The Sky Beneath My Feet - By Lisa Samson Page 0,39
than I want my marriage to fail. I have a funny way of showing it, I guess.
For half an hour, Gregory and Jed keep talking while I look on, contributing occasionally. It amazes me how easy Gregory is with young people—I always remember him as being socially awkward. Of course, he’s used to classroom interaction. That must explain it. On Jed’s side the fascination makes sense: an intellectually stimulating grown-up who doesn’t talk down to him, and his mirror image to boot. Here’s an alternative vision for him to latch onto of what it means to be a man.
“Anyway,” Gregory says. “Your mom and I need to have a talk. Don’t you have some homework to do? Or better yet, isn’t there some young lady out there sitting at home, pining away for a phone call from you?”
Once Jed disappears upstairs, Eli turns up and hits the reset button. The whole process repeats, but this time it’s my youngest who pleads a prior engagement and slips away to his room.
“They’re growing up,” Gregory says.
“Yes, they are. So what’s this favor?”
“When does Rick get off work? Maybe I should get that over with before we dive into things.”
“Don’t worry about him,” I say. “Just spill it.”
“Hmm. Maybe we should go for a walk.”
It’s dark outside, a pleasant autumn night. The smell of woodsmoke on the air. Gregory turns up the collar of his jacket, though it’s crisp at best, not cold.
Most likely scenario: Gregory is back on the bottle, ran someone over under the influence, and is here looking for an alibi.
Second most likely: Gregory has met the woman of his dreams, and she happens to be an underage college student, and now needs me to cosign on a loan so he can buy the girl her dream house. I’m hoping it’s the alibi. He’s not getting me to sign anything.
“There’s this girl,” he begins. “One of my students.”
Oh no.
“Are you sure you want to tell me about this?”
He laughs. “It’s not what you’re thinking. This is a bright girl, a really promising girl. Her mom teaches at the college with me. We’re good friends.”
“Good friends?”
“The mother and me. More than good friends. I like her, Eliza. They’re from back home. Here. Baltimore. Moved down to take the job at the school. We haven’t gone out or anything—I haven’t known her that long—but I really like her. The thing is, her daughter’s done a runner. She’s got a problem.”
“What kind of problem?”
“No, a Problem.” He presses his finger down on one nostril, sniffing loudly through the other. “Not just blow. She’s done it all—and the girl still hasn’t hit her bottom.”
“And what does this have to do with me?”
“I know where she is. She called home, and she’s at this halfway house in West Baltimore. Called Mission Up. You ever heard of it? No, I guess it’s not your beat. Anyway, something happened, a scared-sober moment, and she called her mom. She revealed where she was, but she wouldn’t come home. I figure I’ve got some experience in this line and the girl trusts me, so I offered to come down and reason with her. I want to talk to her, and I want you to come with me.”
“Why me? Can’t you talk to her yourself?”
Sheepish grin: “I already tried, Eliza. It didn’t go very well. So I thought, maybe you can get through to her.”
I turn to look in his face. The moon is up, sitting like a halo behind his head. “You thought I could get through to her? Why?”
My record on getting through to people isn’t great. Just look at Peggy Ensign. Or for that matter, my husband.
“I don’t know—you’re a woman. You’re a mom. Look, I’m kind of desperate here. Help me, Obi-Wan.”
“I am not your only hope. What you need is some kind of professional. A drug counselor or maybe a social worker. There are people who do this, Gregory. It’s their job.”
“Leave it to the professionals? I know you don’t believe that. Listen, I’m sorry if this is outside your comfort zone, and ordinarily I wouldn’t even be asking. But there’s a life at stake. Don’t shake your head, Liz, I’m not being melodramatic. You should see this place, the halfway house. It’s one rung higher than hell. If we don’t get her out of there, I can tell you exactly what’s going to happen.”
“And all you want me to do is talk to her? Convince her to go home?”