by Thornton, EJ
My blank stare kept him explaining.
"Do you ever remember waking up with the solution to a problem that had been bothering you when you went to bed?"
I nodded. "Yes, many, many times."
"Okay, then. We worked it out while you slept. I know you forgot that part, but do you remember having the solution when you woke up?"
"You never cease to amaze me, George."
"This is all part of the grand plan. And grand is an understatement." George looked toward Heaven with appreciation.
"It is indeed."
George and Naomi looked at me and when our eyes met, the three of us joined Glory in her dream.
"What's troubling you?" George asked.
"My son," Glory replied.
"What's troubling you about him?"
"Many things." There was a pause, then she went on. "He'll be having a child, his first, but it was quite unplanned. He drinks heavily and he's getting worse. I'm scared for him. He's messing around with loose women, when another one is having his child. He's going to lose his child if he keeps acting this way. I'm afraid I'll lose my grandchild because of the way he's treating the child's mother."
"Those are heavy burdens."
"Yes, they are."
"Do you see solutions?" George asked her.
"He has to stop drinking!" she said emphatically. "Then with a sober mind, assess his responsibilities and his relationships."
"How would you do that?" George asked.
"Get him some help. I think he needs serious help. If he could see the damage he's doing, he'd stop. He's a good person at heart; I know he is. We raised him to take care of his business. Something stronger than he is has control of him and we have to break its grip. We need to get him some help. Then it should all fall right back into place."
"Do you think he's ready to ask for help?" I asked.
She shook her head. She recognized my voice.
"What do you think needs to happen?"
"Something dramatic. Something so dramatic, that it will wake him up. I only pray that nobody gets hurt because of it. That's my greatest fear, that he will get hurt or hurt somebody when he's drunk."
"So let's say something dramatic has happened and now he's in treatment, he's sober and nobody has been hurt. What happens now?" George asked her.
"He's there when his baby comes into the world and every second thereafter. He brings the baby to see me and we stand up together when we have the baby baptized in its grandfather's church." Glory smiled with those thoughts.
"That would be nice," I said.
"Yes, it would!" Glory said, still smiling.
"Just lie here and imagine those beautiful thoughts. Remember the peace you're feeling at this moment," George said and left.
"Please try and feel how close I am to you and know that I'm that close Jeremi also. I love you - both," I said. Her smile grew broader. I left.
Naomi stayed behind to coach some more.
George and I watched Glory sleep. Her look grew more and more peaceful. "I hope this feeling stays with her even after she goes home tomorrow," I said as we left.
Chapter 21
We decided to look in on Jeremi. He struggled in his sleep as usual.
"We just did a deja vu with Glory," I told Henry. "She's right about a lot of things."
"Like what?"
"It's going to be impossible to get him to go willingly."
"Get help for his drinking," George clarified for Henry's sake.
"He has enablers all over the place. Even if one went away, another would willingly take their place," Henry said. We all agreed. We knew he meant the spoiler.
"What that boy needs is an education," George said definitively. "We need to make a concerted effort to get the message in front of him. Everywhere he turns, he needs to see the phone number to AA, a pamphlet about the Hope Center, the consequences of drinking and a light leading him out."
"Makes sense," I said and we all agreed again.
"Beginning tomorrow, the message will bombard him everywhere," Henry said.
"Good, let us help where we can," George said.
"You know what to do," Henry replied.
"I do," George confirmed.
George and I left on our mission. We visited all the other family members, including Jeannie. We planted thoughts with them and their angels about obtaining material regarding The Alcoholic and how to get him help.
In the next few days, whenever Jeremi watched TV, he'd flip through the channels. Every time there was a drunk who looked stupid on a show, the remote would quit working for a few moments. Jeremi would flip the remote harder to get it to change. He would be intent on the screen to see if the channel had changed, therefore, he was forced to watch the whole drunken escapade. Henry had fun making that one work out.
