by Angel Hunter
Roger looked at Susan, who was tearing up. “No.”
Susan looked at Roger, relieved and confused. She wondered why he was covering up for her. Surely he had found something. They made her get into the back of their car and placed a call to the station. “The car will be towed. You’ll get all the information at the station,” Roger told her.
They rode to the station in silence. When she and Roger got a second alone, he told her she could make one phone call. Her dilemma was who to call. Because Roger knew her, they didn’t place her in a cell. They allowed her to sit in one of the waiting rooms under supervision. Susan wondered why he still hadn’t said anything about the package. Officer Brown left the room and Roger turned to Susan. “You know we need to talk.”
Susan just looked at him.
“What were you thinking, Susan? What the hell is going on with you?”
She didn’t answer him. She didn’t know what to say.
“Listen,” he whispered. “You have two choices. Either cooperate and let me know what’s going on with you, or be prepared to suffer the consequences. I’m trying to help you and save your ass.”
Susan broke down. She said, “Roger, I’m falling apart. I feel like I’m losing control. I know you know what I had and—”
“Shhh.” He interrupted her. He didn’t want her to say too much. “I’m going to call Crystal to come pick you up.” He stood up. When he reached the door, he turned around and asked her, “Or would you like me to call Timothy?”
That was the last thing she wanted. “No, Crystal’s fine.”
Crystal was lying in her bed. For some reason she couldn’t fall asleep, so she started watching A Thin Line Between Love and Hate. She had her popcorn and was chilling. The last thing she expected was a call from Roger telling her Susan was in jail.
“What!” she yelled and turned the volume down on the television. She must have heard him wrong. As a matter of fact, she was sure she heard him wrong.
“Susan’s in jail. You need to come get her,” he repeated.
“For what? What happened? Why is she there?” Crystal asked.
“I’ll fill you in when you get here. Just come as soon as possible.”
Crystal threw on a pair of jeans, a T-shirt and some sneakers. She washed her face and brushed her teeth while she wondered what the hell was going on.
While on the road, she glanced down at her gas gauge and noticed it was on empty. “Damn.” She pulled into the gas station and told the attendant to fill it up.
As soon he started pumping the gas, she realized she left her purse home.
“I can’t believe this shit!” She placed her head on the steering wheel.
“That’ll be $28.00,” the gas attendant said.
Crystal looked up and started explain her dilemma when she saw Lange getting out of his car. On the passenger side sat his wife.
“Excuse me for a second. I need to go inside first.” Crystal climbed out of the car and followed Lange inside. He hadn’t noticed her yet. Crystal tapped him on the shoulder.
He turned around, “Crystal.” He was surprised to see her out this late. Lange almost bent over to kiss her, but caught himself and glanced out the door.
“What are you doing out so late?” he asked her, concerned.
“An emergency,” she told him, hoping he just assumed it was one of the girls from the rape crisis center.
He did. “That’s unfortunate,” he told her.
The gas attendant was still waiting to be paid, so in an embarrassed tone, Crystal cleared her throat and said, “Lange, God works in mysterious ways. You couldn’t have come at a better time.”
“Why do you say that?”
“I’m embarrassed to ask you this, but I left my wallet home and can’t pay for my gas.”
“I’ll take care of it for you.”
“You’ll take care of what?” Neither of them noticed Lena had walked up behind them.
“Hi, Lena,” Crystal said.
“You go ahead and do what you have to do, I’ll tell her,” Lange said.
“Thank you,” Crystal said and walked away with an ache in her heart.
“The gentleman inside will take care of it,” she told the attendant.
Crystal went home, got her wallet and pulled up at the police station forty-five minutes after Roger’s call. “What took you so long?” Roger asked the second she walked in.
“I left my purse home,” Crystal said in an exasperated tone.
“Come into the conference room so we can talk before you see Susan.”
Crystal followed him.
“Susan got pulled over for driving under the influence,” he told her.
“What?”
“She got pulled over for—”
“Did you say for driving under the influence?”
“Yes.”
“Driving under the influence of what?”
“Alcohol.”
Crystal shook her head.
“Well, that’s not the worst part.” Roger pulled the lipstick holder from his sleeve and gave it to her. “This was in her purse.”
“Lipstick? Why are you giving me her lipstick?”
“Open it.”
She did and knew instantly what was in the aluminum foil. Crystal was at a loss for words.
“Did you know about this?”
Crystal looked at Roger like he was crazy. “What kind of question is that? Of course I didn’t know.” She started to pace the floor. “This is it! This is what’s been making Susan act so erratic.” Crystal stopped pacing and looked at Roger. “What are you still doing with the packet? You didn’t turn it in?”
“No, and what you need to understand is that I risked my career holding onto it,” he whispered.
“Why?” Susan asked. She didn’t want to think he did it for her, because then she would feel like she owed him something.
“I don’t want to see a sister go out like that.”
Crystal didn’t know what to say. “Thank you,” she told him.
