Chapter 18: Discovering New People
July 17th, a Sunday. Instead of having our regular Sunday dinner, we had a cookout. Everyone was there. Me, Amy, Greg, Mindy and their boys, dad and Donna. They boys had a few friends over so they were occupied. Amy kept an eye on her mom and me on my dad. It seemed like dad & Donna were getting along ok. They made small talk and laughed a little. Greg & I were on the grill while Mindy & Amy were inside making the cold food items and drinks.
"Brother," I said, slapping Greg on the back," beer-30?"
"Yessir," he said enthusiastically.
I handed him an ice cold Coors Light and he happily took it. We cracked them open at the same time and took a nice big swig together. Then, as always, we belched at the same time and laughed.
"Thanks, man," he said, appreciative.
He flipped the burgers and repositioned the ribs and closed the grill, leaning on the handle. He looked at me and sighed.
"I don't know, Jeff. I don't know what's going to happen," he said, still sounding defeated.
I could tell things were eating him up inside but he always tried to put on a good face, like men usually do.
"Look," I said, "we've always been best friends and told each other everything, right?"
"Yessir," he said.
"So, what the hell is going on with you," I asked.
I was concerned and wanted to do everything I could to help the situation. I just wasn't sure if he would talk to me like he used to, especially since we don't pry into each other's lives anymore. His business is his business and mine is mine. We both understood that.
"Well, I wasn't totally honest with you guys the other night," he said, ashamed, "call it a lie by omission, I guess."
"Ok, so be honest with me now," I said, "you know me. I'm your brother. I'm not going to judge."
"I know. It's just difficult for me to talk about. It wasn't just the situation with dad. Mindy caught me having an affair with a coworker. She saw emails on my work computer," he admitted.
"Oh shit, man," I exclaimed.
"Yep..." he said, hanging his head.
I could see his eyes start to become watery, which he was trying to hide by blaming the smoke from the grill.
"That's why she kicked me out of the bedroom, why I'm drinking more and smoking. I'm lost. I have no idea what to do to fix it," he said remorsefully.
"What the fuck, Greg," I said, shaking my head in disappointment.
"I screwed things up pretty bad, I know. I don't need anyone else jumping my ass for it. It was a business trip back in January. We went to Texas to survey a new oil drilling site. We all had separate rooms. When we finished up the first night on site, I went for dinner. She walked in and shared a drink with me at the hotel bar. Next thing I know I wake up in her hotel room, naked, with a broken condom on my dick. I have no recollection of what happened after we left the bar," he explained.
"Was it only you two or were there more people," I asked.
"The group consisted of 6 people. She & I, 2 of my junior engineers, our vice president and a development engineer. 4 went out somewhere else to eat. I've been preoccupied with this whole dad situation and I let my guard down. It was a lapse in judgment."
"Ok, so you got drunk, fucked a coworker and what, is she pregnant now," I asked.
"She said she might be. I'm scared shitless, can't eat or sleep and wasn't spending the time with Mindy and the boys like I was before the trip. I'm starting to get back to spending time with the boys but Mindy & I are still on the outs. Anyway, I found out she might be pregnant and spilled it all to Mindy," he said.
I was curious about the emails and asked if they were flirting or accusatory. He said they were accusatory and he didn't want to do this with her anymore. She was blackmailing him saying she would claim sexual harassment to HR if he didn't keep quiet and going along with her little game.
"Mindy read all the emails. She is so pissed at me she doesn't really want me in the house and said she is going to get our attorney involved. Worst case scenario, I leave Falcon Engineering and go somewhere else. That means we may have to move and the boys will lose their friends. What about dad? What will that do to him? How will I explain it," is said.
He was riddled with worries and what-if's. I felt a bit overwhelmed for him. Meanwhile, inside, Amy was talking to Mindy.
"He's a fucking stupid asshole," Mindy said, throwing a head of Romain lettuce onto the butcher block to chop for a salad.
"I understand, Mindy. Before I met Jeff there were several guys that cheated on me, knowing full well what they were doing, and had no remorse. So I get it," Amy said.
"Do you, though? Look, Amy, no offense, but I don't think you do. Greg has a family, first of all. He has a lot to lose. Secondly, he is an alcoholic, and he went to a bar. How dumb can someone be," she exclaimed.
"He's an alcoholic," Amy questioned.
"Yes! He drinks on his lunch, he drinks when he gets home, he drinks all day on weekends. That includes at least 6 scotches each night after the boys go to bed, a 30 case of PBR or whatever on weekends and he has lunch beers with his bosses all the time," Mindy said, yelling with tears in her eyes.
Amy listened with compassion, not saying a word. She saw how badly it affected Mindy and tried to find the words to support her. Nothing came to mind that seemed worthy enough, though. Mindy tried to compose herself and wipe her eyes before the two of them took the food outside.
"Mindy, you're right. I don't know how it feels because there were no kids or a marriage to deal with. I do know how it feels to be taken advantage of after thinking everything was going well. It ripped me apart. So I can at least sympathize how you feel. I've had alcoholic boyfriends in the past. They went so far as to beat me for no reason when they got drunk. One tried to rape me. I'm not saying you should leave, but I am saying Greg needs to go to rehab. He won't recover staying here around all the booze. I think you know that," Amy said.
Amy walked over to Mindy and wrapped her arms around her. Those words Mindy took to heart. She looked at Amy unable to think or speak.
"I don't understand," Mindy cried,"how could he do this knowing he is an alcoholic?"
"I wish I had an answer, sweetheart," Amy said.
"I love him to death but I hate him at the same time," Mindy continued.
Amy just hugged Mindy as tight as she could, let her cry and rubbed her back.
Outside, Greg & I were about finished grilling the meat. I glanced up through the sliding glass door and saw Amy hugging Mindy. She looked out at me and shook her head. I sighed and looked back at Greg.
