25. That Ain’t No Swimming Pool

Later that day I ran into Connie Lee, who was waiting to drive Matey home.

“I told you Matey’d always been a drinker, right?” Connie Lee asked.  “That was the hole he dug for himself a shot at a time. You know how they say some rain falls in everyone’s life? When our boy went to Iraq, it poured.  Matey watched the news constantly. He put his phone in a plastic baggie and took it into the shower, afraid he’d miss a call.  Never turned the computer off, waiting for an email. He didn’t draw a sober breath that year.” She paused to wipe away a tear. “When our boy came back, Matey couldn’t stop drinking. Now he’s drowning in the hole he dug.” Connie Lee added.  “He blames the rain, but I remind him who dug the hole.”

Today I won’t blame the rain if I’m drowning in a hole I dug.

Sober Not Somber © 2015 by Ken Montrose

(Just a reminder: Sober Not Somber is a work of fiction.  Any resemblance to anyone you might know is purely coincidental.)