“Diamond, of course.” Mabel finishes his sentence and holds out her hand for me. “So nice to finally meet you. Finn’s told us so much about you.”
It’s hard to believe that while these people are perfect strangers to me, I’m the opposite of a stranger to them.
“He did?” I shake her hand with a grin, looking up at Finn.
I can tell he’s embarrassed by the way he rubs at the back of his neck. “I… I might’ve mentioned you once or twice.”
“More like a thousand times.” Mabel lowers her voice as if to tell me a secret, and I heave a laugh.
“I can hear you,” Finn reminds her, and Mabel ignores him, leaning closer to me.
“Between us girls, it took months for him to stop moping around. He never even looked at another. Not even when they were throwing themselves at him left and right.”
She probably meant for that comment to be flattering, but it has the opposite effect. Seeing one girl hit on Finn already left a bad taste in my mouth. I’m not sure how I feel about knowing there were others.
“Anything else I should know?” I joke, my smile withering away.
“Just that you’ve got yourself a good one.” Mabel rests her hand on Finn’s shoulder. He’s much taller than her, and she has to stretch her arm to reach him. “He’s one of our success stories.”
“How so?” I ask.
“Many of us had to start over a bunch of times before we earned our one-year sobriety chip.” She digs into her purse, pulling out a small token with the number twelve carved into it—this must be how long she’s been sober. “But not him. He’s got will like you wouldn’t believe. Once he started, he never looked back.”
Her story warms my heart.
All this time, I thought Finn was living a new life when in reality, he was working hard to get back to his old one.
“Granted, he had Ruben to help him every step of the way. Got to give credit where it’s due,” she adds, scanning the room. “Speaking of, where is the old dinosaur?”
“He couldn’t make it today, but we’re meeting him later for lunch,” Finn answers.
I blink at him. “We are?”
“I think it’s about time you met my sober sponsor, don’t you?” Finn smiles.
I nod in agreement. I have no idea who this Ruben is, but if he helped Finn when I couldn’t, I want to meet him. It isn’t long before Ruth, the woman Mabel mentioned earlier, walks through the door, and Mabel says her goodbyes, making a beeline for her friend. Finn introduces me to a total of six people before the meeting starts, all of whom already know who I am before I’ve even opened my mouth.
A few members place chairs in a circle before telling the group the meeting is about to start. I don’t sit in the circle out of respect and grab a seat on the bench near the entrance. Finn glances at me every once in a while, a grateful smile on his face, and I make it a point to smile back every time. It’s like he’s thanking me for being here, but I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.
I spend the next hour listening to people’s stories, some of which bring tears to my eyes. I know this is technically Alcoholics Anonymous, but this feels anything but anonymous. It feels private, like people are pouring their hearts out to each other, building bonds strong enough to withstand any storm.
What these people have created is a family.
Might be because Hillford is a small town or because everyone here is so nice and welcoming. Either way, I’m glad Finn had that support system. I’m glad he wasn’t alone.
Mabel, who seems to be in charge, tells the others that the meeting is almost over and asks if anyone would like to go last.
“I do,” Finn says.
Mabel nods. “Go ahead, honey.”
Finn clears his throat. “Hi, I’m Finn.”
“Hi, Finn,” everyone says in unison.
I didn’t think they’d say their names every single time since they clearly know each other, but they seem to take the introductions very seriously.
“I know many of you weren’t expecting to see me again… Some of you even bet on it.”