Page 99 of Sharkbait
Wally leans toward my phone. “Heyyyyyy, Louise.”
“Oh hey, Wally,” she says. “I’ll let you guys go then. But…” She exhales. “Never mind.“
“No. What were you going to say?”
“Is it too much to say that—if you’re open to it—I’d like to go to one of those with you sometime? As your guest?”
“To an AA meeting?” I ask.
“Yeah. It seems like they’re a meaningful part of your life. Would be nice to experience one with you.”
To say I’m shocked would be an understatement.
Wally nudges me when I’m silent for too long.
“Yes. Yeah, um. I’d love that. Let’s make that happen soon.”
“Great,” she says. “Talk soon.”
“Soon, yeah,” I say, totally flabbergasted.
I press end on the call and lean back in the folding chair in the community room.
Kathleen is welcoming some newcomers and guiding them to their seats. The room is bustling with folks sipping coffee and engaging in small talk before the meeting officially starts.
But my head is swimming with the conversation I just had.
“Dude.” Wally smacks me on the back. “You okay?”
“She, um. She wants to come to a meeting with me. She said they seem like ‘a meaningful part of my life,’ and she’d ‘like to experience one’ with me.”
“That’s a good thing, right? You’re not shy about sharing this part of your life with people.”
“Yeah. No, you’re right. Absolutely. It’s just…”
“Just what?”
“I feel like I’m royally fucking things up with this woman.”
“How so?”
“She doesn’t trust people easily, and I’m—”
“The most trustworthy guy I know,” Wally fills in the rest of the sentence for me.
I scrub my hands over my face, then rest my elbows on my thighs and hang my head.
“What am I missing here?” Wally asks.
“I haven’t told her about Iris and Eva.”
“What?” he nearly shouts.
“I know!” I gesture for him to keep his voice down.
“What the fuck, dude?”
“I know!” I repeat louder than Wally this time, and I capture the attention of nearly everyone in the room. I give them a sheepish smile and lower my voice. Wally huddles closer as I say, “Listen. It’s not as bad as it sounds. I did tell her. But she was drugged at the time.”
