Page 9 of For All It's Worth
If Mom thought all my time here would be spent with me in bed and getting served food on trays, she had another thing coming. I’d go out of my mind and end up hunting down some booze if I had to stay here much longer.
I’d had an all too short talk with a doctor who was pleased with the rehab plan, but less amused at how much Mom was coddling me.
Slipping downstairs, I joined Matty at the breakfast table. Out of all my siblings, she was most likely the least messed up of all of us. Father had spent less time with her and had died just after she started high school. His lack of influence at such an important time in her life had left her less damaged, I guess.
“Hey, Tilly.”
She let out a growl. Her name was all too easy to poke at since we all knew Matilda hated it but couldn’t decide if she wanted to change it. With Father gone, she could use her middle name, Eleni, if she wanted, but I think she loved the nickname that Will had given her. Truth be told, Matty suited her.
Mom was at the stove making dinner and I got the impression that she had something to say. Matty gave me a look before making an excuse to leave the kitchen.
“Charlie, darling…”
Well, here we go.
“It won’t solve everything, but perhaps three clubs is too many for you.” She paused, assessing before she spoke her next words carefully. “Have you considered the offer?”
I wanted to snap at her that thinking about it was all I’d done recently, but I didn’t want to give up on the clubs or let my staff down. She must have seen something in my expression because she let it go.
I wanted to dig my heels in and tell her I was fine, that I could keep the clubs and didn’t need to go to rehab, but she clearly knew where my thoughts were headed and cut me off before I could open my mouth.
“Darling, I think rehab is what you need to get well. All the drinking is just making it worse.”
Pondering her words, I had to admit that maybe I could learn something by going to rehab. Drinking wasn’t doing anything to get me out of my head. At least it would get me away from the city and my problems for a while.
