Antwain stands in
the kitchen feeling lost and helpless.
One day married and
his new wife is upstairs sleeping off a night of binge drinking. There is nothing he can do to ease her pain. He feels a little embarrassed about it when
Tatiana comes downstairs and walks toward him.
“I heard
everything,” she says, confirming his fear.
“Sorry about that,” he says; unsure how else to respond.
“She has a real
problem,” Tatiana says; suspecting that Antwain has no idea how
long the drinking has been going on.
“She’s just in a lot
of pain right now,” Antwain says hating himself for making excuses for
Tania.
“We all go through pain, but not all of us turn to alcohol.”
“Yeah,” Antwain
begins, “but not all of us have lost a brother either.”
He continues, “If
only she would let me in. Maybe I could
help her get through it all.”
Tatiana smiles slightly at Antwain’s naiveté.
She can tell that Antwain really loves her granddaughter and only wants to see the best in her.
She also knows, that seeing only what he wants to see will eventually lead to a dead
end for both himself and Tania.
“I know that it’s
really not my place to say this, but I love my granddaughter so I’m going to
say it anyway…”
“You will never be
able to fix this. She’ll have to fix it
on her own. The sooner you realize that,
the better off you’ll both be.”
“Maybe, but what do I do in the meantime?
Just wait? I have to try to do
something.”
Tatiana almost
envies the love that Antwain has for her granddaughter; never experiencing such
love in her own life. She smiles to give
Antwain hope, albeit false hope. “I’m sure you’ll
figure out a way.”
Tatiana can see that
Antwain is determined, so she leaves the
conversation at that. After all, Tania
will choose her path whether she or Antwain listens to her or not.
Feeling smothered by
worry, Tatiana decides to leave the house.
Only a day outside
fishing will allow her a brief moment of solace to think over the situation
with a clear mind.
Antwain also spends
the morning seeking ways to clear his mind.
He sits down at the kitchen table and begins to write
thank you cards to their wedding guests.
“Tania and I thank you from
the bottom of our hearts for sharing our special day with us. We look forward to your continued presence in
our lives during the years to come.” He writes, feeling a little deceptive in his painting of
a perfect life for himself in Tania in lieu of what they are already going
through so soon after their wedding.
The solitude of
fishing causes Tatiana’s mind to think about things in her past that she would
rather forget. She recalls the moment
when her own brother Royce, now estranged from her life, began to turn to
alcohol after their brother Dimitri died as a child.
Tatiana never
expected to see the same pattern being repeated once again in her life. This time with her granddaughter.
While placing the
newly completed thank you cards in the mail box, Antwain receives a call from
his best friend Ralph.
“How’s married life?” His friend asks, which strikes them both as funny, since
Antwain has only been married for a day.
Ralph decides to
invite himself over. As much as Antwain thinks about making an
excuse for him not to come, he realizes that he could use the company.
Ralph arrives
moments later. Before answering the
door, Antwain glances toward he and Tania’s bedroom wondering if Tania
will sleep through Ralph’s visit or wake up and cause an embarrassing scene.
Seeing Ralph
instantly lifts Antwain’s spirits. “Did
you come over here for another butt kicking in chess,” Antwain says in
greeting.
“Butt kicking? The only way that will happen is if I play
myself.” Ralph
answers.
Antwain bursts out laughing. “That’s
right, say whatever you need to work up your nerves to play the master!”
Antwain shakes his
friend’s hand. “It’s good to see you
Ralph.”
“What? Married life getting to you
already?” Ralph says jokingly, unaware of how close his joke hits home.
Antwain and Ralph
sit down for a friendly game of chess.
While they play,
Ralph suddenly gets serious. “So really man…is everything OK with you?”
“Yeah…why do you
ask?” Antwain answers attempting not to reveal anything about Tania coming home
drunk this morning.
“No reason, you just
seem a little distracted.”
“I’m distracted
because I’m making sure you don’t cheat like last time,” Antwain says jokingly.
“If you say so, but
we both know I beat you fair and square.”
“Never!” Antwain
says looking for his next move.
