Page 141 of The Champion
“One of these days your brother is going to kill you. Youknow that, right?”
“Whatever. He’d miss me too much.”
“He wouldn’t just forget about you or anything. I thinknaturally there’d be a grieving period.”
“God,” she huffed and stood to gather her brats. “You twoact as though there’s something wrong with me and my kid.”
I watched as her son, Charlie, smack the barista on theass as they left. Nothing wrong with them family my ass.
Mine weren’t any better when Arie sat down beside one ofthose teenagers and started asking her questions about her piercings. I wassurprised the girl didn’t leak when she drank her coffee.
Against my better judgment and sanity, I convincedJameson to let me go out with the girls Friday night when we were in Atlanta.With the race being on Saturday night and a few days before Arie’s fourthbirthday, we only had Friday night and hoped none of us got into trouble.
Jameson wasn’t pleased and voiced his concern many timesthat this was the worst idea I’ve ever had. I wasn’t sure if the worst idea wasme going out with the girls or him keeping an eye on all three of our kids.Even worse, Aiden and Spencer thought it’d be cool if they all got together andwatched the kids as a team. Somehow they thought with all of them together theycould manage eight kids under ten.
I tried to point out they were outnumbered but it wasalmost like they took that as some sort of challenge and it became a mission tomake it through the night.
If only Emma shared the mission to make it through thenight.
It started soon after the Nationwide race on Friday nightwhen we left our husbands at the suite in downtown Atlanta. We had a chaperonthough, Van.
Emma, Alley, Nancy, Andrea and even Ami joined me on ournight out. I couldn’t tell you what bars we stopped at, just that there were somany I couldn’t keep track. I was one drink away from shitfaced most of thenight and just kept it up.
Nancy and Andrea, who rarely went out and it was evenrarer that they drank, could barely walk by the third bar and I was sure were wellon their way to alcohol poising or something equally as drastic. But no, theykept step and drank us drink for drink despite that.
Nancy found entertainment in Jameson’s favorite drinkthese days,Monster Energydrinks mixed with vanilla vodka. I thinkthat’s what kept her going so strong.
We were all going strong around midnight when I got atext from Jameson that said:Ifound Casten’s diaper and shirt in the bathroom and he’s missing. Does he haveany secret hiding places I should know about? When should I panic?
I replied with:Well when I can’t find him at home I have Axel look forhim. For some reason he comes out of hiding when Axel barks like a dog andpretends to run around on all fours. Just do anything that causes a commotionand he’ll come running for the entertainment. He’s just bored so he hides. Andno, don’t panic unless he doesn’t come out.
I didn’t get a reply right away so I tucked my phoneinside my purse and went about the night.
“I think I’m done for the night.” I told Emma by the fourthbar and swaying slightly as I held onto the table we were gathered at.
“No.” she said adamantly. “This isn’t a one drink night.This is the type of night that we drink a fifth of whatever, show up at the barand see what happens. I’m expecting one of us gets arrested.”
“Emma,” Nancy scolded. “That would not be good.”
“Mom,” she began setting her lemon drop down on the tableand looking like she was about to give a presidential debate.
For some reason, Alley, who’d been pounding beers allnight, thought her expression was the funniest thing she’d ever seen and letout a string of laughs followed by snorts and some tears. It wasn’t pretty.
“Listen to me,” Emma started in again when Alley gainedcontrol. “For the three times I’ve been arrested in my life, I’ve enjoyed everyexperience.”
I tried multiple times throughout the night to convinceEmma to call it a night all with no success.
About one was when Tommy showed up. Emma was pissed thathe showed up because this was apparently a girl’s night but I held some comfortthat Tommy was around. Usually I didn’t do stupid shit when he was around.Tommy did.
I’d like to think I’ve matured since my days of gettingrip roaring drunk and tattooing myself but that night turned into stupidityafter Tommy arrived. It was a part of the night that I referred to as thepoint-of-no-return.
Jameson had been sending me all kinds of weird textmessage throughout the night asking how to do simple tasks with the kids I knewhe already knew but I also understood this was his way of silently making sureI was okay.
FoundCasten. Spencer lit the toaster on fire and Casten came out of the pantryeating graham crackers. By the way, does Arie usually take off her clothes andrun around naked? That’s not normal, right? Do our kids ever run around fullyclothed? By the way, she’s nearly four. We should get clothes on her.
And then after I replied assuring him that was normal hesent another text an hour later that said:Got Spencer and Aiden to bed but the kidswon’t stop! How do you get Arie to sleep without her binkie? She’s nearly four.That thing has to go at some point! I’m sure they don’t allow them inkindergarten.
It was something like three and the bars were closing soI assured him I’d be back in a little while and help him out. Boy was I wrong.
