Crystal Lies - Melody Carlson [59]
But on the day I discovered the syringes and called Dr. Abrams, I felt something inside of me snap. As I paced back and forth in my little apartment, waiting for Jacob to come home and trying to decide if and how I should confront him, I knew I could no longer keep this to myself. I realized I wanted to talk to my mother, and before I could stop myself, I had dialed her number. Shocked when I suddenly heard her happy voice answering the phone, I must’ve stuttered out a questionable greeting.
“Glennis?” she said with alarm. “Is something wrong, dear?”
Now, my mother already knew that Geoffrey and I were separated. “Just for a bit,” I had assured her early on. “Just until we can work some things out.” And my mother, the perennial optimist, had told me she felt certain we’d figure things out and be back together by Christmas.
“It’s about Jacob,” I began.
“Oh dear! Has he been hurt? Is it serious?”
“Yes, it’s serious, Mom. But it’s not like an accident. I’m not quite sure how to tell you this—” My voice broke into a sob.
“Oh dear,” she said. “But if it has to do with his sexual orientation, well, dear, you’ll just have to take it in stride. These things happen nowadays, and—”
“No, Mother,” I said in a sharp voice. “It’s not about his sexual orientation. It’s that he’s involved in drugs.”
“Oh, that.” She sighed. “Well, now, Glennis, that isn’t so unusual. I just saw a show on Dr. Phil where these parents and teens were talking about marijuana and—”
“This isn’t Dr. Phil Mom,” I pleaded. “This is my life. And I’ve just discovered that Jacob is using some very serious drugs.”
“What kind of drugs, dear?”
“I, uh…I don’t really know.”
“Well, now…” The tone of her voice reminded me of when I was little, when I would tell her something I felt was important, but she would simply dismiss it as if it were nothing.
“I found hypodermic needles under his bed, Mom,” I said emphatically, wanting my sense of shock to be contagious. “At least a dozen of them. All used.”
“Well, that’s not good.”
“No, it’s not good at all.” I felt a tinge of relief then, as if maybe she was getting the severity of this after all.
“You know the problem with youth today is that they have too much time on their hands,” she began. “Back when I was a kid, we were so busy we didn’t have time to think about silly things like drugs. Is Jacob still involved in the church youth group?”
I groaned inwardly. Jacob had quit going to youth group back in middle school. “No, not really,” I told her.
“Well, you see, if he was involved in the youth group, he wouldn’t have time for that kind of foolishness and such.” She paused. “Do you remember when you were his age, Glennis? Why, you went to youth group all the time. Didn’t you even work with the youth group after college?”
“Yes.” I sighed.
“And wasn’t that how you and Geoffrey first met?”
“Yes.” I desperately wanted to hang up now. I couldn’t see how any of this would help Jacob.
“So how are things going with Geoffrey, dear? Have you been in for your marriage counseling yet? My friend Francis said that her son and daughter-in-law just went to a marriage-enrichment weekend, and it has literally changed their lives. I could probably get the name of the ministry for you. I think it was interdenominational, and they—”
“No, thanks, Mom. I don’t think Geoffrey and I are ready for that yet.”
“But you are getting counseling?”
“I am.”
“What about Geoffrey?”
“I don’t think he’s interested.”
“You don’t think…but, honey, have you even asked him?”
“Well, there are other complications, Mom.”
“You mean this thing with Jacob? Well, Glennis, you can’t let Jacob’s problems destroy a perfectly good marriage. That’s it, isn’t it? Jacob has come between you and Geoffrey. You know Sarah has alluded to this very thing. It must’ve gone right over my head at the time. But now that I think about it, I know that must be the source of your marital distress. You’ve allowed Jacob’s drug problem to ruin your