Page 57 of Bad Boys Don’t Date Clumsy Girls

“Stop calling me that.” Joel crosses his arms over his chest, and it’s the first time I realize he’s bulked up. He’s hovering over Mom like he hopes to scare the alcohol out of her.

“I’m sorry,” Mom smiles wanly. Her eyes keep fluttering shut when she tries to look at one of us. “You outgrew it a long time ago, huh?”

“No, Mom. It’s a term of endearment, and neither Ava nor I have ever been dear to you.”

“That’s not true, Joely.” Mom shakes her head like she’s trying to get a fly off her nose or something. “I’m not a good mom, but I love you both.”

Joel presses his fingers to his temples and turns away from her. He stares out the window into the corridor. Just then, a man walks through the open doorway.

“Hello.” He looks at both Joel and me before turning his attention to Mom. “Who are these fine young people, Cora?”

“These are my kids. Joel and Ava.”

“Hello, Joel and Ava, I’m Dr. Hishkin. I’ve been trying to figure out what caused your mom to fall several times at work last night.”

I open my mouth to say hello, but Joel speaks first.

“That would be my mom’s best friend, Mr. Jack Daniels. I’m surprised you couldn’t smell it on her breath. And,” Joel brushes his hands together, “case closed.”

Dr. Hishkin studies Joel before responding. “I’ve ordered a complete tox screening, but the initial tests came back clear. Your mom had no alcohol in her system.”

Joel crosses his arms again and shifts to one foot. “I find that hard to believe.”

“Am I to understand that Cora has a history of alcohol abuse?”

Joel scoffs. “Oh yeah. A history. A present. And most likely a future.”

“That might prove helpful information as I narrow down my search, but I assure you, your mom’s current condition is not from alcohol consumption.”

Joel just shakes his head, his attitude dismissive. Honestly, I don’t believe it either. Alcohol consumption is synonymous with Mom. Everything she does is because of or for alcohol. However, I must trust the doctor, right?

“Do you have any ideas?” I ask.

“I have some.” The doctor crosses his arms too, but his pose is contemplative whereas Joel’s is combative. “There was an older wound over her eyebrow. Cora said she did that about a week ago. Is that correct?”

“Yeah, about.” I nod. “She said she got dizzy and fell.”

Joel scoffs again. “Dizzy.” He makes air quotes.

I glance at Mom, who is either asleep or purposefully ignoring us.

Joel rolls his eyes. “Just like she claimed not to have spoken that gibberish on purpose.”

The doctor’s gaze snaps to my brother. “Gibberish? Like actual gibberish?”

“Yeah, suddenly she started spewing nonsense words at me. Then a couple minutes later, she claimed to not even remember doing it.” Joel curls his lip. “I think she’s popping some sort of pills now, too.”

Mom lets out a blast of breath from her nose. Her eyes remain closed, but she’s clearly listening. Despite being such a horrible mom, I feel sorry for her having to hear Joel speak this way about her. Or maybe it is just the confrontational aspect that is making me uncomfortable.

“When was that?” the doctor asks.

“Yesterday morning. She’d just come back from the bar. She works the graveyard shift and then goes to that dive bar on 2nd afterward.”

“Cora, is that the last time you drank? Yesterday morning, after work? I thought you said it had been a couple of weeks.”

“It has been a couple of weeks.” When she opens her eyes, she only looks at the doctor. “I haven’t been feeling well. Those dizzy spells I told you about. So, I haven’t been drinking. But I still enjoy going out with my friends.”

I don’t know what to think. I’ve never imagined Mom not drinking for one day, let alone a couple of weeks. Was that true? “But Mom. You were slurring when you fell at home.”

Her tone is defeated, and her eyes are closed again. “I hadn’t been drinking.”

“I might know what’s going on.” The doctor turns to the door and says over his shoulder, “I’ll order more tests.”

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