by Tana Reiff
Table of Contents
Cover
Copyright
Title Page
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Just for Today
Tana Reiff
Fearon (1988)
* * *
Tags: Juvenile Nonfiction, Chapter Books, Readers
Juvenile Nonfictionttt Chapter Booksttt Readersttt
A man's alcoholism threatens to destroy his life. Life Times.
Copyright © 2013 Tana Reiff
First published in 2013 by Grass Roots Press
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used
or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the
prior written permission of the publisher, except in the
case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.
Grass Roots Press gratefully acknowledges the financial
support for its publishing programs provided by the
following agencies: the Government of Canada through
the Canada Book Fund and the Government of Alberta
through the Alberta Foundation for the Arts.
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication from the print edition
Reiff, Tana
Just for today / Tana Reiff. — Rev. ed.
(Pathfinders)
ISBN 978-1-927499-67-2 (Print)
ISBN 978-1-927499-84-9 (ePub)
1. Readers (Adult). 2. Readers for new literates.
I. Title. II. Series: Pathfinders (Edmonton, Alta.)
PE1127.A43R43 2013 428.6’2 C2012-906776-8
Cover image: © Will Crocker/Getty Images
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Just for Today
Tana Reiff
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 1
“Give me
another one!”
shouted Biff.
He stood up slowly.
He started to walk
toward the bar.
His girlfriend, Abby,
and some friends
stayed at the table.
“This is
your last drink tonight,”
said the bartender.
“You don’t think
I’m drunk,
do you?”
Biff yelled.
He stumbled back
toward the table.
His foot caught
on a chair leg.
He almost fell.
His friends
laughed at him.
“What’s so funny?”
Biff asked.
“You, man,”
said Jerry.
“You’re smashed!”
“And why
are you laughing?”
Biff asked Abby.
“You’re my girlfriend.
I could have
hurt myself.”
“Forget it, Biff,”
said Abby.
Biff’s drink
went very fast.
“Give me
one more!”
he called out.
“You’re done,”
said the bartender.
“You’ve had enough
for tonight.”
“Abby, get me
a drink,”
Biff begged.
“No,” said Abby.
“No more tonight, okay?”
“You’re not
my mother,”
said Biff.
He pushed Abby.
She fell
to the floor.
“Don’t do that!”
cried Abby
as she got up
and brushed herself off.
Abby was
a little scared.
She had seen
Biff get drunk
many times.
But he had never
pushed her around
like this.
Biff headed
for the door.
He was having trouble
standing up.
Abby stayed back
for a minute.
Then she left too.
Chapter 2
By the time
Abby got outside,
Biff was gone.
He had taken
the car.
Jerry drove
Abby home.
When she got home,
Biff was not there.
Just then
her phone rang.
It was the police.
“We have Biff
here at the station.
We picked him up
for drunk driving.
He could not walk
a straight line!
Do you want
to come and get him
and the car?”
“I’ll be right there,”
Abby said.
She grabbed
her bag.
She took a cab
to the police station.
She paid
the police
bail money.
“He won’t be driving
for awhile,
you know,”
said the cop.
“We have
some nice classes
he must take first.
And count yourself lucky
that this is his first time.
Could be a lot worse.”
Then they let Biff
go home.
The ride home
was very quiet.
For a few minutes
the only sound
was the car itself.
Then Abby said,
“What happened?”
“I don’t remember,”
said Biff.
“You left the pub.
You were
really drunk.
What happened next?”
Abby asked.
“I don’t remember,”
Biff said again, louder.
What he said
was true.
He didn’t remember
where he had been
or what he had done.
“I guess
I blacked out,”
Biff said.
“I guess
you did,”
said Abby.
Neither one of them
said a word
the rest
of the ride home.
Chapter 3
The next day
Abby got home
from work
at 5:30 p.m.
There was Biff,
sitting in the living room.
Most days
he got home
later than her.
“I didn’t go
to work today,”
said Biff.
“I didn’t feel well<
br />
this morning.
This hangover
was a bad one, Baby.”
“You have used
all your sick days,”
said Abby.
“I know,”
said Biff.
“That means
I won’t get paid
for today.”
Abby was not glad
to hear that.
They needed
the money.
There were bills
to pay.
Abby went
to the kitchen.
She heated up
some leftovers.
She brought Biff
a tray of food.
He stayed
in his easy chair.
“Sorry, Abby,”
he said.
“I’m not hungry.”
“What’s the matter?”
Abby asked him.
“You’re drunk again,
aren’t you?
How much
have you had?”
“I don’t know,”
said Biff.
He held up
a big bottle.
It was almost empty.
“This bottle
was full
this morning!”
he laughed.
Something in his laugh
was not funny.
“You’ve been drinking
all day?”
Abby shouted.
“Looks like it,”
said Biff.
“Now, shut up!
I don’t want
to hear about it.
I like to drink.
It’s not
hurting anyone.
So just shut up!”
“You think
it’s not hurting you?”
said Abby.
