mcgrew's Journal: Triangles

The only girlfriend I got left
Got four legs, a tail and bad breath

-Black Magic Johnson, "Drunked Out Tonight"

I've had the house to myself since Linda went into the hospital, and unlike the drinking blues/country song quoted above I've been enjoying every minute of it. I've been visiting Linda about every day, as have my former roommates/tenants.

There's a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in Springfield that Danny and Amy have gone through for alcoholism and Brian has gone through for drugs.

They tell me the place is "a fucking joke", as "They do drugs in the rehab center". Probably part of the reason is because that's where the criminal "justice" system sends first time non-violent drug offenders, and is the place the homeless can easily get into.

My beautiful friend Meg used to work for them. I miss Meg; she moved to Florida a couple of months ago.

Danny's been sober for a few months now. He was Brian's room mate at Triangle until they kicked Brian out.

Brian, hopelessly addicted to a myriad of drugs, including heroin, had been "clean" for well over a month. He'd get "day passes" and go to a bar for a few drinks, and when he'd check back into rehab they'd breath test him. No tests for the drugs he was staying off of, but for alcohol. He flunked a test and out he went.

He's been pretty much camped out in Linda's hospital room since they threw him out of Triangle, and it's worked out well. She has company and someone there if she needs, and he has somewhere inside to sleep.

He's going to serve some time in prison, he says. Apparently he got caught shoplifting for drug money. "But I may not have to go," he said. "I have to see the judge again."

A few days after Linda was admitted to the hospital her phone rang. It was her ex; the ex to whom her divorce isn't yet final; the ex who fathered her thirteen children; the ex who abused her both mentally and physically. The ex from whom she fled first to a shelter for battered women, then to Ralph's.

He wanted child support. The woman's in the hospital dying of cancer and this guy is harrassing her for child support.

Right before she'd gone into the hospital I'd promised to take her to Shepardo's -- we'd been taking a walk and had passed by it. Apparently she has a friend who works there, and I hadn't eaten there yet. She reminded me of that from her hospital bed, and I promised to take her when she got out of the hospital.

"Fuck that!" she said. "Just bring it up here!"

Saturday morning Tami called from the hospital - Linda wasn't doing well at all. "Can you come up?"

I told her I'd planned on it anyway. I'd just stuck a tape in the VCR and was going to visit Linda right after Picard talked Q into getting the Enterprise the hell away from the Borg.

But resistance was futile. The phone rang again -- it was Charlie, who Tami had called and freaked out and who pleaded with me to take her up to see Linda "right now. PLEASE!" So I left poor Captain Picard in the Delta quadrant and shut off the tape, hoping the Borg wouldn't destroy the Enterprise before I turned the tape back on.

They had given her some kind of intestine irrigation therapy, and given her a massive infection as well. She had a high fever and was shivering, completely miserable. Charlie mommied her impressively, getting her new warm blankets and such.

"So," I said to Linda, "I guess today's not a good time to bring that pizza up?"

It did me good to see her smile at that. "Maybe in a few days," she said.

Sunday I didn't have the gasoline to get up there, having spent my cash Saturday night drinking as I usually do on Saturdays. I've gotten rid of my bank card, and only take a limited amount of funds out Saturday morning so I don't overdo it too much.

The next day Amy called. She'd been fighting with Connor. "I swear, Steve, we get along better when I'm drunk!" She wanted me to take the afternoon off and have a few drinks with her.

See, she looks at me as more than a friend; more like a father figure. She's twenty years younger than me, and I met her through Robyn, my ex-girlfriend and Amy's stepmother, Amy's half sister's mom. When she introduced me to anybody she referred to me as her stepdad, even though Robyn and I weren't married, only living together.

She called Connor and had him pick her up after he got off work. Amy and I'd had a good talk; I'd hoped I'd helped.

No sooner had they gone than Annie, the ex-hooker, came by. She, too, was fighting with her boyfriend, who I've never met and don't even know his name. "I want some dick!" Ann said.

So I gave her some.

Then Charlie called wanting a ride to the grocery store. Last week I got stood up on a date by a woman with AIDS, and this week I have thee dates (of sorts) with three woman at three times on the same day. Pours, never rains.

