Part 20

It was well after midnight when Sam returned to find Charlotte asleep, her head pressed up against Jenny's bed rail, still clutching her daughter's small hand. It wasn't the bright lights in the hallway that woke her up, or his unsure footfalls. But the heavy scent of alcohol blanketed in mint that carried the kiss he placed upon their daughter's forehead. She knew, he would know, she knew where he had been. And as circular as this thinking, could their life spiral any faster downward? She wasn't going to beat around the bush. Lives were at stake.

Without looking up. Without opening her eyes, she asked, "Have you called Charlie?"

Sam's unsteady hand came to rest on his wife's shoulder. "He's waiting for me out in the hall."
Charlie was Sam's longtime sponsor. Unfortunately, it took years of soul searching for Charlotte to realize that she couldn't be there for Sam when he was drunk. That it would take this stranger, to pull him out of the depths of the bottle and back into their family. This Charlie, who was first introduced to the girls as Mr. Westing, and who now referred to him as Uncle Charlie, and greeted him with love, hugs and kisses reserved for close family members. This man, who had saved her husband and their life together on more than one occasion.

"Have him come in."

"He thought we might need to talk."

Charlotte looked up into her husband's glassy eyes. "Is there something you need to say?" Charlotte wasn't looking for an apology. Alcoholics can't apologize. And when they did, it was meaningless, so why go through the motions.

"No, not really. The girls are at the Master's house. I dropped them off, and then headed out... I was coming back but..." Sam let out a heavy sigh.

Realizing it was more of the same, she turned back to watch her daughter breathe. "When's the meeting?"

"Eight o'clock at the Congo church."

Silence filled the room where fighting would have pursued years before. Despite being overwhelmed, Charlotte reached up and touched her husband's hand. Then turning her head, she brushed a kiss over the back of two of his knuckles. "Go get Charlie. Pull up a couple of chairs. We could all use the company."

Sam's smile swayed with his feet. And as he turned to invite his sponsor into the room, he hoped that perhaps this time he wouldn't have to hit rock bottom before pulling his life back together.