“I want to talk to you about that, Aiden. Can you come over? I can give you my address. I just moved into a new place.”
Aiden took a deep breath and thought about it.
This might be one of her infamous little tricks. She might get me over there and tell a bunch of lies to try to play on my sympathy and get me back in the same damn spot I was in before!
But then he thought about her speaking to his boss, and all the things William told him she’d said…
“All right, text it to me. I’ll come.”
“Okay. Can you come soon?”
“Yeah.” And then he disconnected the call. Moments later, he was in the shower and then getting dressed. He moved like a tornado, spinning and in a frenzy to get it done and over with. He confirmed she’d text him her new apartment address. Gripping Addison’s shoulder, he gently roused her. She sat up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, and peered at him.
“Hey, is it time to go?” she asked, half out of it. “Am I late for work?”
“No, baby. Today is Sunday. Look, I am about to go over to my mom’s place. I should be back soon.”
She yawned. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah. She got a new apartment apparently and wants to talk to Perry and me. I’ll fill you in when I get back.”
Dropping a quick kiss on her lips, he grabbed his jacket and keys and headed out the door. After putting the address into his Google Maps app, he arrived at a high-rise apartment building. Looking for a viable parking spot, he finally tucked his car into one, then headed up a pathway to the gate. Aiden grabbed his phone from his pocket and called her.
“Hi,” she answered, a bit chipper in her tone.
“I’m here. I rang the buzzer.”
“It’s broken, supposed to be fixed in the next few days. I’ll send Perry down to let you in.” She hung up and in moments, Perry slinked towards him with his hands jammed in his pockets. He undid the lock and opened the door. They walked side by side down a narrow hallway towards some old elevators. The numbers barely lit.
“I thought we agreed we weren’t talking to Mom until she promised treatment for sobriety?” Aiden questioned without looking his brother in the eye.
Perry shrugged. “We did. But she said she had somethin’ important to say.”
Aiden said nothing further as they got onto the elevator and rode up to the fifth floor.
“This place is a shit hole,” Perry continued. “It’s month to month though and that’s what she needed. The landlord is a nasty guy who keeps hittin’ on her, too. He’s married. I want her outta here.”
“It’s probably all she can afford right now.”
The elevators doors opened, revealing a siren-red-haired teenager girl with a face laden with makeup, smacking hard on a wad of gum. She rolled her big, dark eyes at them before shoving herself between them, jumping on the elevator, and punching the button to go down. They walked towards Mom’s apartment in silence. As soon as they got to it, a sense of foreboding overcame him. The scent of bleach, cigarettes, and greasy foods all mingled together in the dark hallway, tinged with a mustiness that made him nauseous. Mom opened the door and, much to his surprise, she looked like she’d put on a few pounds.
“Baby, so glad you’re here!” she squealed as she slipped her arm around his neck and brought him down for a kiss on the cheek. In one hand she held a cigarette, careful to not let it hit his leather jacket as she kicked the door closed behind him.
Perry walked off and left him there as he looked around the place. The walls were riddled with foundation cracks, the kitchen old and small, and the cramped rooms ran into each other. Extreme’s, “More Than Words” played on her radio.
“Sit down, honey.” Mom’s voice broke through his observations. He made his way to a small white table where Perry was now sitting, and three glasses of cola were already poured, ready for them. Grabbing a chair, he sat down.
“So, what’s up?” he asked her. He clasped his hands together, not expecting much. “What’s going on?”
Mom fell back into her seat, crossed her denim clad legs and exhaled smoke. She blew it towards the ceiling, causing her hair to fly about.
“I’ve made up my mind. A couple nights ago, I called Center For Discovery Washington. They’re admitting me.” He shot a glance at Perry and didn’t miss his surprised expression. “This isn’t my first time going to rehab as you both know, but it’s my first time doing it on my own terms. I don’t wanna be like this anymore.” She took another toke of her cigarette, then placed it down into the ashtray. “I told them I wanted to start tomorrow. Somebody is gonna come and get me first thing in the morning.”
“How long is the treatment?”
“Ninety days. Then they have aftercare programs. My boss knows about it and was kind enough to promise my job back to me. He even said he’d give me half pay while I was away, so I could still keep the rent going. Once I get on my feet, I’m moving out of here and getting me a nice place… like the one I had before.” Aiden didn’t dare speak, for fear of breaking the spell. “I wanna tell you both that I’m sorry. Aiden, I called you a piece of shit. Well, I’m the piece of shit.”
“Mom, self-deprecation isn’t going to help.” Aiden leaned over and placed his hand on her shoulder. She avoided her sons’ gazes as silent tears flowed down her face.
“Who said anything about helping?” She swung her leg back and forth stared at a blank, dirty wall. “A fact is a fact. I want to tell you two something. Something I never wanted to talk about until now. I take that back. I still don’t want to talk about it, but maybe it’ll help. Aiden, when you were about eleven, and Perry was eight, I was working a second job down at Wilton’s, the bar. Remember?”
“Yeah, I remember. They’re closed now. You did janitorial work for that bar, got the bathrooms cleaned and stuff.”