“This is Ryan.”
“Hey there, little brother.”
My head whipped up from my desk as Valentina’s voice wafted through my office phone.
“Hey, Val. You’re calling,” I said.
“Yeah. They’re finally letting me call out from the hospital,” she said.
“That’s a good thing, right? Means whatever they’ve got you doing is working.”
“Ryan, it’s bad.”
“What’s bad?” I asked.
“Well, first it was the withdrawals, and now it’s this other medication they have me on. It’s apparently supposed to help with my depression that they’ve diagnosed me w
ith.”
“That’s doesn’t shock me. You’ve been struggling with it for a while.”
“Mood swings, that’s all that was. But either way, I know this is a good thing for me.”
“That’s a better attitude than what we had last time,” I said.
“I think this is my rock bottom. My psychiatrist here keeps telling me that everyone hits it before they finally start getting better.”
“I’d say being in the hospital for almost a month will do that to anyone.”
“Thanks for coming by the other day. I really appreciated it,” she said.
“I’d come by more often, but I’m pretty sure Mom’s breathing down your throat a bit.”
“They actually haven’t been letting Mom back to see me.”
“What?” I asked. “Why not? You mean you’re there by yourself when I’m not coming by?”
“She started arguing with one of the doctor’s about when I could come home and she got physical with them.”
“She punched a doctor?”
“How do you know she punched him?” she asked.
“It’s Mom. That’s her go-to reaction nowadays.”
“Well, then yes. That’s what she did. So they’ve deemed her an unhealthy influence and they aren’t letting her back to see me.”
“I guess that’s for the best, but who’s coming to see you when I’m not?” I asked.
“My COO stops by every once in a while. You know, to update me on how things are going with the business. She’s been great. I’m glad I got rid of the old one.”
“He was a maniac. And I believe partially to blame for the situation you’re in now.”
“It’s no one’s fault by my own that I became an addict, Ryan.”
“Wow. Then whatever they’re doing there is really helping you.”
“How are things going at work with you?”