Eyes on the Unseen Prize
Page 4
Chapter 3
Walk of Shame
“Where is he?” Piper asked as she looked at the empty bed next to the one in which she had been sleeping. “Did he get completely drunk last night? Is he an alcoholic?” She asked the last question, despite the feeling that deep down, she knew the answer. Cherie’s words about him being an alcoholic hadn’t stopped whirling within her mind.
“I did say I would never marry an alcoholic. I promised myself I would never marry someone who couldn’t control his impulses.”
She pictured herself with a different Nick than the athletic, hard-working one with whom she had fallen in love. The other Nick was always slurring and stirring under the influence of the alcohol that had stolen his health and his livelihood. The other Nick was sluggish, angry, and tired. The other Nick was Uncle Sully, her mother’s half-brother. She didn’t want to marry someone like Uncle Sully. She intended to marry a healthy and sober Nick who had the energy to fulfill his mission in life.
“Could he still be out partying with Bob and Flypaper?”
She looked about the room once again and caught a glimpse of the clock on the nightstand, which indicated it was 6 a.m. It was unlikely he was still at the bar, or in any bar for that matter. He had never been out so late while in her presence. And that scared her. Her mind raced.
“Could he be in Bob’s room? Could he have hooked up with someone else?”
Her thoughts raced as she thought of the other single women within the group of friends. Chase’s sister Kat was beautiful. If he hooked up with her, Piper would never recover.
“Or maybe he got hurt. Maybe he’s in the hospital. Maybe something bad happened to him.” Piper panicked as she fumbled around the room, looking for her mobile phone. Her mind was too cluttered with dark thoughts to be able to recall where she had left it the night before. When she found it charging in the bathroom, she dialed Nick’s number. Her heart pounded as the phone rang. It rang twice. Three times.
“Hullo,” a deep and somewhat gritty voice answered.
“Nick? Is that you?”
“Yeah.” He cleared his throat.
Piper heard rustling sounds and grunts and felt relieved and angry, all at once.
“Nick, where are you? Why didn’t you come back to the room? It’s 6 in the morning.”
A long pause followed before he answered, “Uh, I’m in a hallway. By room 234. Must be on the second floor of a lodge.”
“What are you doing in a hallway? Did you pass out?” Piper could feel anger boiling up inside of her and a sense of disgust. “Did you get hammered last night?” She thought Nick had the power to control himself. What an embarrassment. Hopefully Cherie wouldn’t hear about this.
“Piper, I’m up. I’m walking back. Give me a few minutes. I think I’m in a different lodge. I’m so sorry. Not sure how I got here.”
“Okay, Nick. I’ll be waiting.”
“I promise to make it up to you, Piper. I love you. I’m sorry. Walk of shame right now. Walk of shame.”
Piper paced around the room, wondering when the door would open. A sea of emotions flooded her mind. On one hand, she didn’t want to jeopardize their relationship by being too harsh in its relatively early stage. On the other, she didn’t want this to happen again. She sat down on the couch again and crumbled as she tried to develop an appropriate response.
“Can’t believe how much we paid for this room; this couch must be from the eighties.”
The room was expensive and the only way for her to afford the week-long trip to Colorado was to split the costs with Nick by sharing a room, which she felt a little guilty about. Fortunately, the room had two queen beds, helping to minimize the temptation. They needed to wait until the wedding night. She was a good Christian girl.
She got up and found a wool blanket in the closet, so she covered the couch before sitting back down and reflecting on her relationship with Nick. Nick had said he could control himself, and she believed him. Hopefully he was right. She didn’t want to marry someone like Uncle Sully. That would be the worst life ever for her. She glanced over at the nightstand to check the clock again. Forty minutes had passed.
Maybe she could use the time by doing something useful. She got up and cracked the window open to let in a little bit of fresh air. That inspired her to do a few yoga stretches before heading into the bathroom to take a shower and get ready for the day. Once finished, she put on a bathrobe and sat down on the couch. Its brutal odor could not be overcome by the fresh mountain air flowing in through the window.
The door opened.
“I’m back.” Nick threw his ski jacket on the bed and plunked down next to her on the couch. He was wearing the same blue jeans and striped sweater she had left him in the night before, yet something new appeared. Something crusty and brownish was all over his sweater. Vomit. How gross. Tired and disheveled and messy. His dark hair, which was always well-coiffed, was swishing all over his head.
“Oh. Hi. What happened to you?”
“Man, I’m not sure. We started off with a couple of drinks. Buttery Slides and beers. Then we went to another bar just up the road. We ate some brownies. Chocolate brownies…with caramel. I think.”
“Brownies? Pot brownies? Geez, Nick. We talked about those on the airplane here. Cherie told me that ever since Colorado legalized pot, the hospital wards have been cluttered with people who made crazy decisions and overdosed and died. Little kids are even trying them, which is very scary. It messes with their brains. Scrambles their ability to think, permanently.” She paused. “C’mon honey, you’re better than that.”
“I know what you’re saying. I didn’t taste any pot, though. I don’t think I had any pot brownies. I think they were just plain brownies. But even so, I still blew it with the drinks. Just wasn’t thinking last night. What a mistake!”
Nick threw his arms up into the air as he stood up and paced about the room. “I’m feeling about as sharp as a bowling ball right now.” He shook his head.
After a few minutes, tears filled his eyes. “I love you so much, Piper. I am so sorry I’ve disappointed you. Please forgive me.”
Piper stared at him for a few moments before she decided not to belabor the point. Everyone makes mistakes. She even made mistakes, especially when tempted to judge others’ mistakes.
“I love you, Nick, and of course I forgive you. You know, I don’t have a problem when you drink in moderation. But you’re prone to excess. It’s hard for you to stop after one or two drinks. Might want to reevaluate the importance of alcohol in your life. Just saying.”
“Things will be different from now on, Piper. Promise. In fact, I’ll make you a deal. I promise you that if we get married one day, I’ll give up the sauce for good. How about that?”
“That would be amazing.” Piper smiled at him and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek. “So, you think you’re up for skiing today?”
“Of course! But I’ll need to take a shower and get some food in me before we hit the slopes. Are you up for breakfast? I see some greasy grub in my future. And tomato juice. Lots of tomato juice.”
“Sure, but let’s go somewhere off the beaten path.”
“Piper, don’t worry. Bob won’t be in the picture today. It’s all about you and me. What do you think of heading over to Coppertop Mountain after breakfast? It’s only twenty minutes away by shuttle bus.”
“Sounds perfect.”