Blackbird (5 page)

              “Robert, is this your belt? You have to tell me if it is. I just want to help.”

              Robert chuckled almost spitting out the mouthful of coffee he had just taken. “Obviously not. Why would I have a woman’s belt? And anyway, would you love me any less if I were a transvestite?”

              Paul didn’t even crack a smile, instead he looked at Robert very intently trying to determine if he was telling the truth. “Robert, who does this belt belong to?”

              His brotherly demeanor had disappeared and his doctor persona was rearing its head. He shifted like a compass when confronted with a crisis.  “One of my waitresses left it here last night. I picked it up off the floor.”

              “Off the floor eh? Robert, do you drug test your employees?”

              “Of course not.”

              “Well you might want to start. See these little indents? Those are teeth marks. I’ve seen this before. Looks like someone has a nasty little heroin problem.”

              “That’s ridiculous. How would that tell you she has a heroin problem?”

              Paul proceeded to tie the belt around his upper arm, pulling it tightly with one end in his mouth and feigning a needle with his finger, crooking his thumb to simulate an injection. “See what I mean?”

              Robert was shocked. For a moment he just sat there unable to say a word. “Yeah…yeah I see it now.”

              Paul placed the belt back down gently on the desk. “Robert, do you like this person? I mean would it be someone you’d want to help? Because if you need me to I can pull some strings, get them a bed in rehab ASAP.”

              “What? Um, yeah I like this person. I like her very much.” He did, and there was no way he could wrap his mind around Chelle as a drug addict. She just seemed too clear headed for that. “I mean, I don’t know for sure. I can’t just come out and ask her. Can I?”

              “Well, it depends how well you know her. Or you could just do mandatory drug tests. Lots of places are doing it now. You’ve gotta protect your investment.” Robert didn’t like the sound of that. In the name of ‘protecting his investment’ he could end up insulting the entire staff. Sure lots of places drug tested but
they
never had, and he knew the employees wouldn’t take kindly to it, and besides, what people did in their off time was none of his business.

              “I don’t know. I’ll have to think about it.”

              “Well I wouldn’t recommend you think too long. Heroin is a bitch and each fix could be the last. I’ve seen them die in my emergency room numerous times. I’m sure that’s not where you want her to end up is it?”

              “No, no of course not.”

              “Look, I gotta get going. Give me a call if you need help sorting this out. I hate it when these people come in, the needle still in their arm in some cases, and I can’t save them. Tell your friend there’s no shame in getting help and anything I can do, I’ll do it. I mean it ok?”

              Robert was sitting only half listening to Paul. He was too stunned to fully respond. “Yeah. Ok.”

              “See you at dinner.” And with that Paul was gone.

              Robert leaned back in the chair, taking the belt off the desk and staring at it. He certainly was no stranger to the seedy underworld of drugs. Some good friends had gone down that road and he’d kicked people out of his bar for doing it in the bathroom, but never would have guessed bite marks could equal a drug addiction. He just hadn’t ever thought to look at people’s belts. Who would? And as much as he’d despised his brother a few minutes ago he was happy he’d stopped by. Otherwise he would have just given the belt back to Chelle and she’d have gone on her merry way to do god knows what. It certainly might explain just why she’d locked herself in the cellar. Perhaps it wasn’t just the public humiliation that had driven her down there. Perhaps it was something more. And those awful marks on her back…

              His brain was busy thinking up dozens of drug fueled scenarios in which she’d been given them. She certainly hadn’t done it to herself. They were too precise and at too much of an awkward angle on her back to be self-inflicted. He hardly knew her, but now he was worried sick. Even if he didn’t drug test her he resolved to keep an extra close eye on her. Perhaps he could catch her in the act and offer her some help that way.

              He slid open the large bottom drawer of the desk and dropped the belt into it. It landed with a thud, the metal of the buckle meeting the drawer’s wooden frame. If that’s what she was going to use it for he certainly wasn’t going to give it back.

***

              Dinner passed by in a blur as the four brothers ate and drank, all of them dancing around the topic they’d come to discuss. Paul played with his salad and ran his hands through his hair nervously all evening. Michael examined the food on his plate the way he’d examine something at the lab. He looked like their father. Tall, skinny and a tad geeky. The lab coat persona had always suited him. Running the bar he would have been eaten alive. Greg ate with his usual enthusiasm as his curly out of control auburn hair flopped about on his head.

              “So, Robert, have you thought anymore about my offer? Did you talk to your employee?”

              Robert bristled. They were supposed to be discussing their mother but here he’d gone and brought up Chelle. “She wasn’t in today.”

              Greg picked his head up from his plate and in his typical brash style cut into the conversation. “Talk to your employee about what? What’s going on?”

              “Oh one of Robert’s employees might have a little drug problem, that‘s all.”

              “I don’t think we should be discussing that in public, Paul,” Robert said lowering his voice.

              “Oh dude! Seriously? What? How did you find out? Did they steal a bunch of stuff? Are you gonna fire them? Is it the redhead? Tell me it’s the redhead. That would make her so much hotter. I always knew she was a bad girl. Maybe she’ll offer you some, you know, perks if you don’t fire her. Know what I’m saying?” he said, moving his fist in time with his tongue to simulate a blowjob.

              “Greg, you’re a pig,” Michael said, pushing his glasses back up his nose. “That’s inappropriate.”

              “What? It’s not inappropriate I’m just saying he could get something out of it. Those drugged up girls are wild, man. They’ll do anything for money. If you won’t do it send her my way.”

              Michael was even more disgusted. “Robert is getting married and taking advantage of a drug addicted person is one of the most immoral things you can do.”

