Chapter Nine
“Your parole officer is requesting that you go to a transitional residence after this.”
“I don’t want to do that. I have a job lined up after this. I can go back home.”
Reese reached into the top drawer of her desk, pulling out a mini chocolate. She held one up. “Want one?”
Her client, Wade, nodded, taking the offered candy.
The richness of the chocolate melted on her tongue as she looked over his file on the computer.
He was her second client, and it was almost time for him to graduate from the program.
The month had gone by at a rapid pace. “I understand that you feel like you’re just sitting on your hands.
It’s been a whole month away from your life, but what has changed in your living situation in that time? ”
He frowned, his scruffy face contorting in confusion. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, what has changed? You’ve been here, working on yourself, and that’s fantastic.
I really think you’ve taken this seriously.
However, you’re going to go right back into the same environment.
The same place you were actively using in.
The same triggers will be there. The same people.
The same living room you would sit in for hours tinkering with toasters and push mowers.
Do you remember that feeling? How will you feel walking back into that house?
Imagine walking in right now. The smell.
The feel of the floor under your feet. Is it clean?
Have all the drug paraphernalia been discarded?
Will a buddy swing by when it gets out you’re home, and how will you answer that door to temptation? ”
She might as well have slapped him in the face if his slack-jawed expression was anything to go by.
Softening her voice, she leaned forward, folding her hands on her desk.
“I think you know that’s not a good place to go straight back to.
That’s where the transitional housing comes in.
It will better prepare you to gain your life back.
They’ll help you find work, get back on your feet, and all while being in a safe environment. ”
“You know those places can be shit, right?”
“Yep, but I have a list of ones Kerrie recommends, and she’s been doing this a really long time.”
“How am I supposed to pay for that?”
“I’ll get you a grant. It will pay for everything. All you have to do is follow the rules and keep working on yourself. It’ll give you more tools to add to maintain sobriety.”
He rubbed his jaw, staring at the wall behind her. She really hoped he would take her up on the offer. “Can I take the night to think about it?”
“You can. I’ll have to know by noon, though, so I can start getting everything set up in time.”
“I can do that. Is that all you need me for? I could use a smoke.”
“Yeah, you can go.”
“Thanks, Ms. Reese.”
Paperwork was never-ending in a facility like Turtle Grove.
Everything was documented. The grants the state gave them required quite a bit of work documenting the reasons why they needed them in the first place.
Half her day was spent typing away at the computer to tell people in high-rise offices and six-figure salaries why they should allow a man like Wade to have access to help.
That was one thing that kept her going in the field.
Some didn’t want to get better. Some were ready.
But others, those men who wanted to change but didn’t know how, were why she put up with filling out text fields and checking little boxes.
It was why every day she and Kerrie traded off inputting the notes from that day’s group session.
Each man would fill out what they learned and how they thought it would help them in recovery. Each note, each word, every day.
That was what she began working on after her meeting with Wade.
The notes ranged from a couple of sentences to actual paragraphs.
Some were generic while others were thoughtful.
Some were full of misspellings, but she got the gist of what they were saying.
A couple had doodles in the margins. It wasn’t a very thrilling task but one that had to be done.
She reached for her rainbow coffee mug, one she had brought from home.
The liquid in it was lukewarm at best. Grimacing, she swallowed it down, the need for caffeine stronger than the dislike of cold coffee.
The AC kicked on in that moment, and the stack of notes she had sitting on the desk document stand began to blow.
The top notes slipped off the stand, sliding across the desk like an avalanche.
She tried to grab them with her free hand, but they managed to slide down her lap and under the desk.
“Fuck.”
She set the coffee cup down, not paying attention to where, so she could push her chair back. Some of the notes went to the back of the large metal desk.
With a huff, she lowered herself down. The floor was hard against her knees as she ducked under the desk. She grabbed the papers, shuffling them into a stack, and was exiting from under the desk when a voice startled her.
"Maintenance" was loudly announced into her office.
Not expecting it, she jerked up. The clipboard on top of the desk was hanging off the edge just enough that her head bumped it. That wouldn’t have been a big deal had she not placed her coffee cup on it during her rush to grab the papers.
Cold coffee drenched her, seeping into her hair and down the back of her blouse. To add insult to injury, the mug whacked her on the back of her head before hitting the floor with a thunk.
“Dammit!”
“Shit, are you okay?”
Rage welled within her as Matty’s concerned face came into view. It only seemed to make her madder. Her chest was heaving when she snapped at Matty. “What is it with you just barging into my office?”
“What is it with you and hitting your head?” she retorted, setting a large box down.
The words ignited a fire in her belly that seemed to alight every inch of her body.
