Page 20

CHAPTER 20

IF I WAS A GAMBLING WOMAN

MARGAUX

I fill Alice in on the latest drama.

Alice:

It sounds like they've done this before with him.

Me:

His dad is cool to say the least.

Yes, it must not be their first rodeo.

Alice:

I am definitely getting the impression that he is used to this particular Scary Go Round with his kid.

"Didn't I cash in all my fucking tickets for this, Timmy?”

Me:

Poor guy served several overseas military tours and then retired from an impressive pharmaceutical exec job, lives to tell the tale, and then his son is a dickhead.

Alice:

"PIVOOOOOOOOT YOUR LIFE"

Me:

You are hilarious and I love you. Exactly!

OMG, when I was on the phone with his dad, he was running up to me and mouthing ‘fuck you’. So I told his dad, and he told him to stop. Wild.

So immature, he’s like mental age 5.

Alice:

This feels like a sitcom on a writer’s strike.

Like a show that ‘hired a veteran actor (dad) and a new young hotshot (Timmy) so the energy is absolutely wild.'

Everyone's just waiting for Charlie Sheen to tire out and fall asleep.

But, until he does, he's smacking everyone on the way.

Me:

Charlie Sheen also needs more sleep.

Alice:

Yeah, and that’s the thing.

Enabled people just keep doing stuff.

Me:

Yep.

I hate that he's in the apartment I paid for.

I hate that he will try to be petty and try to bring druggie friends over to be petty.

But at least my cat is safe in a cat cottage.

Alice:

Kitty…

Even if y'all keep dating, he's gotta get out until he gets his day to day together.

Me:

I told him I’m leaving in 20 and he can either come with me or stay here.

Alice:

Yep. You got places to be.

Me:

If Montana is weird, I’m coming to Texas for a day or two.

Alice:

Fuck yeah, definitely do.

Me:

I’m writing books now, you know?

Alice:

OMG that’s so cool! I’ve always wanted to be an author.

Me:

Do it! Self-publish.

Alice:

I’m so bad at starting to write. That’s the problem!

Me:

I have so much to chat about on this topic.

Also, LMAO that this guy isn’t taking a free ticket from Sunset Cay to Montana to see his parents.

His dad basically cried and said, ‘your mother is going to be so sad but Margaux, come here anyway and I’ll pick you up from the airport.’

Alice:

Awww, that’s sad.

Poor parents.

They’ve definitely done this before.

Unsolicited, Timmy calls out from the back room. “You’ve really crossed the line this time, and I’m not going.”

I sigh.

Me:

He’s refusing to come again.

Alice:

Sounds like you’ve got extra room in your row, then.

Me:

So I guess I can get an Uber to the airport but it also feels shitty bc I don’t really want to go there.

And was going for him after he fucked my trip.

And I pay for this apartment and I don’t trust him to not invite shady people over.

I don’t know what to do.

We go through the logistics of potentially getting the door’s code changed so he can’t come back in. But it seems difficult. The landlord lives in a neighboring town, and I have no idea how to change the code myself.

Timmy emerges from the back room, slams the bathroom door, then returns to the living room, glaring at me before retreating back again like a petulant child.

Me:

I think I might cry the whole way there.

Alice:

I don’t blame you. He’s being wild.

It’s time to head to the airport, so I call out ‘bye’ toward the back room.

“You’re leaving? You’re leaving?” he replies, then slams the back door shut again.

Me:

He just squished something in the door and shut it again.

How odd.

Alice:

You should use the trip to figure out what to do when you get home. And by that I mean how to find a place for just you somehow.

Did...he leave a note or something?

Me:

No.

He didn’t leave shit.

Alice:

Do you have anything in there that's sentimental, important, or irreplaceable?

I realize I need to act. To get out of the apartment. But the idea of showing up to Montana without Timmy is mortifying.

His parents are going to be devastated.

I go to the back room and call through the door. “Timmy, come on. You’re being ridiculous, and your parents are going to be so upset. You’ve already ruined the trip—which I’ve paid for—and now you’re acting crazy. Your mom is so excited to see you. I’m excited to meet your family. Will you please just calm down and come with me to Montana?”

After a moment, his muffled voice replies, “Okay, yes, I’ll come. I need to get my water bottle first, though. I can’t believe you turned my favorite person in the world against me.”

I update Alice:

Alice:

It definitely wasn’t his actions.

Me:

Damn, I must wield some mad power to do that. Oooooor his dad can just see he’s being a drunk dick.

But I’ll go with almighty power wielder.

Bc that sounds fancy.

Alice:

You're obviously a power-wielding Jezebel.

Me:

JEZEBEL!

With BOY JOYS!

Timmy appears in the living room holding the bottle of vodka that he’d taken earlier.

Me:

He ran off with my vodka but just randomly brought it back.

Maybe he peed in it.

I don’t know.

Alice:

No, I'm thinking he dumped it into his water bottle.

That's where I'd put my bet if I had a chip.

Me:

Lmfao hard.

One dickhead successfully acquired.

Now to the airport. We should get there just on time.

Omg, I am totally in my derby girl live free skate hard or whatever tank. This is not what I expected to be wearing to meet my in-laws, but here we are.

Today clearly took a swerve.

Alice:

I think they'll mostly be grateful y'all even showed up at all.

Considering it was right up at the edge for a sec.

As we head out the door, his phone buzzes. “Hi Mommy,” he says, his voice calm and infused with affection that seems foreign to me now.

I listen as he has a perfectly normal conversation with her, where she’s excited about our visit, and he pretends he didn’t just act like a toddler on steroids for the past however many hours.

As if the chaos that has me on edge and afraid simply never happened.