about this? When you talked to him earlier, did you know he was drunk?"
"Ah," Seth lied, "I just thought that maybe he was in a really good mood."
"Oh, I'd say he was in a real good mood!" Kirsten continued, "I knew it. I knew hanging out with Luke Ward was a bad idea. I still can not believe that he's drunk!"
"I guess maybe I should have said no when he asked if he could hang out with Luke," Sandy said.
"Well, I hope he enjoyed himself," Kirsten said, "Because it's going to be a really, really long time before he'll be allowed to enjoy himself again!"
"Kirsten," Sandy said, trying to calm her down, "I don't think we should make that big a deal out of this."
"You mean you approve of this?" Kirsten said, pointing towards the pool house.
"Of his drinking, getting drunk? Especially with his families' history!"
"No, of course not," Sandy told her, "But think about it, even with a family history of alcoholism, this is the first time we have ever seen him drunk. The few times that we know of where he has had something to drink, he's never gotten drunk. This time, he went out with friends, acted foolish and had too much to drink. He's 16.."
"That's right, he's 16," Kirsten interrupted, "He is not old enough to drink."
Seth, who had been quietly watching his parent's debate asked Kirsten,
"You mean, you never drank when you were 16 or 17?"
Kirsten looked at Seth and told him,
"And when I was caught, I was punished." And then turned to Sandy and said,
"He needs to know that at 16 he cannot go out and get drunk with friends. That we do not approve of it, and we will not tolerate it!"
"Kirsten," Sandy explained, " I agree with you that this was not an acceptable way to spend a Sunday, and I'll talk to him. I'll make sure he knows that we do not condone this kind of behavior, but I think we should give him a chance to explain what happened before we decide to punish him again. If it appears that this is a one time incident, then maybe we can let it slide with a warning that if it does happen again, he will be punished."
"In all honesty," Sandy continued, "I'm kind of glad to see that he can blow off some steam without getting into a fight, and that he has been able to make some more friends in Newport."
"Luke, Chip and Brad?" Kirsten snorted, "The same three who beat him and Seth up the first night Ryan was here? The same three who jumped him a couple of nights later at the Model Home, and who almost let him die in the fire? Those are the three you want him to be friends with?"
Sandy shrugged and said, "Well, not best friends. But better friends then enemies. At least this way, they aren't beating each other up!"
"When are you going to talk to him?" Kirsten asked.
"Not tonight," Sandy laughed, "I don't think he'd hear too much of what I have to say tonight!" Kirsten just shot him a look so he continued,
"Look, I have to sit him down and talk to him tomorrow about Dr. Colefield. It'll just be a longer talk, that's all. He'll answer for today, I promise."
"Who's Dr. Colefield?" Seth asked.
Sandy looked at him and explained,
"Dr. Janet Colefield. She's a therapist who specializes in helping foster kids. Rachel from my office knows her and says she's really good. I'm going to call her in the morning to see how quickly I can set up an appointment for Ryan."
"You think Ryan'll go?" Seth asked.
Sandy nodded and said, "He said he would. But that's why I want to set up the appointment for as soon as possible, before he can change his mind, and we end up having to drag him there."
Seth took it all in for a minute before asking,
"And you're going to tell him tomorrow? In the morning or the afternoon?"
Sandy looked at Seth, wondering what he was getting at,
"Afternoon, after school," he said, "I want to talk to Dr. Colefield first. Set everything up and then sit him down and talk to him. Why?"
Seth shrugged and said,
"No real reason. Just want to make sure I'm not here, that's all." Then as he pushed back his chair, Seth continued,
"I think I'll go see how he's doing."
"No. Don't." Kirsten stopped him, "Just leave him alone tonight. Maybe he'll sleep it off if we all just leave him alone. He doesn't need to see Dr. Kim in the morning with a hangover, although it would serve him right. But I don't need to see Dr. Kim in the morning with Ryan having a hangover!"
A little while later, Kirsten went out to check on Ryan, despite what she told Seth and Sandy. She found him laying on top of his bed, wearing only a tee shirt and boxers and holding his history book. He was sound asleep. Kirsten couldn't help but smile. Only Ryan, she thought, would get drunk and still try to work on his schoolwork.
Kirsten took his history book from him, and covered Ryan with his covers. She then turned and set his alarm clock for him. She knew Sandy would probably let Ryan off with a warning for today, and although she figured Sandy was probably right in doing so, she was still mad. At least this will be a rude awakening for him, she thought, as she turned the volume up on his alarm clock, really loud.