George and I shopped for pamphlets. Once we found several good ones, they appeared in both Peter and Jeannie's mailboxes addressed to "Occupant." Henry made sure Jeremi got the mail that day. Jeremi browsed through the collection and promptly threw them away. Undetered by that, more came in the next day's mail. Melinda got those.
Henry shined angel light on all newspaper sections that dealt with the consequences of drunken behavior, like the listings of the arrests and the gruesome pictures of the accidents. In every instance, Henry was sure to angel light the words, "Alcohol was involved."
It was a massive campaign and everyone with an angel that Jeremi had contact with in some way, shape or form, echoed the message.
Several nights later, Jeremi headed over to Jeannie's house to pick her up for an evening out. Anne had come to get the girls, so they could go out. While Jeannie waited for Jeremi to arrive, she opened the envelope with the brochures that George and I had sent her. She spread them out on the coffee table by the couch and picked one out that apparently appealed to her the most. She started to read it.
Jeremi knocked at the door. Instead of putting the brochure down, she took it with her to the door and continued to read it. She opened the door and kissed Jeremi hello and he gave her a nice hug. Then she turned around to grab her purse, but she kept reading the brochure.
"What's that?" he asked her.
She flashed it at him and resumed reading as she grabbed her purse.
"You've got to be kidding me!" he snapped at her. Jeannie was taken by surprise by this sudden change in tone. "I suppose you think I have a drinking problem, too! Geez, it's everywhere I turn these days!" He got louder and louder. Jeannie watched him, completely in shock. "Well, if that's what you think, I'm out of here!" He slammed the door, got in his car and sped off.
Jeannie grabbed her purse and went to follow him, but he had driven off too fast. "He went to the pub," Pearl informed her. So Jeannie drove to the pub and as expected, she found Jeremi's car there.
Jeannie went in and sat beside him at the bar. He already had one brandy down and had another one ordered.
"What's wrong with you?" she asked him. "I was just reading my mail and you went ballistic!"
Jeremi softened with his first brandy. "I know, I'm sorry. It's just every time I turn around, someone's throwing a pamphlet in my face."
He eventually calmed down and it looked like things were getting back to normal.
Then George told me, "We've got big problems." Out in the parking lot, headed in to the pub was the spoiler, looking determined.
"What do we do now?" I asked.
"Watch over them," Henry, Pearl and George said together.
Jeannie and Jeremi had their backs to the door. The spoiler spotted them right away and walked around the bar, directly into their line of sight. Jeremi was reaching for his next shot of brandy, when he saw her and his arm jerked and the brandy spilled all over the bar. Jeannie jumped and looked at Jeremi. His eyes were glued on the spoiler. Jeannie followed Jeremi's line of sight and saw what he was looking at. The spoiler walked slowly, sexily, around the back of the bar, never for one second taking her eyes off Jeremi. He tried to avoid eye
contact with the spoiler by looking back at Jeannie. She glared at him with the coldest, angriest stare I think I have ever seen. Her hands trembled. Jeremi looked away, toward the bartender, for help. The bartended leaned back, with his arms crossed and watched this all unfold.
"Could I get a rag here?" Jeremi yelled at him.
The bartender threw it at him. They exchanged glares. Jeremi quickly wiped up the spill, then threw the rag right back at him.
"I've got to go," Jeannie said and stormed out the door.
Jeremi was torn between following Jeannie out the door and following the spoiler down the hallway. Jeannie disappeared so quickly Jeremi's only choice was to follow the spoiler.
She was down the hallway, around the corner, wearing a cocky look on her face. She'd been sure he'd follow her. Unfortunately, she was right.
"Hi, baby," she said and put her arms around his neck.
He pulled away, "Karla, get off me!"
"But, sweetheart," she touched his stomach gently with her fingers and drew a couple of circles. He pushed her hand away.
"Get away from me. You were a mistake. I told you before and I'll tell you again, we're through. Get away and stay away from me," he said forcefully.
