They placed their orders with a young waitress. She was nice but had one of those voices where every sentence came out sounding like a question.
“So, let’s talk about why we’re here. I get a text from you saying you have a party to go to, and then when I asked if it was with the hot handy lady, you got tight-lipped.” Haley tilted her head, waiting for Reese to explain.
While Reese was thrilled about going to the party with Matty, she was still playing it close to the vest. There was something about putting it out there that made it feel real. For so long, she had put a firm barrier between herself and dating. It was easier that way. She had a few long-term-ish relationships in her adult life, but nothing that stuck. It was always so hard to open up. To talk about things that were hard. To let go of control. They’d start asking questions eventually. They’d want to know more about her and her past. What was her family like? Why did she move away from home?
She fiddled with the piece of paper that had been wrapped around the silverware. “It is. She asked me to go to an engagement party for my coworker Kerrie and her fiancée.”
“So this is a date.”
She shrugged. “I mean, I don’t have a firm confirmation on what it is. We’re two people attending a party together.”
“But you don’t know if it’s a date? Isn’t this the same issue you had when you went to her house? That had ended great and sounded like a date.”
“I...” she stopped as the waitress placed their drinks on the table. She resumed after. “I guess it is? I don’t know. It’s hard to tell. We’ve been spending time together, but as friends, but it definitely feels like we’re moving away from it. Especially after hearing her story and her reaction afterwards.”
“Her story?” Haley asked with a raised eyebrow.
Shit, she hadn’t meant to bring that up.
She busied herself with taking the straw out of the plastic, then taking a long drink.
“Reese?” Haley drummed her fingers against the tabletop.
There was no use trying to get out of it now.
She sighed, then launched into a summary of what she had learned without going into real detail. Despite it not being a traditional AA/NA setting where anonymity was expected, it was still in a non-public environment. It was Matty’s business who she told.
Their food arrived as Reese finished. They thanked the waitress and tucked in. It was as good as always.
“So, this woman is in recovery. For how long?” asked Haley as she dipped a fry into her milkshake.
“Over two years.” She dunked the sandwich in the bowl of gravy, then took a bite. “God, this is so good.”
Haley nodded in agreement. “It is. So, have you thought about what it would be like to get in a serious relationship with her and she relapses?”
She had tried not to think too hard about that. They weren’t even dating yet.
“I mean, with your momma’s past addiction.”
Reese held her hand up. “No, no, we’re not comparing the two. They’re nothing alike. Joyce was an alcoholic narcissist with unmedicated bipolar disorder, and on top of that, she was just not a good person. Matty is nothing like that. She’s had a rough life, but she’s taking all the right steps.”
“Good people make mistakes, Reese. She sounds like a good person, but even good people are fallible. Could you handle being with someone who has the same disease? It is a disease, right?”
“Yeah, it’s classified as a disease because it’s a complex medical condition that requires medical treatment and long-term management. And yeah, they both are, or were, whatever, are addicts, but they don’t have the same DOC.”
“Huh?”
“Drug of choice. And unlike Joyce, Matty has actually sought out help. I guess... I guess I know logically relapse is a possibility, but isn’t there a possibility that any of us could develop an addiction? Or Matty could be like Kerrie and get decades of clean time under her belt.”
“So are you willing to chance that?”
Reese tilted her head, thinking over the question before answering. “I think it’s too early to answer that.”
***
Reese trailed her fingers over the hangers on the rack beside her. There were a lot of options.
“So, you said dressy garden party. Do you want a dress or are we going with a pant and top combo? Oh, or a skirt?”
