The Challenge(63)
“You can’t,” Justin said. “No one can.” Pitt could tell he’d already been drinking, and he had put away half a bottle of the Bordeaux. Tom was right, he decided. Justin needed to go to rehab, and he was sure he would refuse to go. They both went back to the table then, and Pitt told one of the caterers to keep close track of the wine. Marlene wondered what had happened and was worried. Tom had already guessed, and he saw the wine stains on Justin’s shirt. Pitt looked as calm and unruffled as always, and he and Anne exchanged a warm look.
There were half a dozen different pies for dessert, and they had coffee in the living room. At five o’clock everyone left. Marlene went home with her sons, and Juliet went home with Tom. Harvey went to Beth’s house. They watched a movie, and then he had to work that night. He always had taken the shifts on holidays, since he had no family to be with, but things had changed. Tom and Juliet were coming over, and Peter was coming too. They were all too full to eat another meal, but they wanted to be together.
“The Wylie boy, the older one, is on a bad track,” Harvey commented to Beth.
“I don’t think Marlene knows what to do. She’s in love with my ex-husband and her boys don’t want her dating anyone.”
“By some people’s standards, it’s a little soon after Bob died, but Justin needs a leash put on him. He’s going to wind up in trouble,” he predicted. Beth hoped he was wrong. “Remember what I told you when I met you. Anger is just a cover for fear. You were mad as hell that night.”
“I was just scared Juliet was going to die on the mountain.”
“So was I, for all of them. But it didn’t happen. We all got lucky, and the National Guard saved the day.”
“So did you,” she said. He had called them in and had organized his rangers valiantly.
“I was scared we wouldn’t get them all off the mountain, and we’d lose one or two,” he admitted. “But I was determined not to let that happen. That kid is scared of life without his father, of what’s going to happen to them, of what his mother is going to do. I know Marlene, and I like her a lot, but she needs to rope both of those kids in—Justin anyway, to make him feel safe. She’s as frightened as he is. She doesn’t know what to do, and she’s letting them bully her.” Beth suspected that his assessment was accurate, but she wouldn’t have liked to be in Marlene’s shoes. She was enjoying her own these days.
“What makes you so wise?” she asked him, smiling.
“I’m old and I love you. You made a difference. I wanted to show you I could bring them home safely, and I did. Maybe I couldn’t have done it if you hadn’t gotten so mad at me.” He kissed her then, and left for work a few minutes later. He kept a uniform in her closet.
Juliet and Tom arrived with Peter a little while later, and Anne had sent a ton of leftovers with them for that night or the next day.
“Where’s Harvey?” Juliet asked, looking around.
“He went to work.”
“I like him,” she said to her mother.
“Me too,” Beth said with a grin.
They watched one of the movies Harvey had “assigned” her that night, and ended up eating some of Anne’s delicious leftovers after all.
Chapter 19
The days between Thanksgiving and Christmas rushed by in a kaleidoscope of colors. Beth was going to spend Christmas Eve dinner with Juliet at Tom’s house, and on Christmas night Juliet was going back to her house for dinner. Harvey was working. The day after Christmas, Tom was taking Juliet to Aspen to ski. Everyone had their own plans for the holiday. Marlene and the boys would be spending their first Christmas without their father, and knew it would be hard.
June’s doctor friend was taking her and Tim skiing. They hadn’t heard from Ted again, and June wondered if they ever would. A door had closed for Tim when Ted hadn’t shown up at Thanksgiving. You could only be disappointed so many times. Tim no longer wanted to play and would never believe his father again.
The Browns and Pollocks were staying home.
Marlene cooked dinner for the boys on Christmas Eve, and Justin went out after dinner. He said he was meeting friends, but didn’t tell her where as usual. And he borrowed her car to do it. She and Noel watched movies on her computer. They went to bed at midnight, and left out cookies and milk for Santa, as they always did. Marlene loved their old traditions.
She was sound asleep at two a.m. when the phone rang. It was Justin. He was crying.
“Are you hurt?” she asked him.
“No, but I totaled your car, Mom.” It was the only car she had, since he had already totaled his own.
“Did you hurt anyone else?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think so.” She realized then that he was drunk. He was slurring his words.
“Where are you?”
“I’m in jail.”
“What are they charging you with?”
“Drunk driving, I think. Can you come and get me?”
“Let me speak to the officer.” Justin was alive and probably not hurt, or he wouldn’t be calling her from jail. He’d be in the hospital if he was injured. She was strangely calm this time and asked the officer the pertinent questions. This was his second DUI, so she knew they’d be harder on him than the first time, and he was eighteen now.