Page 123 of Sapphire Spring

“What’d you think?” Mason asked.

His fathered chewed. “Look, I don’t know about any of this stuff,okay? I’m here because you’re my son and I don’t want you to die drunk. Can’tit be that simple?”

It was perhaps the most loving thing his dad had ever saidto him, and he was shocked by what he saw in the man’s eyes when he saidit—need. And fear. In a man whose last name wasWorther,they were often the same thing.

“It’s new to me too, Dad. I guess the best thing we can doright now is just listen to what they have to say.”

Pete looked to his plate.

They ate in silence.

And that’s what they did in the hours that followed.Listened.

It seemed like no one had seen fit to mention anything toPete about the one-on-ones, so Mason didn’t either. Maybe the guy thought they’dbe able to cruise through all three days by sitting still and staying quiet as guestspeakers and visiting therapists lectured them about the dynamics thatdeveloped in families struck by addiction, the roles people played, the badcoping skills that didn’t serve either the addict or their family. Later thatafternoon, they were separated again, and according to Pete’s terse reports whenthey were reunited, the family members had been broken down into smaller groupsled by the therapist assigned to their relative.

That evening, they headed to Pine Rise’s dirt parking lotwhere he saw his dad had declined the van service and driven his Mercedes theten minutes from the motel.

“We’re going to have to do a thing,” he said. “Friday, theysaid. You and me. Like with chairs and stuff.”

Sothey’d told his dad after all.“They’re called one-on-ones. But it’s kind of a misnomer because we won’t bealone.”

“You ready for this?”

“Not sure.”

“That makes two of us then,” his father grumbled, and thenhe was walking to his car.

Thus ends my father’s visit to Pine Rise Family Week,Mason thought as he watched his father’s taillights disappear into the eveningdark.

During work hours the next morning, Mason felt more relaxed.He’d done his duty by inviting his father, been willing to do the awful work.When Pete didn’t show up that day, Mason could be free of this whole messyaffair and the stress of anticipating Friday.

No such luck.

His father was waiting for him in the clearing before lunch.Mason’s heart raced. His palms started to sweat.

“How’d your morning go?” Mason asked once they were eating lunch.

“They had us work on what we’re supposed to say in thisone-on-one thing.”

Mason nodded, but his throat hadclosed up.

“I guess you’ve been working on yours for a while.” Peteshoveled a fork full of Salisbury steak into his mouth.

Mason nodded. That was all they said.

Then it was time for everyone to watch a hokey training filmthat was supposed to teach them about honest communication between addicts andtheir families, but Mason kept getting distracted by the fact that it was aboutforty years old, and several of the actors in it had gone on to have hugeHollywood careers. Break time was next, during which residents and familymembers were free to roam the property together. Mason walked them to thestairs they’d been building since he arrived. They were almost done now, asinuous line of wooden logs leading to a bench-filled clearing down slope.Beyond was a stunning view of the dusty high deserts of Southern Californiathat lay north of the forested mountains.

Silence settled.

“My dad drank,” Pete finally said.

Mason was struck, once again, by how his dad never referredto his own dad as Mason’s grandfather. Maybe because they’d never met. Or maybebecause of this just revealed detail.

“As bad as me?” Mason asked.

Pete turned and looked him in the eye. Mason braced himselffor an insult. “Worse.” Pete lowered his eyes to the dirt.

It was a sign that something in his dad—somethingauthentic—had been stirred up by this place. Mason thought he should lean intothe moment, ask more questions. But there was too much of a chance his fatherwould startle like a deer. And the truth was, when his father was startled, heacted more like a rampaging bear. Mason told himself to stay silent, listen,and wait for the two of them to end up in those dreaded, facing chairs.

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