As she turned out the lights, Kirsten said,
"Good Night, Ryan"
She didn't expect him to hear her, but she heard him mumble,
"Night ma."
God, Kirsten thought as she pulled the door shut behind her, it would be nice if he said that when he wasn't drunk and half asleep.
God, Seth thought, please do not let Ryan still be drunk. He knew, however, the second he saw Ryan, that he still was. He watched as Ryan walked into the den and right into the side of the chair.
"Oops, sorry," Ryan mumbled.
"Hey, I'm home," he shouted as he walked into the kitchen.
"We can see that," Kirsten answered, and she wasn't too happy to see the condition Ryan was home in.
"So, what'd you guys do?" Sandy asked, although just by looking at Ryan, it was pretty obvious what they had been doing.
"Not much," Ryan answered as he walked into the kitchen chair. "Oops, sorry," he mumbled again.
"Would you like to sit down and join us?" Kirsten asked as she pointed to the chair Ryan had just bumped into.
Ryan shook his head,
"Nay, didn't Seth tell you, we went to that diner for dinner."
Sandy asked, "What diner?"
Ryan thought for a second and then said,
"Uh, I don't remember the name. You know the one, Seth, on the pier. The one where I punched out Luke this summer."
"Is that all you guys did?" Sandy asked, only slightly amused.
"Nope. We went there after the batting cages." Ryan answered.
"Batting cages?" Kirsten asked.
"Yah, batting cages. Loser paid for dinner, and that was Chip."
"Chip?" Kirsten was not the least bit amused.
"Yah, Chip," Ryan answered, "Man, he really sucks!"
"Sucks?" Sandy repeated.
Seth just hung his head. This was probably the first time he really wanted Ryan to just shut up. He was really digging himself into a hole. A big, big hole, Seth thought.
Unfortunately for Ryan, he didn't notice, and he continued to talk,
"Yah. Luke and I had this bet going. Who was the better hitter. I was really kicking his ass when Brad and Chip showed up. Lucky for Luke. Otherwise, Luke was paying. But Chip can't hit worth a crap. Brad wasn't that bad. Neither was Luke."
Ryan was really very animated when he talked, so much so that Kirsten said to him,
"Would you like to sit down for desert then, and you can tell us more about your day"
"Really, I'm full. We chowed. Food's really not bad there, especially with Chip paying," and then Ryan laughed, at his own joke.
"So, you guys hung out at the batting cages and at the diner. Is that it?" Sandy asked. He was still trying to figure out when and where Ryan and Luke would have been able to drink.
Ryan nodded and said, "Yah. After Luke's father's boat. We took that out and hung out for a while. It's a nice boat."
So that's where they were drinking, Sandy thought.
"Ok. So you guys went out on Luke's father's boat, then to the batting cages and then the diner. Any thing else?"
"Nope," Ryan answered, "That's it. No fights," and Ryan laughed again.
"We're supposed to go again next weekend. Chip wants another shot, when he says we're all so... oh."
Then Ryan realized it. This wasn't small talk anymore. He needed to shut up. He looked over at Seth, who just shook his head.
Kirsten asked, "When you're all so what?"
Come on, Ryan, she thought, say it. Say when you're sober, I dare you!
Ryan started to fidget with the back of the chair and said,
"Um, so back in school. Uh, yah, you know, I go back to school tomorrow. I better go and get ready. Ok?"
"Speaking of which," Sandy reminded him, "You need to be ready early tomorrow. We need to meet with Dr. Kim first before school starts so we have to leave here by 7:15. You'll need to be up early." And lots of luck there, Sandy thought.
Ryan just made a face and mumbled,
"Dr. Kim. Dr. Stick-up-her-ass, crack-her-face-if-she-smiled Kim!" and then turned to Sandy and said,
"Ok, can't wait! Good night."
And with that, Ryan attempted to walk out the door. Except he forgot, the door opens in, not out, so he walked into it instead.
"Oops, sorry. Opens this way." he mumbled as he pulled it open and walked out towards the pool house.
Sandy watched him leave and said,
"Well, that was interesting..."
Kirsten found it anything but interesting,
"I can not believe it! I can't believe he's drunk!" Turning to Seth she demanded,
"Did you know about this? When you talked to him earlier, did you know he was drunk?"
"Ah," Seth lied, "I just thought that maybe he was in a really good mood."
"Oh, I'd say he was in a real good mood!" Kirsten continued, "I knew it. I knew hanging out with Luke Ward was a bad idea. I still can not believe that he's drunk!"