              “Whatever. Hey Robert, what are you gonna do?”

              Robert sighed knowing there was no point in arguing with Greg, he simply lowered his voice to a whisper. “I’m not going to do anything. I don’t know for sure that’s what’s going on.”

              Paul spoke again. “I’ve been trying to convince him to drug test the staff but he doesn’t seem to want to do that.”

              “I think you should,” Greg said.

              Michael cleared his throat and wiped his spoon with the cloth napkin polishing it to a shine as he always did when he was nervous. “As much as I hate to agree with Greg I think he might be right. It’s the only way you’re going to know.”

              “I don’t know…maybe. How do you even do that?”

              “I have an idea. We can take blood and urine samples. Tell them you have to collect them for their insurance benefits. Tell them it’s like a mandatory physical. We can get all the stuff on the way back from the home tomorrow.” Paul stopped short realizing he’d given himself away. All three of Robert’s brother’s grew silent, exchanging awkward looks.

              “Tomorrow? Really? That fast huh? Don’t I even get a vote?”

              “I’m sorry man,” Greg said. “There are four of us and three of us want to do it. No matter what you’d have still been outvoted and I knew of this great place ready to take her right away.”

              “So that’s it then? It just ends like this? We put our mother in a home overnight?”

              “What do you mean it ends like this? You’re speaking as if we were getting ready to send her off on an ice flow. It’s just a home. You can visit as much as you want,” Paul said.

              “Yeah, it’s a home, but it’s not
her
home.”

              “No, but think about it. If we do this we can sell the house now while the market is good and split the money. It’s the smart thing to do,” Greg said.

              “Oh, it’s about money is it? Well you know what? You keep my fucking share because I’d rather die in the fucking gutter than fucking spend any money that came from that fucking sale.”

              “Dude!” Greg whispered. “Stop saying fuck. You’ll get us kicked out of here.”

              “Fuck you Greg,” he said as he stood, throwing his napkin on the table.

              “You’re at least coming tomorrow, right?” Michael was looking at him like he was the only ally he had. Michael probably had not really wanted this, but he always seemed to do what Paul and Greg wanted. They had most likely browbeat him into the idea.

              “Oh, I’ll be there. One of you text me the address. She’ll need to know that at least one of her sons isn’t abandoning her.”

              “That’s not fair,” Paul said. “We only want what’s best for her. She needs round the clock care and now she’ll get the best.”

              “Yes. I’m sure it’s
the best
because that’s what’s important, right?” Without looking back at the table he stormed out of the restaurant and through the nearby parking lot toward his car.

              “Fuck!” he screamed after slamming the door so hard it caused the window to rattle. He dialed Billie’s number and she answered right away.

              “Hey handsome,” she breathed. “What’s up?”

              “Are you home? I need to come see you.” His voice was trembling.

              “What’s wrong? Where are you?”

              “I’m downtown. I just had dinner with my brothers. They’re putting mom in a home tomorrow.”

              “Oh. That’s nice.” The sound of laughter in the background came through the phone and he heard the cackle of women shrieking. Her friends were there.

              “No. No Billie it’s not nice it’s…”

              “Listen, I gotta go. The girls and I are having wine and then we’re going downtown. It’s my pre-bachelorette party. I’m so excited,” she chirped into the phone. Robert was silent. “Robert? Are you there?”

              “Yeah, look, can you go in tomorrow and take over the office for the afternoon?  I’ll be in around four. I have to go be with my mother.”

              A sigh of annoyance came straight into his ear. “Fine. Will I see you tomorrow night?”

              “We’ll have dinner or something, ok?”

              “Ok. Bye-bye baby.”

              Before Robert could get out his own goodbye Billie had hung up. He was hoping to see her and talk to her. He couldn’t blame her for being busy and excited though. That was one of the things that had attracted him to her. She had a bubbly personality and a wide circle of friends. Robert had a few good friends and his brothers. He had never been very good at socializing, despite the fact that he ran businesses that were based on it.

              Instead of going home to his empty house, which was sitting in boxes until he could move them into the home Billie and he would share, he decided to drive around. His gut twisted as feelings of guilt settled into his body. His father never would have allowed the woman he loved and adored to be shipped off to some nursing home. He should have seen this coming. His brothers wanted the house, more accurately they wanted the money from the sale. As rich as they were they were willing to make room in their bank accounts for a little more. Why did they even care? There was nothing the sale of that house could do for them. He had to think of something and racked his brain trying to come up with a solution. Something, anything to keep his mother from having to stay and live in a nursing home.

              After driving for what seemed like forever he turned the car in the direction of home. The dashboard clock told him it was after midnight. The streets in this quiet part of Halifax were deserted and so when he drove past a lone figure, a woman, bending over on the sidewalk like she was in pain it caught his eye. He slowed down realizing he recognised the coat, but didn’t know from where. Then suddenly he realized who he was looking at.

              Chelle picked up her backpack, carrying it in front of her and looked around nervously before heading up the walkway to a modest little cottage style home with two stories. When she arrived at the door, instead of fishing out keys from her pocket or backpack, she reached up to the doorframe, feeling around. After a moment she retrieved a key and unlocked the door.

              She looked around once more like she was frightened and put the key back as fast as she could, closing the door again and disappearing inside. Robert turned the car around and noted the address before driving off. Looking back in the rear view he noticed that the house was just as dark as before Chelle had entered. He reasoned that she might have just been exhausted and gone straight to bed, but Robert had done the same thing many times and could never remember a time when he’d not turned his lights on when entering his home.