Читать книгу The Other Side Of The Lies - Callie Ansar - Страница 1

“Thank you so much for meeting me this morning, Karen,” the eager young man sitting across from me said as I sipped my morning coffee. I gave him a lazy smile, not out of rudeness, yet sheer tiredness. The baby had me up all night and I was exhausted. I don’t know what I was thinking when I agreed to a seven a.m. meeting. “So, again, thank you for meeting me,” he said as he fidgeted in his seat.

He was starting to annoy me, but I knew I had to be patient with him because Ethan used to be a patient here. After he was discharged, he started taking some classes at a local college. When he e-mailed me to say that he had to do an interview for his Journalism class and wanted to interview me, I was honored and couldn’t say no. But my lack of sleep last night is killing me right now and I’m struggling to keep my eyes open. I’m hoping this is short and sweet.

“No problem, Ethan,” I replied, trying to slap on a smile. “You’re looking well. How’s school going?” I asked.

“It’s going really great, Karen.”

“That’s awesome, Ethan. I’m so proud of you,” I told him. “So, let’s get started. What will you be interviewing me about today?”

“Well, my class was given an assignment to interview someone who has influenced our lives. I think most people are going with their mothers or fathers, but I don’t see how I could have chosen anyone but you.” His words made my heart happy and perked me up more than my cup of joe.

“Wow, how flattering. That means so much to me,” I said, because it did. I remember the night that Ethan's’ parents brought him into the center. We had only been open for about four months and were still getting into the swing of things. I was getting ready to leave for the night, when Ethan's’ father walked through the door with his son in his arms and his wife at his side, sobbing.

“Well, what you’ve done here at the center saved me, and I will be forever grateful to you. You take in addicts and you rehabilitate them, at hardly any cost. You’re amazing, Karen. You are the epitome of role models.”

I was always very proud of what I have accomplished here at the center, but hearing it come out of a recovering patients’ mouth made it all the more rewarding. My eyes swelled up with tears as I said, “Thank you, Ethan. Now let’s hear that first question.”

He took out a steno pad, which I assume held his interview questions, as well as a small tape recorder. “Do you mind if I tape the interview?” he politely asked.

“Oh not at all,” I replied.

“Ok, thanks,” he said as he pushed a button on the recorder. “Ok, so my first question is what made you want to work with addicts? It’s not a very glamorous job for such a young person, especially a woman, so how did you get into it?”

Oh God, I hate this question. It’s the question that always drags me into my past. But over the years I have sculpted the perfect answer to sway reporters from digging any deeper. I wasn’t ashamed of how my life finally came together, but I hated going back to how it fell apart. I hated reliving the grief over and over and over again.

As I opened my mouth to answer the question, I paused before I responded. I had been interviewed on this topic plenty of times, but never, ever by a former patient. As much as I wanted this interview to be over, I somehow felt obligated to purge my story to this young man, who overcame so much, all because of my past.

“How much time do you have?” I asked as I answered with a chuckle.

“As much time as you need,” he answered.

“Ok then, I’ll start from the beginning,” I told him and then began my tale. “It was June of 1996…"