"I guess maybe I should have said no when he asked if he could hang out with Luke," Sandy said.
"Well, I hope he enjoyed himself," Kirsten said, "Because it's going to be a really, really long time before he'll be allowed to enjoy himself again!"
"Kirsten," Sandy said, trying to calm her down, "I don't think we should make that big a deal out of this."
"You mean you approve of this?" Kirsten said, pointing towards the pool house.
"Of his drinking, getting drunk? Especially with his families' history!"
"No, of course not," Sandy told her, "But think about it, even with a family history of alcoholism, this is the first time we have ever seen him drunk. The few times that we know of where he has had something to drink, he's never gotten drunk. This time, he went out with friends, acted foolish and had too much to drink. He's 16.."
"That's right, he's 16," Kirsten interrupted, "He is not old enough to drink."
Seth, who had been quietly watching his parent's debate asked Kirsten,
"You mean, you never drank when you were 16 or 17?"
Kirsten looked at Seth and told him,
"And when I was caught, I was punished." And then turned to Sandy and said,
"He needs to know that at 16 he cannot go out and get drunk with friends. That we do not approve of it, and we will not tolerate it!"
"Kirsten," Sandy explained, " I agree with you that this was not an acceptable way to spend a Sunday, and I'll talk to him. I'll make sure he knows that we do not condone this kind of behavior, but I think we should give him a chance to explain what happened before we decide to punish him again. If it appears that this is a one time incident, then maybe we can let it slide with a warning that if it does happen again, he will be punished."
"In all honesty," Sandy continued, "I'm kind of glad to see that he can blow off some steam without getting into a fight, and that he has been able to make some more friends in Newport."
"Luke, Chip and Brad?" Kirsten snorted, "The same three who beat him and Seth up the first night Ryan was here? The same three who jumped him a couple of nights later at the Model Home, and who almost let him die in the fire? Those are the three you want him to be friends with?"
Sandy shrugged and said, "Well, not best friends. But better friends then enemies. At least this way, they aren't beating each other up!"
"When are you going to talk to him?" Kirsten asked.
"Not tonight," Sandy laughed, "I don't think he'd hear too much of what I have to say tonight!" Kirsten just shot him a look so he continued,
"Look, I have to sit him down and talk to him tomorrow about Dr. Colefield. It'll just be a longer talk, that's all. He'll answer for today, I promise."
"Who's Dr. Colefield?" Seth asked.
Sandy looked at him and explained,
"Dr. Janet Colefield. She's a therapist who specializes in helping foster kids. Rachel from my office knows her and says she's really good. I'm going to call her in the morning to see how quickly I can set up an appointment for Ryan."
"You think Ryan'll go?" Seth asked.
Sandy nodded and said, "He said he would. But that's why I want to set up the appointment for as soon as possible, before he can change his mind, and we end up having to drag him there."
Seth took it all in for a minute before asking,
"And you're going to tell him tomorrow? In the morning or the afternoon?"
Sandy looked at Seth, wondering what he was getting at,
"Afternoon, after school," he said, "I want to talk to Dr. Colefield first. Set everything up and then sit him down and talk to him. Why?"
Seth shrugged and said,
"No real reason. Just want to make sure I'm not here, that's all." Then as he pushed back his chair, Seth continued,
"I think I'll go see how he's doing."
"No. Don't." Kirsten stopped him, "Just leave him alone tonight. Maybe he'll sleep it off if we all just leave him alone. He doesn't need to see Dr. Kim in the morning with a hangover, although it would serve him right. But I don't need to see Dr. Kim in the morning with Ryan having a hangover!"
A little while later, Kirsten went out to check on Ryan, despite what she told Seth and Sandy. She found him laying on top of his bed, wearing only a tee shirt and boxers and holding his history book. He was sound asleep. Kirsten couldn't help but smile. Only Ryan, she thought, would get drunk and still try to work on his schoolwork.
Kirsten took his history book from him, and covered Ryan with his covers. She then turned and set his alarm clock for him. She knew Sandy would probably let Ryan off with a warning for today, and although she figured Sandy was probably right in doing so, she was still mad. At least this will be a rude awakening for him, she thought, as she turned the volume up on his alarm clock, really loud.
As she turned out the lights, Kirsten said,
"Good Night, Ryan"
She didn't expect him to hear her, but she heard him mumble,
"Night ma."
God, Kirsten thought as she pulled the door shut behind her, it would be nice if he said that when he wasn't drunk and half asleep.