“I took a chance,” he told her. “Let her know that, because if it ever happens again, I won’t.”
“Take me to her,” Crystal said, pissed.
Roger looked at her. “Are you all right? Can you handle this? Do you have the money for bail?”
“I have it. You know what? Before I see her, maybe I should take care of that first. That way we can just leave this place.”
“I think that would be a good idea,” Roger responded.
After paying bail, Crystal entered the room where Susan was being held. When Susan saw her walk in, all she could do was hold her head down in shame. Crystal started to say something, but decided now was not the time. “Come on, let’s go.”
As they walked toward the car, neither said a word.
Once in the car, there was so much Crystal wanted to do and say. She wanted to call Susan a freaking maniac, a fool, to tell her she was disgusted with her and to go upside her head. Emotions were running on high.
“I’ll pay you back,” Susan said, not knowing what else to say.
Crystal didn’t respond. She just started up the car.
“Do you think this is going to affect the practice?” Susan asked.
Crystal was afraid to open her mouth because she didn’t know what would come out if she did.
“I apologize for all this,” Susan sniffled.
Crystal wanted to tear into her, but remained calm as she said, “Don’t apologize to me. You should be apologizing to yourself for the chance you took. What would you have done if Roger had turned in your little package?”
“I don’t know.”
“Yeah, I bet you don’t,” Crystal said. “I’m not taking you home. It’s late, I’m tired, and I think you should stay with me tonight.”
Susan didn’t have the strength to disagree.
By the time they pulled up to Crystal’s house, they were both exhausted for different reasons.
“We’ll talk in the morning,” C
rystal told Susan. “Take the extra room. The towels are in the hallway closet.”
Susan was relieved and surprised that Crystal left her alone. She needed the time to get her thoughts together and relax. A shower would do the deed. She also had to call Timothy so he could pick up his car.
Picking up the phone in the living room, she dialed Timothy’s number. There was no use in putting it off. “Susan?” he asked.
“How did you know it was me?”
“Who else would be calling me this early in the morning? Is everything all right?”
Susan hesitated.
“Is everything all right?” He asked again.
“No.”
“What happened?”
“I was on my way home tonight and had a bit too much to drink. I got pulled over in your car and arrested for driving under the influence. You have to call the police station and they will let you know what towing center it was sent to.”
“I’ll do it first thing this morning. Where are you?”
“At Crystal’s. She came and got me from the police station.”
“How come you didn’t call me?”
Susan could hear the hurt in his voice. Once again she chose to tell a half-truth. “Her boyfriend Roger is a cop and he called her.”
“Oh.” Timothy paused. Something in her voice didn’t sound right. “Is that all?” He wanted to tell her she had that “just coming down from a high” tone, but thought better of it. They would discuss it tomorrow.
“Yes, that’s all. I’m tired. I need to get some rest. How about I call you when I wake up?”
He didn’t want a damn phone call. He wanted to see her face, but she’d been through enough. “Make sure you do that.”
“Okay, bye.”
“I love you.” Timothy wanted her to know this didn’t affect them.
“I love you too.”
AFTERSHOCK
Susan barely slept. Her eyes were swollen from crying. Her face was puffy and her hair was all over the place. She glanced at the clock. Eight o’clock a.m. She’d only gotten four hours of sleep, definitely not enough.
Crystal was in her room on the phone with Roger.
“Did you talk to her?” He wanted to know.
Before she could answer, there was a knock on the door. “Come in,” Crystal said. Susan walked in. “When you get off the phone, can we talk?”
“Roger—”
“I heard. I’ll call you later.”
They hung up.
Susan sat on the bed. “I messed up, didn’t I?”
“That you did. What were you thinking?” Crystal asked.
“That’s just it. I wasn’t.”
“You know what gets me?” Crystal said, “I knew something was going on. I just didn’t know that you were destroying yourself. What’s so bad that you had to turn to drugs?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
“All I know is I’m unhappy and I feel like I’m drowning. It’s not any one thing, either. It’s everything.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?” Crystal wanted to know.
“I didn’t want anyone feeling sorry for me. I feel sorry enough for myself as it is.”
“I’m your friend, Susan. I’m supposed to look out for you.”
“Roger did just that, didn’t he?”
“Yeah. Does Timothy know you’ve been getting high?”
“Timothy just got out of rehab,” Susan blurted out.
Crystal was shocked.
“When he asked me to marry him, one of his requirements was for me to stop getting high.”
“So, he’s known.”
“To an extent. You know, it’s funny, because last night was supposed to be my last hurrah. I guess I should have stopped while I was ahead.”
They shared a pathetic laugh.
“Have you thought about counseling?” Crystal asked. Heck, she’d just looked into it for herself and found someone she might go to.
“Actually, I have.” Getting up off the bed, she said. “I’m going to call Timothy and see if he would like to go to breakfast. Then we should call Elsie and tell her what happened.”
“Tell her everything?” Crystal asked, expecting a “No.”
