90. Promises, Promises

At the end of the day I passed DUI Dave in the parking lot.  He was shaking his head. “What’s up?” I asked.

“I told Terrence when he could run again, I’d go jogging with him,” David said.  “He says he’ll be ready by summer.” 

“That’s great,” I said, “You two can keep each other motivated.”

He shook his head again.  “You don’t understand. People in my family don’t run unless we’re being chased. Usually by the police, or somebody’s husband.  I only offered ‘cause I wanted to cheer him up. He could barely walk when he first got here.  I didn’t think he’d ever run again.  Now I gotta go jogging with him ‘cause I promised. My family’s a bunch of violent drunks, but we keep our promises.” He laughed, “You almost never hear any of us promise not to drink.”

I wasn’t sure I believed Dave.  Broken promises were usually part of addiction.  But if he kept his promise, he’d do himself and Terrence a lot of good.

Today I will be grateful for people who keep their promises.

Sober Not Somber © 2015, 2016 by Ken Montrose

(Just a reminder: Sober Not Somber is a work of fiction.  Any resemblance between the characters and someone you might know is purely coincidental.)