Karla looked over Jeremi's shoulder and saw Jeannie there, waiting to confront him about this situation. The bartender followed close behind her. The spoiler put her arm over Jeremi's shoulder and put her leg up around his thigh and rubbed it up and down. "But, baby, you were so good, I've never had a lover like you before. When can we make love again? When can we do it again? Huh? Baby?" Her voice was sickeningly sweet. This woman was a piece of work.
"I'd like to know the answer to that, myself," Jeannie said.
Jeremi whipped around and inadvertently knocked Karla to the floor. "Jeannie!" Jeremi exclaimed, very startled. "Jeannie," he said again more softly and went to her. "It was a mistake."
Karla got up from the floor, spitting mad. "Jeremi! So you think you can just screw me and take off! Come back here, I'm still talking to you!" She lunged at Jeremi, but Henry helped her lose her footing. She missed and landed on the ground again. Furious, she took a swing at Jeannie. The bartender saw this coming, stopped her hand mid-swing and pulled her out of the hallway by her wrist. She spit at Jeannie and Jeremi on the way by. Some got on Jeannie's face and Jeremi tried to wipe it off, but she batted his hand away. Jeannie wiped it off herself.
Jeannie glared at Jeremi. "You liar." Her angry voice was low and controlled. "You cheating liar. I knew it. And I let you lie to me, even though in my heart I knew it was all a lie."
"Baby, come on." Jeremi tried to figure a way out of this one.
"Baby, that's was her name for you. You lost the right to EVER call me that again!"
"Look, I'm really sorry," Jeremi said.
"Yeah, I bet you're sorry. You're sorry you got caught!" Jeannie lashed out, trembling with anger and agony.
Jeremi got indignant. "Caught at what? You act like we're married," he snapped back defensively.
The words hit Jeannie like a physical punch. She fell back against the wall. "So you can be in a relationship with someone and cheat and it's okay, up until the minute you say 'I do.' Now I get it," she said quietly, sarcastically and angrily. I think Jeremi realized how much he had just hurt her, so he gently put his hand up to her face to wipe her tears away. She batted his hand away. "Get your hands off me!" she growled at him. Her eyes threw daggers at him. There was a long pause.
"You're still carrying my baby," he screamed at her.
There was nothing but pain in her eyes when she replied, "If you think I'm going to let a drunk like you come near my child, you're crazier than you are drunk. You're dead to me." She paused, then added, "To us."
When he heard Jeannie use the word drunk to describe him, he lost all control. All the angels went into action. Henry surrounded Jeremi, Pearl surrounded Jeannie and I tried to stay between them. The bartender came back down the hallway to break this up and he arrived in time to see Jeremi smack Jeannie's face. He slapped her so hard that she fell down. Pearl cushioned her fall as best she could. Jeannie sat up immediately and grabbed her stomach. She screamed in pain.
Both Jeremi and the bartender rushed to Jeannie's aid. Jeremi pleaded "I'm sorry. Oh God, I'm so sorry. Are you all right? Jeannie, talk to me please. Oh God, please!"
Jeannie groaned.
The bartender told Jeremi, "You need to leave. You need to be gone and I mean now!"
"Jeannie, are you all right! Jeannie!!!" Jeremi yelled back.
"Get away from me," Jeannie growled, glared and groaned.
"Now. I'm about to call the police," the bartender warned.
Jeremi got up. "But I'm sorry, Jeannie. God, tell her I'm sorry!" He pleaded with the bartender. Jeremi looked around, examined his options, then he ran out of the pub.
I tried to help Pearl with Jeannie. Pearl coached, "Breathe, breathe, he-he-hoo, he-he-hoo." Jeannie complied with her. We worked to calm her down and to help her make it through the pain.
Henry just stood there. He looked down and wept. Then he said through his tears, "I've failed. I've completely failed Jeremi, Jeannie, God and myself. It's time I go where I can be of productive service to the universe because I'm finished being of any reasonable good here. God, please forgive me my failure."
I stood up to face him. "Get a grip, man! Jeremi needs you. You're his angel."
