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AFTER THE DRAMATIC, all-hands-on-deck meeting, things calmed down a bit. A few of the key players said they were going to get back to me with names of people or companies that might be interested in purchasing Retro. I managed to connect with one man who seemed like a good candidate. Of course I did my research. Looking him up on social media, I found a list of other companies that he owned. It didn’t take long before I was feeling reasonably certain about his credentials.
I called him up, and we had an initial conversation.
“I see you have some experience in the tech field,” I told him.
“That’s right. No experience in the art world, but that’s what consultants are for,” he replied.
I nodded even though he couldn’t see me. We set an in-person meeting for later on that week, and I was feeling good about it. I generally went with my gut when it came to trusting people. It hadn’t steered me wrong often, although when it did, it was a spectacular mistake. I’d thought Nick Pierce was someone I could trust. But he’d proven that instinct needed to be backed up with cold, hard facts. I would do even more homework on my potential buyer before the meeting. I wanted the sale to happen quickly, but I needed to know that the purchaser was going to take good care of my baby.
Without a girlfriend to visit, I went home alone after work. I took a shower and hopped on the treadmill for half an hour. It was a good way to loosen up in between shifts. I grabbed myself something to eat and then parked my backside in the office chair until early the next morning. Climbing out of the chair after three hours at the computer, I stretched.
If Teddy were there, I would already be upstairs, having way more fun. The house felt empty and silent without her. We had only been together for a short amount of time, but in that window, I had grown accustomed to having her around. If only we could have come to some agreement. If I hadn’t been so focused on winning the court case, maybe I could have seen how much pain she was in.
I rubbed my neck. There was no use obsessing about it. What was done was done. I climbed up the stairs all by myself and went to bed. Tuesday was like a copy/paste of Monday except without the morning meeting. I woke up, showered, got dressed, and went into the office. I worked straight through until eight in the evening, came home, and sat up all night.
Wednesday came, and I didn’t feel like doing it all over again. I sent Clara an email saying that I wouldn’t be in the office that day and went back to sleep. I felt guilty shutting the world out like that. I could count on one hand the number of times I’d slept in over the years. But when I woke, I felt better and eager to do something out of the ordinary.
Pouring myself a bowl of cereal, I called the rehabilitation center where my brother Alec was staying. He had a long history of alcohol abuse, and things had come to a head earlier with a confrontation between him and Teddy. I wasn’t a witness, but apparently, he’d cornered her in a hallway and tried to kiss her.
He was so drunk that evening that he didn’t remember it. Teddy had stomped on his foot and hightailed it out of there. I walked her to the car where she came clean about what had just happened. It took everything inside me not to beat him to death right then and there. Luckily, there was still a good person beneath all the booze, and Alec had checked himself into rehab the following day.
I had been up to visit him a couple times. It was a nice resort kind of place with a bunch of walking paths and a big yard for recreation. Inside, it was more like an institution, although they had upscale furniture and fancy meals.
There were security guards at the entrance, and visiting hours were restricted. I hadn’t bothered to learn the entire schedule, so I wanted to see if I could drive up and talk to him. The receptionist asked me to wait a moment while she paged my brother. I wandered out into the living room to look out across my front yard.
It was nearing Christmas, but there were no decorations out front. I ought to have my landscaper put something up. It was depressing to be the only house not in the holiday spirit. I made a mental note to text the guy when I was done talking to Alec.
“Hey, what’s up, bro?” Alec came on the line a moment later.
“Hey,” I responded cheerfully. “Do you have some time today?”
“Yeah, actually,” Alec said, his voice unclouded by any substance. “I’m here on extra time, so I can check myself out.”
“Great,” I said. “Where do you want to go?”
“Can you take me Christmas shopping?” he asked. “I want to pick up a few things for Mom and Dad. They’ve been great throughout this whole ordeal, and I’d like to thank them.”
“By buying them gifts with money they’ve given you?” I asked. I couldn’t help myself. Apparently, there was still some unresolved bitterness that was seeping into the conversation. I didn’t wait for Alec to be offended. “I’m sorry. Force of habit.”
“No, it’s cool,” he said, shaking it off. “I deserve that. At the moment, I don’t have my own money, but I’m looking into some things.”
“Like what?” I wondered, hoping that it wasn’t a shady investment scheme or a poker game.
“One of the guys in here says his sponsor runs a company, and they’re always looking to hire people in recovery,” Alec answered. “I’ll tell you all about it when you get up here.”
“On my way,” I said, hanging up the phone.