“You think
it’s not hurting me?”
Biff got out
of his chair
and pushed her
against the wall.
“Mind your own
business!”
he yelled.
Abby was crying.
Biff put his arms
around her.
“I’m sorry, Baby,”
he said.
“Have a little drink
with me.”
He poured Abby
a drink.
“This will make you
feel better.”
They finished
the bottle.
Then they started
another bottle.
They both
passed out
in the living room.
Chapter 4
Biff couldn’t get
out of bed
the next day.
His head
felt like a rock.
Or like a rock
pounding his head.
His stomach
was rolling around
like a rubber ball.
He stayed in bed
half the day.
Once again,
he missed work.
Abby didn’t feel great,
but she went
to work.
When she got home,
the two of them
had another fight.
Once again,
Biff said
he was sorry.
Once again,
Abby drank
with him.
Biff passed out
in his chair.
Abby sat alone
for a few minutes.
Her head
was a mess.
She thought about
how much she hated this.
The alcohol.
Biff getting mean.
Fighting.
That is when she knew
something had to change.
Abby found
the number
for Alcoholics Anonymous.
She called.
“My friend is sick,”
she began.
“Where and when is
your next meeting?”
The person
on the other end
told Abby
where and when
the next meeting
would be.
“They meet
every day
at the same place,”
he said.
“But you can’t
make him go,
you know.
He will have to go
on his own.
It has to be
when he is ready.”
Then he told Abby
about Al-Anon.
“Their meetings
are for you,”
he said.
“You can learn ways
to help
your loved one.
And yourself too.”
Chapter 5
Biff made it to work
the next day.
But the boss
stopped him at the door.
“We need to talk,”
the boss said.
“You have
two choices,”
he began.
“You can
stop drinking.
Or you can
find another job.”
“I don’t have
a drinking problem,”
said Biff.
“It’s only
a stomach problem.”
The boss
did not believe Biff.
“When you show up,
you’re slow,”
he said.
“And when you
don’t show up,
you’re of no use at all
to the company.”
Biff was looking
at the floor.
“You think you have
a stomach problem?
Then you need to see
the company doctor.
Let him
check out
your stomach problem.
Go see the doctor.
Now.”
The doctor
looked Biff over.
Then he asked Biff
some key questions:
Is drinking giving you
any trouble at home?
Do you ever feel sorry
for the things you did
when you were drinking?
Do you have money problems
because of drinking?
Do you drink
to get away from
your problems?
Do you ever forget
what you did
when you were drinking?
Do you drink alone much?
Biff knew
the honest answer
to every question.
The honest answer
was “yes.”
Chapter 6
When Biff got home,
he asked Abby
for a drink.
“Just a beer,”
he said.
“In fact,
make it
a light beer.”
“I learned something,”
said Abby.
“Light beer
can have as much alcohol
as any beer.”
Biff didn’t want
to hear Abby.
He got himself
a beer.
He drank
four cans
before dinner.
“You just drank
as much alcohol
as four mixed drinks,”
Abby said.
“What makes you
so smart
all of a sudden?”
Biff asked her.
“I went
to a meeting today,”
she said.
“It’s a group
for loved ones
; of alcoholics.”
“Abby, I am not
an alcoholic,”
said Biff.
“I like to have
a few drinks,
that’s all.
I know
how to handle
my drinking.
I can stop
any time I want.”
“And I learned
something else,”
said Abby.
“I might have
an alcohol problem myself.”
“Don’t want to hear it,”
Biff snapped.
“And don’t make dinner.
I’m not hungry.”
“What’s wrong with you?
You won’t talk to me.
You never do anything
around the house.
You never make dinner.
And these days
you won’t even eat dinner.”
“I’ll be late
for driving class,”
said Biff.
“If I don’t go
they won’t let me
drive ever again.
And then I’m going
to the pub,”
he added.
“Why don’t you
meet me there?”
“No,” said Abby.
“I’m not drinking
with you anymore.
In fact,
I’m not drinking
at all anymore.”
Biff gave her
an empty look
and then he left.
Abby sat alone
at the dinner table.
She had
made up her mind.
She was finished
playing the game.
She would never again
do anything
to help Biff’s drinking.
He would have
to do his drinking
without her.
Chapter 7
Biff went to work
the next morning.
But he was late.
The boss
called him in again.
“You’re fired, Biff,”
he said.
“Stop at the office
to close things up
on your way out.”
Biff was shocked.
He couldn’t believe
he had been fired.
On the way home
he stopped
at the pub.
He drank
the rest of the day.
At 6:00 p.m.
the bartender
called a cab
for Biff.
“You’ve put in
a full day,”
he said to Biff.
“Where’s dinner?”
Biff asked Abby
when he got home.
“I didn’t make
any dinner,”
she said.
“I ate your dinner
from last night.”
Then she sat down
next to Biff.
“What’s going on?
she asked.
“I got fired today,”
said Biff.
“They say
I have
a drinking problem.
But my real problem
is that job.
I hate it.
Or should I say,
