Rather than continue the direction of the conversation, Damita decided to end it there. She was quickly learning that there was no such thing as a reasonable disagreement when it came to Neal and she also realized that much of what she was saying was less about the way she felt about Tina and more about her anger toward Neal.
“Dinner will be ready in about an hour,” was all she said.
CHAPTER SIX
After dinner Neal opened a bottle of Scotch. Damita didn’t think she had seen him drink anything stronger than a glass of wine since she’d know him.
“Where’d you get that from?” she asked.
“This is the Glenrothes John Ramsay. It’s a gift from one of my colleagues. I suppose he thought I would want to add it to my collection. There have only ever been two hundred of these in the entire United States. Now one of them is mine. I enjoy collecting unique and unattainable things. It’s a perfect wedding present.”
“Don’t you want to save it for a special occasion?”
“This is a special occasion. I’m celebrating my triumphant return to the old grind. Have you forgotten that the honeymoon is over and we’ll both be returning to work?”
As she watched him drink glass after glass, she regretted not having gone through all the presents. The last thing she needed was Neal drunk.
“That chicken was so salty. Do you want some water?” she asked.
“Does it look like I want water?”
By the time the bottle was practically empty, Neal was slumped over on the couch, fast asleep. Damita was relieved and decided to try to get some sleep herself.
In the middle of the night Damita was awakened by a noise. She turned over on her back, as Neal was entering the bedroom. He stood and the foot of the bed and started screaming. Damita sat up.
“What did you do with it?” he asked.
“Huh?”
Half-asleep, Damita wasn’t even sure what time it was. She glanced over at the clock and saw it was three forty-seven a.m.
“I know you put it somewhere. What did you do with it?”
Damita stared at him in confusion. “Neal, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Where is my package? I put it in my sock drawer.”
“I don’t know what package you’re talking about, but if you put it in your sock drawer, then it’s probably still there.”
She could hear him in the walk-in, rummaging through things, turning things over. She hoped he would find whatever it was he was looking for. If he didn’t, she realized what the end result would be.
Suddenly, everything went quiet. She heard Neal in the living room again. She could hear him sniffling. She wondered if he was having some sort of a breakdown and was crying again. When she entered the living room so many things became clearer. Spread out on her makeup vanity tray was some white powder and Neal was sniffing it through a straw. She assumed he didn’t even notice her. He was so engrossed in what he was doing.
“You want a hit?” he asked.
“Neal, you know I don’t do that. I didn’t think you did either.”
“Come on, just one hit.”
“I’ll pass.”
“Of course you will. I knew you wouldn’t, simply because I asked. If it were Carmella or one of your other friends, or Brandon, I bet you would.”
“No, Neal, I wouldn’t. Drugs have never been my thing. I don’t need them. I never have.”
“Are you trying to say that I do?”
“No, that’s not what I’m saying. I’m not talking about you. I’m talking about me. I’ve never had a need or a desire to indulge in any of that stuff. I may have tried marijuana once when I was in high school, but that’s it.”
“I almost forgot. You’re Pollyanna.”
Damita sighed with exasperation. “Neal, why do we have to fight about everything? Can’t we agree to disagree? You want it. I don’t. Why does that have to be a problem?”
“It’s a problem because it’s too damn tense around here. We both need to loosen up. This will help us loosen up.”
“Don’t you see, Neal? This is not what’s going to solve our problems. This is what is causing our problems. Now I understand everything. I knew my instincts could not be that off. You haven’t been the man I fell in love with because you’ve been altered by this drug. All you have to do is stop and we’ll be fine. I’ll help you anyway I can. And, if we can’t do it on our own, we can try rehab.”
Neal laughed loudly. “Woman, you must be out of your mind. There is no way in hell I would ever go to rehab. In fact, I don’t need help or to go to rehab. I don’t have a problem. It’s funny how people who drink are so quick to point out to people who indulge in other drugs how they need help.”