Overwhelmed with anger and frustration, she didn’t know if she should scream or cry.
This was the worst thing that could happen.
Haley was gone all weekend. She was covered in cold coffee.
It was seeping into her bra and down the back of her slacks.
The blouse was clinging to her, wet and uncomfortable.
She would need a shower to wash it all off.
A sponge bath in the little sink of her bathroom would be awful.
She wasn’t even sure the sink was large enough to get her head under to wash her hair.
Before she realized it, she was choking on a sob that seemed to surprise both of them.
“Hey, it’s okay. It’s just a little coffee. I’ll go get some paper towels, and we’ll get you cleaned up.”
The woman’s kindness only seemed to make it worse.
Why was she being so nice to her? The coffee was getting even colder, making her skin prickle along with the tears at the back of her eyes.
Matty’s hand came up to gently touch her arm.
The touch was impossibly hot and managed to cause the unleashed tears to crash over her lashes and down her cheeks.
“Fuck, this is awful timing.” She wiped at her face as Matty grabbed a roll of paper towels that were on top of one of the filing cabinets. She tore off a piece, handing it over to Reese.
“It’s almost the end of the day. I’m sure Tyler won’t mind if you leave a little early to go home and shower.”
She started to shake her head, but all that did was make wet pieces of hair hit her face. “I can’t.”
“Sure, you can. He won’t mind. He’s a cool guy.”
“No, I mean...” she stopped short. The only person who knew about the shower issue was Haley. Her cheeks began to heat as the embarrassment of not having a basic need met, like having an adequate way to bathe, hit her.
“Reese?”
Her shoulders sagged. “I mean, I don’t—I don't have a working shower. I’ve been going to my friend’s to shower and she’s out of town.”
“Oh, well—”
“Everything okay? I thought I heard something.”
They both turned to find Kerrie standing at the door.
Reese quickly wiped her eyes while forcing a smile. “It’s nothing. Just a coffee accident.”
“I can see that.”
“I guess I look a mess,” she said, suddenly feeling insecure.
“Why don’t you go on home. It’s almost the end of the day. I’ll close everything down here.”
She wanted to argue, but the coffee was now completely through the top of her slacks and was wetting through to her panties. It was becoming really uncomfortable. She found herself nodding. “Okay. Yeah, yeah, I’d like that. Are you sure you don’t mind?”
“Not at all. Have a good weekend.”
Kerrie left them to go back to her office.
She watched Matty unroll several paper towels, dropping them on the coffee spilled on the floor. She felt a twinge of guilt. “Um, thank you. I can get that, though.”
“Nah, I got it. You can go on. I promise I’ll lock up,” she said before setting the roll on the desk and fishing a key ring out of her pocket. She shimmied a key off and held it out. “Here. Why don’t you go get cleaned up at my place?”
Reese’s mouth dropped open. “What?”
“You need a shower. I have a perfectly good working one. You know where I live.”
“I—I can’t do that.”
“Sure, you can. Swing by your place for clothes, go to my place, and shower. I don’t get off for an hour. If you leave before I get there, then just put the key under the mat.”
Reese didn’t know what to say. She’d been nothing but an ass to this woman. She’d yelled at her twice now. Been rude as hell. And here the woman with dreamy, droopy brown eyes and wispy hair that just begged to have a hand run through it was being kind to her. Unselfishly so.
Guilt twisted her insides. She found herself speaking in a much softer tone. “You don’t have to do this.”
Her words were greeted with a shrug and a light shake of the key. “I know I don’t have to. I want to. Take the key and go get cleaned up.”
“You’re just giving me the key to your place. You don’t even know me that well.”
“I doubt you’ll rob me. But if you do, please at least don’t let Hester out.”
She tilted her head, an amused smile tugging at her lips. “Hester?”
“A crotchety feline with a strong personality. Trust me, she’s not worth stealing,” Matty said with a grin before dropping to her knees to clean up the spill. Reese didn’t miss the way her jeans tightened around her thighs as she leaned back on her heels.
“All right, you can keep your cat. I, well, thank you. This is really nice of you.”
“Not a problem,” she waved her off.
“Could you hand me my purse from the bottom drawer?”
Matty leaned forward, withdrawing the bag from the desk. “Here you go.”
“Thank you again.”
She started to leave, then stopped at the large box. “Oh, what was the reason you were here for?”
Matty pointed. “You put in that you needed a shredder, and I found one in the women’s facility that wasn’t being used. It’s not new, but it works just fine.”
“Oh, well, thank you for that. And the shower.”
“It was nothing. I’ll see you around if I don’t see you later.”
“Yeah,” she answered lamely.
She sent a quick text to Tyler explaining her predicament and swiped her badge to clock out. This had been such a strange day.