47
claire
I’m driving home after dropping off Josh and Jordan at their respective after-school activities when my cell phone rings. A quick glance at the screen brings a smile to my face. “Hey,” I say when I answer. “I was just thinking about you.”
“One of my fellow officers just pulled over a friend of yours,” Daniel says. “The one who drinks a lot. Julia.”
“What?” I’m confused about how Daniel knows this information. “Where?”
“A couple of miles from your neighborhood. A neighbor noticed her swerving and called the police. She failed the field sobriety test and the Breathalyzer. Her kids are in the car.”
Oh, Jesus.
Daniel continues. “She tried to talk him out of arresting her by giving him my name. She said I was ‘Claire’s friend.’”
“Where is she now?” I ask.
“She’s still there. The officer is waiting to take her in because he needs someone to come get the kids. How far away are you?”
I give him my location and he tells me where Julia is.
“How long will it take you to get there?”
“Less than ten minutes.”
Daniel stays on the line until I reach the flashing lights and the two cars parked on the shoulder of the road. It’s heavily traveled and the cars in front of me slow to see what’s going on. I pull up behind the police car.
“What am I supposed to do?”
“Just take the kids home with you. Call her husband and tell him he’ll need to post bail. Are you okay, Claire? Can you handle this? I can come meet you if you need help.”
My stomach does an odd flip. I want no part of this drama I’ve been unwillingly pulled into, but I think of Julia’s girls and how scared and confused they must be. “No. I’m fine. I’ll take care of it. I’ll call you later,” I tell Daniel and disconnect the call. I get out of the car and the officer approaches me. Julia is in the back of the police car but her girls are still in the backseat of her minivan.
“Hi. Thanks for coming. I’m Officer Hill.”
“Claire Canton.” I shake his proffered hand. “Can I speak to the girls first?”
“Yes. That’s a good idea.”
I open the door to the minivan and stick my head inside, a comforting smile on my face. The girls’ frightened expressions tug at my heartstrings, so I smile warmly and speak in a soothing voice.
“Everything’s okay. The police are here to make sure everyone drives safely and they just want to talk to your mom for a minute, okay?”
They nod silently, unsure of how to respond. Of course they don’t know what to say. They’re children.
“Stay in your seats. I’ll be right back.”
Tears run down five-year-old Hillary’s face as she nods solemnly. Three-year-old Beth remains blissfully clueless.
I approach the police car and the officer opens the door so I can slide in beside Julia. Her hair hangs in her eyes and mascara streaks her cheeks. The smell of alcohol fills the car. She won’t even look at me. I pull my cell phone out of my pocket.
“Where would Justin be right now? Is he on his way home?”
Suddenly, I have her attention. Her head snaps up and she begs silently, eyes blazing, imploring me not to make the call. I wait patiently. This ends now. Her shoulders slump in defeat.
“He’s probably with his girlfriend,” she says, slurring a bit. But she mostly sounds sad.
Justin has a girlfriend? And Julia knows about this?
I don’t even know what to say about that, but I have more pressing things to worry about. I scroll through my contacts and call Justin. When he answers I begin to speak.
“It’s Claire. Julia got pulled over for drunk driving. I have a friend on the police force and he called me. I’m with her now.”
Justin inhales sharply and there’s a slight pause before he says, “Fuck.” He exhales and asks, “What now?”
“The officer is going to arrest her.” Beside me, Julia starts crying. “Listen to me, Justin. Your daughters were with her. They were sitting in the backseat while your wife swerved her way out of our neighborhood. Check Julia into rehab immediately and pray they don’t slap her with child endangerment.”
Julia cries harder and a figurative thud echoes through the car as she hits rock bottom.
Of course he agrees.
I tell him I’ll drive the girls home and wait for him there.
“I’ll head down to the station,” he says. “Tell Julia I’m on my way.”
“Okay.”
“Claire?”
“Yes?”
“Thanks.”
“Sure.”
The officer helps me install Beth and Hillary’s car and booster seats in my SUV and we strap the girls in. I’m grateful that they don’t really know what’s going on and that the memory will fade by the time they’re old enough to realize what happened. At least I hope it will. After I shut the door I turn to Officer Hill and say, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” he says.
I lean back in the open door of the squad car. “I’m going to take the girls to my house. I’ll make them dinner and they can play with Josh and Jordan when they get home.”
Julia wipes her eyes and nods.
“It’ll be okay,” I say, giving her hand a quick squeeze.
Silence fills the car on our way home, and my mood feels as gray as the sky on this blustery March day. Spring seems a lifetime away. I turn up the heat so the girls won’t be cold. Maybe I should open a dialogue with them, comfort them somehow with words, but then I decide that the less talking I do, the better. The radio plays softly and the minutes pass like hours.
At home, I get out some coloring books and crayons and ask the girls if they want a snack.
“When is my mom coming back?” Hillary asks.
“Your dad’s going to pick her up and they’ll both come here to get you in a little while.” I smile and try my best to add some normalcy to the situation.
Later, when Josh and Jordan are home and all four children have eaten dinner, I put in a DVD and they huddle on the couch in the family room, engrossed in the film. I step into the kitchen and call Daniel.
“Hi,” I say when he answers.
“Hey. How are you?” I can picture him sitting on the couch, feet on the coffee table. Smiling.
“I’m tired. That was a bit draining.”
“I knew it would be,” he says. “How are the kids?”
“They’re doing okay.”
“I made a call. Julia’s been processed and released. They’ll probably be there soon.”
“Thanks.”
“Think she’ll get the help she needs?”
“I hope so. I’m hoping her husband will step up a little. But guess what—she told me he has a girlfriend!”
“What?”
“Yeah. So not only is he unfaithful to her, she knows about it.” I can’t condone her coping method, but she has my sympathy for her marital situation.
“Wow,” Daniel says. “That’s too bad.”
A car door slams outside. “Listen. I think they’re here. I have to go.”
“I’ll call you later,” Daniel says.
I open the front door and watch as Justin leads Julia up the sidewalk, his arm around her. After several hours, she seems more sober. They come inside and it brings tears to my eyes when Julia softly calls out, “Girls?” They go to her, and she pulls them close, one arm thrown over each of them. They don’t understand their mother’s need for comfort, but they give it anyway, unconditionally. Justin stands nearby, watching. He looks me in the eye and he doesn’t have to utter a word for me to know he’s grateful. Whatever he’s planning to say to Julia, the things he needs to say, can wait until tomorrow. But he will say them. Of this I am fairly certain.
He loves his girls and deep down I hope that he still loves Julia.