George came between Henry and me. "Martin. This is Henry's choice and he's made it. He's lost Jeremi. He needs to go where he will be of more use, spiritually." He turned to Henry, "Go in peace, my friend." Henry turned away from us and simply vanished.
"Well, who's gonna protect Jeremi now?" I demanded of George.
"Nobody," he answered sadly.
"Pearl, how's Jeannie? How's the baby?" I assessed the situation as fast as I could. I knew the baby was my charge, but Jeremi was my son. I was never so torn in my life or death.
"She's going to be all right," Pearl said. "She's more upset than anything right now. The baby is fine. She was knocked down, that's all."
"Call me if you need me. I'm going after Jeremi." I looked at George to discern if we were in this battle together.
"Let's go," he said to me.
Chapter 22
We caught up with Jeremi, crying and driving - headed nowhere in particular. He kept drinking from a bottle of brandy that he already had in the car.
I told George. "We've got to get him off the road."
"What he needs is to get caught," George responded. "I'm going to go help a police officer find him." He left.
Within a minute, lights flashed in Jeremi's rearview mirror. Jeremi muttered some expletives. He tried to stash the brandy bottle as he pulled into a nearby parking lot. He dug in his pocket for a breath mint and popped it in. He wiped his face and tried to put on a smile to fool the officer, who came up to the side of the car. George was right behind him. The officer's angel waited for him in the patrol car.
"Good evening," the officer said politely.
"Good evening, officer," Jeremi said. "Is there a problem?"
"Do you know why I pulled you over tonight, sir?"
Jeremi shook his head.
"You took that last turn back there awfully wide."
"I did? I'm sorry." Jeremi said as sweet as he could muster.
"Have you been drinking tonight, sir?"
"I had a brandy back at the pub, but only one," Jeremi admitted.
"I'm going to need your license and registration, then I'm going to need you to step out of the car, sir."
Jeremi took his wallet out and gave him his driver's license. He reached down under the seat and spilled the brandy bottle as he opened the glove box to get out the registration. George helped a little brandy get on the registration, to insure the officer smelled it. It worked.
"Do you know it's against the law to have an open container of alcohol in your vehicle?" the officer asked him. Jeremi nodded. "Please get out of the car, s
ir." Jeremi got out of the car. "Please turn around." Jeremi turned around. "I'm placing you under arrest, on the charge of driving while intoxicated and violating the open container ordinance. You have the right to remain silent . . ." The officer read him the rest of his Miranda rights and led him to the police car.
"Well, now what?" I asked George.
"I'm making this up as I go."
"Well, we got him out from behind the wheel drunk, angry and hurt. That much is good," I consoled myself. "But getting him arrested, this is pretty drastic."
"Even Glory asked for something dramatic to wake him up. This is pretty dramatic. Hopefully, the court will order some type of alcohol treatment or education. But whether they do or not, at least we got him off the streets where he was in mortal danger."
We sat in the backseat of the police car with Jeremi on his long drive downtown. I had to find out if Jeannie was all right. "Will you be all right for a bit? My heart is telling me that I've got to go check on Jeannie and the baby," I told George.
"I'll stay with him," George reassured me.
"Call me if you need anything."
"Go!" George commanded.
Jeannie was back at her apartment alone, except for Pearl. I told Pearl what happened to Jeremi and she told me the bartender drove Jeannie home, then returned to the pub.
Jeannie paced the living room for awhile and then cried. After a while, she collapsed on the couch. Almost immediately after she sat down, there was a knock on the door. With quite a bit of effort, thanks to her prominent stomach and sore behind, she got herself up. She muttered quietly on the way to the door about her bad timing. Then she looked out the peephole and saw Peter. She opened the door and let him in.
"Are you all right?" He rushed right in and gave her a hug.
Jeannie said. "I'm fine." She looked at her stomach, "We're fine." He gave her a look of disbelief. "Really," she insisted.
"I know better," Peter said and pulled her close and held her tight. Then she let finally let down her defenses she started to cry. "That's right, get out all the garbage. Cry it out. I know this is very hard, especially for you."