A Million Little Pieces - James Frey [63]
Men, I have had a good day.
There are a couple chuckles.
I watched some great fucking football, won the bulk of my bets and the bulk of your money, and I triumphed personally in a situation where I expected defeat.
A couple more chuckles, a bunch of boos. Leonard laughs.
I understand the boos, but I’m about to turn your anguish and poverty into joy. I like to share my wealth and celebrate my victories, so after clearing it with the proper Authorities, I called Cajun Sam’s in Minneapolis and ordered a feast for delivery. Tonight we eat in.
The men cheer.
The food will be here around six. If you don’t like turducken, jambalaya and po’boys, then have fun in the goddamn Cafeteria.
The men cheer again.
I’m going to take a nap before the slaughter. See you at six.
Leonard steps down and men start thanking him and asking him questions and he walks toward his room and they follow him. I walk to the Phone Booth and I sit down on a cold steel chair and I close the door and I pull the list Julie and Kirk gave me from my pocket and I look at it. I am surprised that the list exists, that people called them to find out about me. I am surprised by the names on the list.
I pick up the phone and I start making collect calls. Adrienne isn’t home, Eben isn’t home, Jody isn’t home, someone at Matt’s House declines my call. I talk to Kevin and I talk to Andy. Both tell me they were with me the night of my accident, both tell me I was a fucking mess. Kevin tells me he doesn’t remember much because he was blacked out, but he remembers being with me. He tells me that he wants to come visit me and I tell him it would be nice if he could and I thank him. Andy tells me he found me knocked out and bleeding and he carried me to a car and took me to the Hospital. He begged the Doctor not to call the Police and he begged the Doctor to put me on a plane. He called my Parents and he took me to the Airport and he got me on the Plane. I thank him and I tell him that if I happen to be saved that he will partially be responsible for saving me. He tells me it’s no big deal and he tells me that he would do it again if he needed to do it again, but he hopes that he doesn’t. I ask him if he knows what I was on or what I was doing in Ohio and he tells me that he found a crack pipe in my pocket and he saw a bloody tube of glue a few feet from where he found me, but beyond that, he doesn’t know anything. He had heard I had shown up at ten in the morning and that I was drunk and incoherent and I had disappeared for the day. The first time he saw me was when he found me on the ground. I thank him again. We say good-bye. We hang up.
I call my Parents. My Mother answers the phone and she accepts the call.
James.
She sounds frantic.
Hi, Mom.
Let me get your Father.
She holds the phone away, yells for my Father. He picks up.
How are you, James?
I’m fine, Dad.
You’re doing okay?
I’m fine.
My Mother speaks.
Are you getting better?
I don’t know.
Do you feel any better?
I don’t know.
Are you learning anything?
I don’t know.
She exhales, exhales frustration. My Father speaks.
James.
Yeah.
Your Mom and I have been talking to some of the Counselors up there and we want to come see you.
No.
Why?
Because I don’t want you here.
Why?
Because I don’t.
My Mother speaks.
They have something called the Family Program where we would spend three days learning about your sickness and learning about how to help you deal with it. We’d like to come do it.
My sickness?
Alcoholism and Drug Addiction is a disease, James.
Who told you that?
It’s in all the books.
Right. The books.
There is an uncomfortable pause. Father speaks.
We’d really like to do the Program, James. We think it could be really good for all of us.
I don’t want you here, and if you come, I’ll be fucking pissed.
My Mother speaks.
Could you please not swear.
I’ll try.
Another uncomfortable pause. I speak.
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