A Life Apart by Anthony De Benedict

Author:Anthony De Benedict
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: BookBaby
Published: 2013-10-10T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty One

REHAB

On her next class-free day of the summer session, Mirabelle spent the afternoon helping her mother with chores around the house. Jill had extended Betsy’s leave, probably, Mirabelle suspected, to escape her questioning eyes rather than out of concern for Betsy’s sensitivities. After dinner, she gave Jill the medication prescribed to ease her off her addiction. With her mother settled down for the evening, Mirabelle left in her VW to visit her brother at the Seaside Ranch, a rehabilitation center located on the Sonoma coast.

She drove with the window partially opened. The chill of the night air refreshed her spirit and made the long drive less tasking. When she finally arrived at the Seaside Ranch, she found an isolated complex of buildings nestled between the ocean and a series of hillocks that blocked any view of the highway. After parking, she opened the car door and sat quietly, absorbing the atmospherics of the place. The scent of ocean spray hung in the air as the sound of crashing waves punctuated the silence of the night. she could feel the power of the sea’s vastness and breathe in its life-force. she wondered how billy would adjust to an environment so uncluttered with the distractions of his normal surroundings. At the front desk, she was directed to the rear of the building where a lush garden overlooked the ocean below. There, on a bench near the cliff’s edge, sat Billy. He seemed enthralled with the view and did not see his sister approaching. “billy, hi.”

He rose and faced her. “Hey, you found me.”

Mirabelle hugged her brother and kissed him on the cheek. “How are you doing? Is this place helping?”

“Yeah, I think so.” He motioned for her to sit beside him. “I’m going through some withdrawal issues: depression, mood swings and some physical stuff. But the meds they offered threatened to make matters worse. One of them—the one they thought well suited for cocaine withdrawal—could cause ‘long QT syndrome.’ basically, it’s a type of channelopathy. When they heard about your diagnosis, this med—I think it was called Vanoxerine—was ruled out. Fortunately, my addiction is considered ‘mild.’ so they agreed to let me deal with withdrawal on my own terms. They say I’ll feel more normal in about a week. But what I’ve since learned is that’s when my recovery begins. Even after I leave here, I’ve got things to work on.”

“Do you know yet what those ‘things’ are?”

“Kind of, yeah. The cocaine made me feel less estranged—made me forget the pain of being me. It’s like I don’t know who I really am without the football, the senior class president hype, and all. At least I’ve come to believe cocaine is not the way to go. But I still don’t know what to do with my life.”

“But you do know. You’re doing it right now. Look, Billy, none of us can predict our future, except its end. so we have to live in the ‘now.’” Mirabelle stood up and waved her arms at the expanse of the ocean.

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