Growing up Glen
As I sit in my car, (a red dodge stealth) sweating I cannot help but wonder how I got here. Not here in this
particular driveway but here in this situation. I have been careful most of my life. Have I done some dumb
things? Have I done things that should have ended very badly? Yes. But this was so innocent and somehow
absurd. The night started around 8:00 pm. I have been working at a Dodge dealership in Baton Rouge
Louisiana. Some of my coworkers wanted to go to the casino nearby and it was Friday night, so it sounded
like a great idea. I didn’t have extra money so once my $20 was gone I would be done gambling. The good
part is while you gamble you can drink for free. I had a rum and coke inside the Casino before I lost all of
money. I got my friend Toony and told Donovan and Kyle that we would be in the bar by the front door when
they were done gambling. As we walked to the bar we passed two handsome young guys, which checked us
out. We giggled a bit and continued on our way. There was a band playing. I remember that. I sat down at
the bar, but didn’t order anything because I had no money, which was fine with me because I drove here
anyway. Moments later, those two men showed up behind us and asked if they could buy us a drink.
“Sure” I said. “What is your name?”
“Adam” he said. I have an older brother named that. What a cutie. Off we went to go dance just as my drink
hit the bar. We danced for a while and then made our way back to the bar. I drank about half of my drink
when Donovan and Kyle came out and said they were ready to go. Adam was not too happy about that but
we exchanged numbers and off I went. My rule is, you come together you leave together.
As the valet brought my car around Donovan asked if he could drive. I let him which is strange, I never let
anyone drive my baby. But in the backseat I went. I remember hearing Garth Brooks on the radio, I
remember feeling hot. Very hot. Like the air conditioning wasn’t on. I was foggy. I couldn’t lift my arms, I
couldn’t move my legs. Am I that drunk? What an idiot I am. They are going to make fun of me for a long
time for this. WAIT. I didn’t even have 2 drinks….
We pull into Donovan’s driveway and everyone gets out. Except me. All of the doors close and I am left
alone. I can feel sweat rolling off of my neck, I cannot say anything. What is happening to me? Finally
someone noticed I had not gotten out of the car. They came back and pulled me out laying me on the grass
in the front yard. They are talking about how drunk I am and how funny it is. I want to scream. I want to say,
“Something is really wrong with me”, but I can’t. They are talking about how much I had to drink and they
are coming to the same realization that I had. I didn’t have that much to drink. I was not wasted and passed
out. Together they figured out something else was wrong. They decided to take me home and put me to
bed.
When I woke up in the morning I was MAD AS HELL. I could remember everything that happened but I had no
answer for any of the questions that were swirling around in my head. Did someone drug me? How? When?
Oh my god, what if this had hit me when I was driving home. What if I hadn’t let Donovan drive? We could all
be dead. That is when the fear hit. I have 3 children. 3 children that could be motherless this morning and
not know why. They may never have heard I love you again. Something had to change it it had to change
NOW