We, too, wound up drinking, and I wasn't even all the way sobered up from drinking with Amy earlier.

The phone rang. It was Connor. "Have you seen Amy?"

"No," I said, "I haven't seen her since you guys left."

He thought she'd come back to my house. He'd left her at the hospital to visit Linda, and apparently they'd fought over her wanting to see Linda; but it probably had something to do with the fact that they hadn't had sex in two weeks, too.

No sooner had I hung up than Stuart called. Knowing it was for Charlie I let her answer it. I could hear him screaming at her all the way across the table. "I want your shit out of here and you out of here and I never want to see your face again, bitch!" he screamed.

She hung up on him. "What the fuck?" she said. "Did you hear that?"

"Uh yeah. What did you do to him?"

"Beats the hell out of me. But he'd just talked to Connor. Amy's behind it somehow. I ought to beat that cunt's ass! God damn it, she got me thrown out of my house."

And into mine, apparently. I got to bed maybe one-thirty.

The next morning I was badly hung over, but made it into work anyway. My head was hammering and my stomach was churning and I was tired as all hell because I'd only had a few hours sleep and worse than that I had to deal with Microsoft Access. I'd rather have a hangover than use that database. But having to access Access hung over is hell on earth.

The phone rang -- it was Tami. "Guess where I spent the night last night?" she asked.

"No clue."

"Jail."

"What happened?"

"I got pulled over driving Todd's truck, and, uh, well my license was suspended."

She wanted me to buy her a half-pint of rotgut. I promised to bring her a bottle when I got off work.

It rang again; it was Amy. "Can you pick me up at lunch? Connor threw me out."

I bought Amy, Charlie, and me lunch off of the McBurger dollar menu and dropped them off at my house. So much for having the place to myself.

The cause of Connor's and Stuart's ire was still a mystery.

I went up and visited Linda for a while after work, and she was much better. Better, but in a hellishly foul mood. I'd say she's in the second stage. But maybe not, as Brian explained to me why there was a "no visitors" sign on the door.

Her ex had come up to the hospital trying to serve her papers! The asshole was lucky Brain didn't beat the hell out of him. As it was, the nurse had security escort him out of the building.

Linda said "Where's my Shepardo's, samn it!" It did my heart good.

After my visit I went to deliver the two dollar bottle of whiskey to Tami, and she jumped in the car with me. "I need a friend bad," she said.

I wasn't in the mood to drink, but I had a glass of beer with my dinner anyway. At one point Charlie borrowed Tami's phone. After Tami left, Charlie said "well that explains that. I know why Connor and Stuart kicked us out."

"Well tell me, damn it!" Amy said.

"Connor's number and Stuart's number were on her 'called numbers' list right before they called Steve's phone last night."

Tami's often referred to as Lucy Furr. My guess is she's about to get kicked out of Todd's and thinks she'll wind up at Stuart's or Connor's but has to get rid of Charlie and Amy to do it, and she got them both kicked out so she'd have a backup in case one didn't work.

I have to stay the hell away from that damned evil woman before something horrible befalls ME.

Too bad

[s.bots]

It's unfortunate that you don't have your house to yourself for a little longer. I've been realizing lately that just having time to yourself can do wonders for your mental state.

Tami just sounds like a shitload of trouble, hope she doesn't try and weasel her way back into your house. Best wishes for Linda.

Re:

[mcgrew]

No, I won;t even let her in the door. She IS a shitload of trouble. I'm starting to realise that she's a sociopath, I looked it up on wikipedia and she fits all the criteria to a T.

Tami

[The Gaytriot]

Her nickname seems like it's well deserved, but I have to wonder why Tami hasn't been completely ostracized yet?

"Connor's number and Stuart's number were on her 'called numbers' list right before they called Steve's phone last night."

It sounds like everyone's privy to her antics, and she pulls crap like that often enough that she's a nuisance. I'm sure she can be nice and friendly sometimes too, but damn you guys have put up with a lot from her.

Anyways, any idea on why your date stood you up? Did she find out that you knew about her AIDS?

Re:

[mcgrew]

I never found out why. Maybe she sobered up the next morning and said "oh shit I made a date with THAT guy?"