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“Oh, it’s you,” says Magdalene.
Her breath reaches me before anything else and it’s painfully obvious she’s been drinking.
It’s too early in the morning for this shit.
“Good morning Magdalene. Where’s Jacob?” I ask, trying to put on a neutral face.
If she wants to drink herself into oblivion, that’s fine with me, but I don’t want her putting Jacob in danger because she can’t put down the bottle.
Magdalene shoots me a dirty a look with her bloodshot eyes before stumbling back to the couch. I close the door behind me and slip off my shoes.
I should go ahead and give her this purse back right now so she won’t have a reason to complain about it later.
She’s obviously in a mood again this morning and I don’t want to do anything to set her off. I don’t know what it’s going to take for her to snap out of this downward spiral, but she needs to figure it out fast. My energy is completely spent and my hands fumble with the clasp on the purse while Magdalene mumbles under her breath.
“I’m sorry, what did you say?”
“I said what’s so damn good about this morning? Nothing, that’s what. Nothing about it is good at all. Jacob is gone with Heath. Can you believe that? Heath came by and took my son for a little ‘quality time,’ so he says. So, there you go, you didn’t have to rush back from your obviously very eventful date. I’m not running a hotel here by the way, you can’t just pop in whenever you feel like it.”
I step forward and drop the purse on the couch next to Magdalene. “I know you’re upset, but you know me better than that. I went on a date during my time off, and I’m sorry if you expected me home earlier. I’m here now, and once I get cleaned up I’ll be happy to help you with whatever you need.”
“Help? I don’t need any help with anything. Look at us,” she says, her words slurring. “These men call and we just go running. Men with money always want to call the shots and pull the strings even after you move on. They never want to let go until they’re done with you. These assholes always find a way to weasel their way back into your life, even when you don’t want them there, and they’re ruthless about it. They don’t care how they do it or who they hurt in the process.”
My eyes follow her trembling hands as she fills up another glass of wine and brings it to her lips.
There is no us. You are the one who runs to Heath whenever he calls. Don’t include me in your little shit show of dysfunction.
How many glasses has she had? Has she even gone to sleep or has she been up all night getting hammered?
“Money,” she says, waving her hand around, splashing wine on the couch.
I’ll obviously have to clean that up later.
I want to pluck my eyes from their sockets to avoid rolling them at Magdalene. I should feel sorry for her, I know that, but she’s giving me every reason to side with Heath right now. For once, Heath did the right thing by taking Jacob with him for the day, because Magdalene clearly needs to pull herself together.
“Money,” she says again, “makes them think they can do whatever they want. They think they can buy and sell you just like that.” She snaps her fingers to help drive her point home.
“You want to know something? It’s not worth it. It’s never been worth it. No matter what you tell yourself, no matter how many apologies and excuses he makes, none of it’s worth it. They think they own you… like you should be drawn to them like a moth to a flame. Sure, I live in this lavish condo, but Heath’s already threatened to take it away from me just because he can. He thinks he makes all the rules.”
I try to focus on Magdalene, but I’m scanning the living room and kitchen and I want to walk over and shake her. Last night before I left for my date, I made sure to leave everything in pristine condition, and now everything looked out of place. Dishes are piled up in the sink, there’s a puddle of either juice or wine in the middle of the floor, and of course the fresh stains all over the sofa. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think she’d had a party while I was away.
I leave for a few hours and all hell breaks loose. What on Earth did she eat that required so many dishes? She can barely boil water.
Magdalene takes another gulp of wine and runs her fingers through her bone-straight hair. “We’re toys to them, Jade. They pick us up and put us down just like Jacob does with his blocks. They’ll do anything, say anything, and use anyone to get the toy they want back. Does that seem fair to you? Do you like being reduced down to being a Tinkertoy to these assholes?”