I was impressed. As I dressed in comfortable yet upscale attire, I considered how far my little brother had come. Hooking up with a job designed for people in recovery seemed like a great option. He would have all the support he needed in addition to a fresh start. He wouldn’t have to lie to his employer, and he would be expected to pull his own weight and stay sober. I was happy for him. I hoped it all worked out.
The drive up to the treatment center took about forty-five minutes. It was stuck all the way up in the hills, away from the city and anyone that might have something illicit to sell. Most of the residents were from well-to-do families. There weren’t any celebrities that I knew of, but it definitely wasn’t a state-run facility.
I parked in the lot adjacent to the front door and walked inside. I recognized the security guard and gave him a wave. He nodded to me, disinterested already. I was about to approach the reception desk when Alec appeared from the common room.
He wore a pair of dark blue jeans and a blue T-shirt. On his head was a Santa hat, the pom pom at the end draped festively over his shoulder. I had to laugh.
“What’s with the hat?” I asked.
“It’s Christmas, man,” he said with a smile.
“Are they handing those out, or did you buy it yourself?” I watched as he signed himself out in the logbook. Giving the receptionist a small wave, I turned around to lead my brother back to the car.
“Everyone got one,” Alec said, pulling the passenger door open. “I think it suits me.”
“Yeah, if Santa is a drunk, homeless guy,” I muttered.
Alec narrowed his eyes at me, sliding into the front seat before pulling the door shut. “You keep dropping these passive-aggressive insults,” he observed.
I sat in the driver’s seat and started the ignition. “Would you rather I be really aggressive?” I teased.
“I’d rather you be honest with me,” Alec countered.
I put the car in reverse and started backing out of the parking space.
“Hold on,” he said. “I think we need to talk about this.”
I put my foot on the brake and closed my eyes for a second. “You’re right. I’m sorry. Old habits die hard. I know you’re trying to change your life.”
“Trying?” he countered.
“You’re changing your life,” I corrected myself. “I’m proud of you. I’ll try to rein it in next time I get the urge to insult you.”
He smiled, considering my apology. “Okay.”
I kept my hand on the gear shift, waiting for him to continue.
“You can go,” he said, pulling on his seatbelt.
I eased out of the parking lot and onto the road. “Where do you want to go shopping?”
“Downtown,” he said.
“Okay,” I agreed, turning toward the highway. “So tell me about this job.”
“It’s not a sure thing. It’s just one option,” he mused, sitting back to watch the scenery. “If I can get two years sober under my belt, I can get certified to be a peer counselor.”
“Peer counselor?” I asked, genuinely curious.
“Yeah, I could work in treatment centers or hospitals, that sort of thing,” he replied. “And I can always get a crap job at a grocery store or something.”
I scoffed. “You don’t want to work at a grocery store.”
“I need something, Brad,” Alec said seriously. “I lost my old apartment when I stopped paying rent. They put all my things in storage, and I need money to get them out.”
“I can front you,” I offered.
“I don’t want you to,” he objected. “This is my mistake. I need to fix it.”
I found the highway onramp and sped up to merge with traffic.
“Besides,” Alec continued. “If I let you pay, I’ll never hear the end of it.”
I laughed. “That’s true.”
I signaled to move into the left-hand lane, stepping on the gas. As we drove, Alec filled me in on his future plans. I stayed silent about my own, letting him talk. I needed to get out of my own head and be there for someone else for a change. It was almost like therapy, but in reverse. Instead of talking about what was going wrong in my life, I was listening to my brother’s vision of starting over.
“I’m gonna get an apartment,” Alec said. “I checked out a few and found a studio that’s not too expensive, but in a good neighborhood.”
I couldn’t imagine living in a studio apartment at my age. My home had nineteen rooms, four bathrooms, a gym, and a pool out back. The best Alec could hope for was an in-unit washer and dryer.
“What?” he asked me suspiciously.
“Sounds good,” I lied.
“You can say whatever it is you’re not saying,” he encouraged me.
“I just wouldn’t want to live in a studio,” I responded.
“Well, you didn’t have a drinking problem,” Alec quipped. “I saw the floor plan online, and it looks nice.”
“What’s a floor plan for a studio?” I teased. “It’s just one room.”
“Whatever.” He turned away to look out the window.
“Hey.” I softened my voice, realizing that I had done it again. “It sounds great.”
“I’m also thinking about traveling.” Alec instantly bounced back into his jovial frame of mind. “There’s an AA group that holds meetings at the center every Wednesday night. They’re planning a work trip around Mexico.”
“A work trip?” It actually sounded interesting.