Susan surprised her by saying, “Yes, everything. After all she is a partner.”
When Susan left the room, Crystal got down on her knees and thanked God for her life and the fact that she was healthy and sane. She knew she often took things for granted, things like her business, her home and her health. After praying, she decided she would go for a quick run. As a matter of fact, she’d ask Susan to join her.
When she knocked on the guestroom door, Susan was just hanging up the phone. “Timothy wasn’t home. He probably went to get his car.”
“You spoke to him last night, right?”
“Yeah.”
“You told him everything?”
“No.”
“Don’t you think you should?”
“I will, but not over the phone.”
“Don’t start off your engagement with lies.”
She already had.
“I came to see if you would like to come running with me,” Crystal told Susan.
“Running as in jogging?”
“Yeah. The air will do you some good.”
Susan wanted to say “hell no,” but she felt somewhat obligated. “I don’t know about running with you, but I might walk behind you.”
Crystal laughed. “Good. That’s better than nothing. I’ll bring you down a pair of sweats and a T-shirt.”
Once at the track, the air did them some good. Susan surprised herself, running at a slow but steady pace. It allowed her to think about her life and how she was messing it up.
“How often do you run?” Susan asked when they were done and heading back to the house.
“Not often enough, but I think I’m going to pick it up again.”
“It actually felt kind of good.”
Looking at Susan, Crystal said, “I heard that about people who used to get high. Once they start working out, it helps with sobriety. The endorphins become their high.”
“I just might try it.” Susan was willing to try anything at this point.
“Why don’t we all have dinner tonight?” Crystal suggested.
Susan knew she meant the girls in the office. “That’s fine. Listen, just drop me off at my house. I’m sure Timothy is there waiting.”
“What about your clothes?”
“I’ll get them later.”
When they pulled up Timothy’s car was in the driveway. Susan’s stomach started to do flip-flops. She was nervous and tried to brace herself for his blow-up.
When she walked in the door, Timothy greeted her with a hug. He held her tight and long.
“Hey, sweetie.” Susan kissed him on the cheek.
“Hi.” He let her go and looked her up and down. “What’s up with the sweats?”
“I went running with Crystal.”
Timothy looked confused.
“I need to take a shower.”
He following her into the bedroom, where she immediately started to undress. “You know, when we got off the phone, I was thinking. The only time you drink is when you’re high,” he told her.
Busted and too tired to play it off, she decided to tell him the truth. Standing in her panties and bra, she told him, “It was supposed to be my last night.”
“Did you get busted with anything?”
“No.” She went on to tell him what Roger had done for her.
“I have to thank him,” Timothy said.
Still waiting on a blow-up, Susan was surprised when Timothy reached over and kissed her instead. “We’ll get through this.” he told her.
This loving gesture made Susan cry. “I honestly thought I had everything under control.”
“People who are addicted tend to do that. We convince ourselves that we know what we’re doing, that we can stop when we want to, tha
t we have it and our lives under control, when in reality it’s controlling us.”
“Timothy, I’m sorry,” she told him. “I know I let you down.”
“Don’t worry about letting me down. Worry about letting yourself down. And you don’t have anything to be sorry for. I’m the one who started you getting high.”
Susan placed her hands on his chest. “Stop. Stop right there. You’re making excuses for me. I’ve been lying to you and to myself. I need help. It’s just that simple. I’ve been jeopardizing everything. My job, us, my life—and for what?”
“Why don’t you come to a meeting with me?” Timothy asked.
Susan took a step toward the bathroom. “I don’t know. What if one of my clients are there?”
“The meetings are confidential. What’s said in the room stays in the room. As a matter of fact, I’m going to a meeting tonight.”
“I can’t go tonight. Everyone from the office is having dinner tonight at Crystal’s to discuss what happened.”
“Can you handle that?” Timothy asked.
“I’m going to have to.”
Susan had just finished telling the girls what happened and Elsie was looking at her with a look she couldn’t describe. She couldn’t tell if it was anger, disgust or disappointment.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked Elsie.
That was the opening Elsie had been waiting on. “You really want to know?”
“Yes, I do,” Susan replied, already knowing but wanting Elsie to get it off her chest.
“How could you have been so stupid? You of all people should know better than to drink and drive. We represent people like that! What would you have done if you’d gotten into an accident or something? You put your life on the line.”
Jewell surprised herself by siding with Susan. “Damn, Elsie, she made a mistake. We all do. Give her a break.”
Looking at Jewell, Elsie said, “Yeah, but it could have been a deadly mistake.”
“You think I don’t know that?” Susan asked. “You think I don’t know that I could have hurt not only myself but someone else as well? Well, I do. I realize that what I did was dumb, and that I should have known better, but we don’t always think about things until it’s too late. I’m sorry if I hurt you in any way.”
“It’s not that you hurt me,” Elsie said. “It’s just that I don’t feel I should have to pay for your mistakes.”
