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Eoghan

8 months later

Today was one of those rare days when Emmy and I attended the same AA meeting. She still feared having a conflict of interest, so she would normally go to meetings in Burnaby. But she was running late and decided to tag along with my meeting.

She sat in a different row from me which I hated. I would have much rather for her to sit next to me. At least, she was in a row in front of me.

When they were asking people to talk about their experiences and why they want to stay sober. I seldom share my story with the group. I truly wanted to remain anonymous. The more active I was with the group, the more likely someone would recognize me.

"Hi. I'm Eoghan. I don't share my story much.

"Today is roughly my first birthday of sobriety. I say roughly since I hit rock pucking bottom thanks to alcohol and I made a fool of myself at my best friend's wedding. I was using it to numb myself. It slowed me down and made me do so many stupid things. Thanks to alcohol, I nearly lost everything. My career, my ability to make new friends and my family. If it wasn't for a bit of an intervention, I would have continued down that dark spiral.

"Instead I came here and I learned the tenets to AA. I became a better person. I'm no longer an embarrassment or an unreliable teammate."

Looking at the love of my life, I took a deep breath and continued on. She gave me the strength to keep talking with that simple smile and nod to the head.

"I got lucky. It was thanks to AA that I met my soulmate. The love of my life is here in this room."

A bit of red flashed across Emmy's cheeks and neck. I loved making her blush. She was so damn pretty but I won't out her. I know she was still so worried about the ethics of us hooking up.

"I've had many discussions with my sponsor over the past year to make sure that I wasn't replacing one addiction with another. I know he gets worried about that but I know myself and I know her. I got lucky. I found someone who supports me every step of the way in my sobriety and I do the same thing with her. She guides me every step of the way and I count my blessings everyday. "I hope that everyone here realizes that sobriety brings the light back. Gives you back your life and if you're truly lucky the things that you were missing. Which for me was the light in the world, friends, and my star."

Then I sat back down. I was afraid of making eye contact with Emmy. I hoped I didn't embarrass her too much. But I wanted her to know she was a major reason why I love being sober.

I couldn’t wait to marry her in a couple days.