“Leadership. I didn’t realize you were here. I didn’t see the truck.”
She shifted into a proper sitting position, clicking off the flashlight. “We only have two trucks. I got dropped off. We take turns using them. Have you done Leadership before?”
“Oh, I didn’t know that. No, this will be my first time.”
“Cool, I’m sure you’ll do great. I have it next week at The Church.”
Reese tilted her head. “You do Leadership?”
“Sure do. Me and the others in maintenance take turns when there’s a gap in the schedule.”
“Well, that’s nice of y’all to share.”
A man with beard stubble and folders walked into the kitchen, where he stood to the side, seemingly waiting for one of them to acknowledge him. Both turned to him, and he ducked his head in hello. “Hi, uh, I don’t mean to interrupt, but I wanted to introduce myself. I’m Freddy. I’m Swallow’s house adviser.”
Reese held her hand out to shake. “I’m Ms. Reese. I’m a counselor for The Church on the main campus.”
“It’s nice to meet you. I’m going to get the guys in the main room and then take roll, and then it’s all yours.”
“Thank you; I’ll be right there.”
He left the pair alone.
“Uh, well, I guess I should let you get back to work.”
“Have a good rest of your day, Reese.”
“You too.”
The room was large, with chairs and two couches in a circle. Men were seated everywhere, and apparently, they had saved her a seat in front of the gutted fireplace. It was now an area to house books and magazines.
A variety of looks were aimed in her direction. Curious, amused, bored, agitated, and leery. The typical looks she’d been given over the years when faced with a group of men.
“Hey, guys, my name is Ms. Reese. I’m a counselor for another part of Turtle Grove. Today, for Leadership, I’m going to talk about the effects addiction has on your loved ones. Specifically, those of you with children.”
A man across the room, sitting in a chair by one of the couches, snorted. She ignored him, instead moving her head to meet the eyes of several other clients. “Oftentimes, we talk about the effects addiction has on the addict. How addiction has changed their lives, like losing jobs, connections with loved ones, and their health. But what about the children of addicts?”
The snort sounded again, followed by the man going from slouching to leaning his elbows on his knees.
“Is there something wrong?” asked Reese, her voice completely neutral.
“Yeah, there’s something wrong. This is just more bullshit being forced on us.”
“Come on, Seth, just let her do her job,” said Freddy. He was sitting a few people away from the other man.
Reese glanced at the man’s tag pinned to his shirt. It was red, indicating that it was his first week. After a week, if the counselor felt like they were adjusting well, then they would move to yellow. Yellow came with the perks of one phone call home, and they could go to church on Sunday. There were two local churches to choose from, Catholic and Baptist. It was completely voluntary to go. Once the client received their green tag, they received two phone calls a week, still had the option of Sunday church but were also given the opportunity to go to at least one outside meeting.
The red tag told Reese a little of what was going on with the man. He was brand new. Obviously struggling with the situation.
“Naw, man, it’s all day. Addiction this, addiction that. Now we’re talking about people who aren’t even addicted. Fuck that.”
“Will you just stop? You’ve been running your damn mouth ever since you got here,” chimed another man. He was older with a graying beard and a demeanor that suggested one did not want to mess with him.
Seth jumped up, prompting Reese to speak loudly as three others bounced to their feet. Instantly, the hair on the back of her neck stood, but she knew she had to remain calm. This was not the first time she had encountered a situation of this nature, nor did she entertain the notion that it would be the last.
“Excuse me, if we could all just sit down and start over.”
“Who the hell even are you?” Seth spat, turning back to face her.
