TW: references of alcoholism and its effects
Summer 2009
The following five days consisted of Sara taking a mandatory leave of absence from her job and packing up her and Samara's belongings. The 19-month-old was excitable during the plane ride to Chicago. Her mother checked them into a hotel room after they landed. The Johnsons took the Line 63 bus the very next morning for Mercer Hospital. En route, the young mother could've sworn the bus driver looked like an older Malakai. She didn't want to risk what would happen if the friendly bus driver was the rough hothead from high school. So, Sara sat near the back row with Samara sitting on her lap. She was unaware she was holding her breath until they disembarked.
Upon arriving at the hospital, Dr. Adams greeted the mother-daughter pair in the emergency room. He wore thick-rimmed glasses and had silver hair. The doctor led them to the room where Roy was. When Sara saw her father for the first time since she left for college, he was lying in bed wide awake. His face and copper brown beard were moist in perspiration. Roy tardily set his blue eyes on his visitors, hoarsely uttering, "Melinda?"
His daughter's mouth twisted at the mention of her mother's name. "No, Dad. It's Sara."
"Sara? But you're supposed to be in New York." He examined the achromatic room. "Where am I?"
"Mr. Johnson, you're at Mercer Hospital," Dr. Adams answered. "A bartender found you choking on your vomit at McGee's Lounge seven days ago. You're going through withdrawal."
Roy paused for a moment. He then gasped out, "I wanna leave."
"What?"
He caught his breath in between his words. "I. Want. To. Leave."
"You'll be able to do so in time."
"No, right now."
"Let me talk with your daughter first." Sara doubted if she could leave her child alone with her father. He nonetheless persisted that the toddler would be safe with him. Through the window, her mother could see them hitting it off. This wasn't what she had in mind for Samara and Roy's first meeting, but she was glad there wasn't any complications. Dr. Adams conversely disclosed further information on the patient. "His blood test indicates a BAC of 0.24%. Due to the excessive alcohol consumption, he has brain fog and acute gastritis. The good news is that they are both treatable. He'll need to avoid caffeine and sugary drinks from now on as well as maintain a healthy diet."
"My dad isn't an alcoholic. He plays the trumpet." She sounded naïve, but it was true or was it? "Why did he…"
"You'll have to discuss that with him. It's important that he doesn't relapse. I recommend that your father enter inpatient rehabilitation for the next 45 days." The doctor's words flew in one ear and out the other. Sara couldn't believe this was actually happening. In addition to Samara, Roy was the sole family she had left. "I'll draft up the papers for his transfer to Southwood Interventions."
When Roy learned where he was going, he got irritable and accused Dr. Adams of slander. His temper frightened Samara terribly; Sara soothed her crying daughter by taking her out of the room for a bit. Her father eventually relented after he was allowed to have familial visits. Roy refused to answer why he began drinking. He instead requested his daughter to look after his house while he was gone. At that point, Sara wondered how she had to sell the townhouse in LIC.
Today was the last day of summer… for Derek. Christopher wouldn't be in school for another two weeks. Since his uncle was going to be a part-time student, he would attend college on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The rest of the week comprised of him going to work. Nine days after his encounter with Malakai, Derek had convinced himself that he was lying about Sara. Not that he wouldn't mind seeing his second ex-girlfriend again.
Anyway, he was reshelving the singles when Ahmal told him to watch the cash register. The 25-year-old involuntarily rolled his eyes; it was time for his older co-worker's "second job". Their boss was doing who-knows-what in the back office. It had been two years and five months since Derek started working at the music store. It wasn't enough for him anymore. He wanted to do something different, which could be why he had college to hope for.
The sound of the store's door buzzer interrupted his thoughts. Derek uttered what he had consistently repeated. "Welcome to Reese's Joints. How can I help—" Standing by the doorway was her. "Sara?"
The girl with alabaster skin gave him a questionable look before she recognized him. "Derek?"
"What—hey, what are you doing here? I mean, long time no see."
A third voice piped up, "Mama?"
Sara quickly kneeled down; Derek looked over the counter. She was acknowledging a baby girl in a lilac sundress. "Who's this?"
"Her name is Samara," Sara curtly responded. "Do you have any Missy Elliot or Ne-Yo?"
"In the hip-hop/RnB section over there." He pointed at the middle rack on her left. Derek observed his second ex-girlfriend as she made her selections. Sara had indubitably changed within the last four years. She was wearing a plain tank top underneath her denim blazer, black leggings as pants, and sandals. Her bronze creamy hair was now in loose, shoulder-length waves. Derek turned his attention to the hazel-eyed youngster next to her. Samara's dark licorice locks were in bundles. "Wait," he thought, "did she just call Sara 'Mama'? Where's the father?" When they returned to the front counter, the substitute cashier acted as if he wasn't staring at them.
Sara nonchalantly asked, "How much?"
"$14.13." She paid him $20 and kept $5.87 in change. After placing her purchased CDs in her purse, the young mother carried her daughter in her arms. "So, how you been?"
For some reason, this benign question caused her eyes to well up. "I-I gotta go." She rushed to the exit without looking back. Samara glanced at him over her mother's shoulder as the door opened and closed behind them.
Minutes later, Ahmad returned from helping another one of his clients. He noticed the bemusement on his co-worker's face. "What's wrong with chu?" Derek didn't reply; he was once again inattentive due to Sara Johnson. Finally, their boss emerged from the back office with a huge announcement. "I'm closing up the music store and moving upstate. Next month will be your last working here. Consider this your advanced notice."
