New Beginning 1007

“I called you last night,” I said, before Jay had the shower curtain fully open. “Right after my meeting. I needed to talk.” An unlit joint hung from my lips, baiting him.

“You’re getting high? The morning after a meeting?” He grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist.

“It’s Alcoholics Anonymous, not Weed anonymous,” I said, trying to nudge him toward one of our familiar arguments. I placed the joint on the milk crate beside the bed and took off my denim jacket.

Jay moved into the bedroom. “It’s not just about alcohol. You need to accept that you have an addictive personality.” He pulled on a UC Berkeley tee shirt, then dropped the towel and quickly stepped into a pair of jockey shorts, followed by levis.

I needed to distract Jay, stop him from thinking with his head. A man thinking with his head would take his room key back, never answer another midnight phone call, refuse to give me rides to Merced at semester break. Jay always explained our home town connection to any of his college friends I happened to meet. I had no idea what he told his girlfriend. “But where were you last night?” I asked. “I needed you.”

"I had a date." he said. "Where were you?“

"I was alone in the lab until five this morning,” I answered.

“The chem lab? Thought you finished chemistry last semester.”

“The meth lab, idiot.”

“Christ," Jay said. "Only you could walk out of AA and go brew a batch of crystal meth.”

“It's not all for me," I told him. "I sell some of it to help pay off my gambling debts.”

“Dude, you’re gonna get yourself killed.”

“It’s only for two more years," I said. "Hey, you wanna come help tonight? The more I cook, the sooner I can quit."

"I would," Jay said, "but I've got my Sex Addicts Anonymous meeting tonight."


Opening: IMHO.....Continuation: Mister Furkles/EE