“Yeah, building houses, cleaning roads, that kind of thing,” Alec said.
“Not your typical tourist vacation,” I observed.
“Better,” he answered. “There’s a lot of guilt involved in being sober. So helping other people is a big part of it.”
“Wow,” I said, pulling off the highway near the shopping district. “You’ve really got your shit together.”
“Thanks,” he said with a grin.
I found a place to park in a city lot, and we left the car on foot. There were hundreds of shops to choose from, mostly high-end clothing stores, but also candy shops and home goods. Alec was friendly with everyone who looked our way, smiling and calling out, “Merry Christmas.”
I grabbed his shirt when one young woman gave him a startled frown. Pulling him into the nearest store, I cautioned him, “Easy there. Not everyone has a new lease on life.”
“I feel terrific,” he responded.
“It shows,” I said.
“So what about you?” he asked, browsing racks of artistic mugs. “Do you think Dad would like this?” He held one up, twisting it so I could see the front and the back.
“I don’t think so,” I answered. “Dad isn’t much of a coffee drinker.”
“What do you think he would like?” Alec asked seriously.
“Automotive stuff,” I suggested. “Or maybe tools.”
“Tools?” Alec said with a smirk. “I’ve never seen him build anything in his life.”
“Okay,” I relented. “How about a shirt?”
“Shirt,” Alec repeated thoughtfully. “Let’s go to Macy’s.”
“Okay,” I agreed.
We walked back outside where luckily, the young woman who had been offended was no longer there. We turned in unison, each knowing exactly where to go. I thought Alec might have forgotten about his original question, but there was no such luck.
“How are things with Teddy?” Alec asked.
I sighed, not really wanting to get into it. I’d poured my heart out to my brother more than once over the brief but dynamic relationship that had just ended. He was curious, but he also just wanted to support me.
“I think it’s over,” I said, resigned to my fate. No matter how many times I turned it over in my head, I couldn’t think of a way to repair the damage. Teddy and I were just different. We’d made a mess of things at the first real challenge that we faced. There didn’t seem to be much hope after all the dust had cleared.
“Why? You were so good together,” Alec said, waving at a homeless person sitting on a bench.
“We didn’t see eye to eye over the lawsuit, and we weren’t able to communicate very well,” I explained as well as I could. Some of what had happened between us remained a mystery to me.
“She’s a good girl to put up with our family,” Alec continued.
“Yeah, but it’s over now,” I reminded him. “So she doesn’t have to.”
“I’m sorry,” Alec said, putting a hand on my shoulder. “I really thought she was the one.”
“Me too,” I answered. “Me too.”
“You know, there’s no time like Christmas if you want to get her back,” Alec observed.
I gave him a side eye and kept walking.
“So you do still have feelings for her?” Alec pointed a finger at me.
“Of course,” I responded. “But that doesn’t change anything. I don’t even know if she would want to get back together.”
“You’ll never know if you don’t ask.” Alec employed the well-known advice.
“I’m going to sell Retro.” I changed the subject.
“Really?” He seemed surprised. “Is that related to Teddy?”
“Sort of,” I answered honestly.
If I wanted to pretend the two were separate, I could have lied to myself. Retro was about Nick Pierce and all the financial troubles, while my breakup with Teddy was about the lawsuit and our inability to communicate. But that was only part of the story. The truth was that both things were going wrong at the same time, and they were related. If I had never bought Retro, I never would have met Teddy. If Pierce hadn’t stolen money from me, she never would have gone looking for evidence, and the lawsuit wouldn’t have occurred.
I tried to tease out enough of the meat of the issue without going into the details. Alec knew most of the story already, so I didn’t need to explain very much. “Aside from a few weeks of heaven with Teddy, the whole thing has been a disaster. I just want to make sure the rest of the employees are taken care of, and then I want to get out.”
“You need a clean break,” Alec theorized.
“Yeah,” I agreed.
“Just like me,” he said with a smile, nodding to a businessman who was carrying far too many shopping bags.
I had to smile. Alec certainly had the spirit of the season, that was for sure. I wondered if all I needed to do was drink myself into the ground, lose everything, and spend a month at a rehabilitation center to feel some of the happiness he was giving off. It almost seemed worth it.
“I’m sorry you never got a chance to apologize for how you treated her,” I said as we reached Macy’s front door and ducked inside.
“No sweat,” he responded. “I’ll get my chance.”
“How do you know?” I asked, suspicious of his optimism.
“I’ll find a way to make it happen,” Alec promised. “In the meantime, what kind of purse do you think Mom would like?”
