Walking on Broken Glass - Christa Allan [105]
4. After three consecutive days of raging hangovers or worrisome blackouts, there would be a three-day rule of ABSOLUTELY NO ALCOHOL. By the second day of the three-day rule, if no alcohol had been consumed, then it was assumed that no alcohol would have been consumed on the third day. In which case, a drink at five on the afternoon of the second day was acceptable since no drinking on the third day was assumed.
CONTAINER RULE:
CONTENT DETERMINES CONTAINER
1. Anything Not Clear: This is the preferred container. Required to disguise gin or vodka drinks requiring an olive as pure drinking water.
2. Clear Container: Use with caution.
If the gin or vodka drink necessitated a lemon, orange, or lime slice, a clear container was acceptable, because lemons, oranges, and limes are acceptable water fruits.
May be used any time drinking is acceptable under conditions outlined above under Weekday vs. Weekend Rules.
DISPOSAL RULE:
ABOVE VS. BELOW NEWSPAPER
(PRIOR TO CARL's ARRIVAL HOME)
1. Drinking alone on a weekday (see above), fewer empty cans (two or three) could be viewed in the garbage can.
2. If drinking on a weekend (see above), more cans were acceptable. Any cans above acceptable had to be placed under the newspaper.
In the name of everything holy, how did I ever find time to drink?
43
Well, look who it is,” said Dr. Nolan, who entered the exam room and looked at my file at the same time. “The little princess sprung from the big house. Life on the outside must be good.”
Carl sat across from the exam table. With her back to him, it wasn’t until I said, “Carl, this is Dr. Nolan,” that she realized he was there.
“Oh, I am very sorry, Mr. Thornton. I was so busy reading about Miss Leah here, I didn’t look where I was going,” she said. “Glad to meet you.”
“Thanks. Nice to meet you,” he said. “I have a few questions, Dr. Nolan.”
“Good. I like dads with questions. Let me just bother your wife a minute, then we can talk. You know how grouchy these moms can be,” she said, shaking her head. “Leah, you didn’t tell me you were married to Jean Luc Picard.” She talked and prodded and prodded. “That man is one fine-looking white man. Um-mm-mm.” She said to Carl, “My husband said I have a thing for bald men. So this is why Momma over here and I liked each other so much, I guess.”
Dr. Nolan helped me to sit. I felt like a giant fly squirming off sticky flypaper. I skipped the torture of subjecting my bare feet to frostbite-inducing stainless steel stirrups. The solution in most offices? Athletic socks. Is that the best we can do?
She checked my ankles and feet for fluid. Asked about the vomiting, my food and fluids, and sleep. I told her I’d started walking again. “Only once a week, so far. But we walk two miles.”
“Any exercise is better than no exercise. Build up one day at a time. Now that should be an idea you can relate to,” she smiled and patted the top of my knee. “Okay, Jean Luc, your turn.”
His face did that eyebrow and mouth twitch like his muscles forgot what to do for an instant. One of those perplexing expressions of his when I don’t know if he's suppressing a grin or a grimace. “I’m sure you knew this pregnancy was an accident. Leah being an alcoholic at the time. I calculated she’d probably been drinking for at least four to five weeks. My concern, of course, is for the baby. What I want to know is how her drinking may have affected our baby.”
Hello? Guilt Trip Planners? Ticket for one, please.
Dr. Nolan, who looked at the floor for most of Carl's oration and nodded every ten seconds, waited before she looked at him and answered.
“Mr. Thornton, Leah's first appointment was at Brookforest, so we’ve been quite honest with one another from the beginning. For the record, I usually don’t refer to a pregnancy as an ‘accident’ as most people do understand that most intercourse is not ‘accidental’ and one of its natural consequences is pregnancy. The reason I mention this to you, and the reason I feel so strongly about using the word ‘accident