It never failed, any time he had to work, someone always showed up the night before and got him to drinking. Last night it had been his cousin Stephanie and her new boyfriend, Chuck. He’d promised himself after the last meeting he had with Teddy that he wouldn’t do that anymore, that he’d not go out and get drunk until he knew for sure he was off the following day. He’d tried to beg off but Stephanie had persisted. They only had a few more days before Chuck had to return to his unit and she wanted to show him a good time.
As he made his way to his cubicle the churning in the pit of his stomach intensified. He was gonna hurl. His breakfast was resting uneasily in the sea of vodka he’d dumped into his gut the night before. He immediately made a u-turn and raced from the main floor down the short hallway to the men’s room on the right. He didn’t see the figure through the window, standing in the snow on the bank behind the building, watching the building from beneath the shadowy brow of his hat.
He saw nothing at all, focused as he was on the burning at the back of his throat that told him if he didn’t hurry, he was gonna make a mess. If he had updated his contact information like he should have, he’d be lying in bed right now, nursing his hangover instead of spending the morning digging out his truck so he could come to work. Being on your last warning sucked. Being hung over and on your last warning was even worse than that.
Reaching the stall he dropped to his knees in front of the toilet just as the first hot stream of vomit was ejected from his mouth. It felt like his fucking guts were being sucked out of him and he panted weakly between each bout.
“Are you okay?” A familiar voice asked from the doorway and he recognized Judy’s voice.
Talk about jumping from the frying pan into the fire. A couple of months earlier he and Judy had spent the night together after she had gotten into an argument with Teddy. It was one of those drunken evenings, he had nothing better to do so what better excuse was there than to go out and get drunk.
Judy had come to his apartment crying about the argument she had with Teddy. Outwardly Cody had been sympathetic to her problem. But that was only an act. He’d discovered over the few short years he’d been living alone that girls on the rebound from a bad relationship, or those who had just stormed out of their boyfriends after an argument were the easiest to get into bed. Judy had been no different.
After a few I understands, and that bastard, mixed in with a healthy dose of vodka in a glass of orange juice Judy’s defenses had come down and she spent the night.
“I’ll be all right,” he said between dry heaves. He was pretty sure he’d just cleaned his system out. He’d recognized the two sausage biscuits he’s had that morning, as well as the chili he’d eaten the night before. His mom had stopped by for a visit, and that had primed him for a night of drinking. So it hadn’t been too hard for Stephanie to convince him to show them the nightlife.
Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand he crossed to the row of sinks on the opposite wall. After splashing some cold water on his face he looked at Judy. “Does he know?”
“I haven’t told him yet.” She said.
“Why?” Cody splashed some cold on his face.
“It just hasn’t come up yet.”
“What? You have to wait for it to come up? You can’t just tell him?”
“It’s complicated.”
“No shit. Does he know what happened?”
“Are you still working here?”
“Good point. But you need to tell him, the sooner the better.”
“But what if he gets mad?”
“Don’t tell him everything. You’ve been fucking him, right?” She nodded. “Then he doesn’t need to know what happened between us.”
“But what if it looks like you?”
“That doesn’t mean a damn thing. I don’t know how you women can tell the difference anyway. A baby is a baby.”
“I’ll know.”
“Then you’re gonna have to leave him.”
“But I don’t want to. I love him.”
“That’s not what you said two months ago.”
“That was then, this is now.”
Cody approached Judy and placed his hands on her shoulders. “I understand. I might be a drunken ass half the time.”
“Only half the time?”
“Funny. But I do know this. He’s the best thing in the world for you, and your baby right now. He has a future. What do I have? I’m a drunk on his last warning. I seriously doubt I make it past the end of this month.”
“But what if he finds out?”
“Who’s gonna tell him?”
Judy shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“I’m not gonna say anything, so your secret is safe with me. The only other person who knows is you.”
“Knows what?” Teddy asked from the doorway. “And what are you doing in the Ladies room Cody?”
Cody looked around, at the row of stalls along the wall, sinks opposite, each with a mirror above. There were no urinals. Of course not dumb ass, this was the ladies room. In his haste to make it to the bathroom he’d gone through the wrong door.
“I’m sorry, had to puke, couldn’t make it to the men’s room.”
“Well, you better clear out. Calls are starting to come in so I’ll need you in the rotation.”
“Right.” Cody said before exiting the bathroom.
Teddy waited for the door to close before he turned to Judy. “We’ve gotta talk.”
“I’ve been trying to talk to you for the past week.”
The door swung open and Liz walked in. She was a tall redhead with a who gives a shit attitude.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize there was a meeting planned for in here. Do you mind if I use the facilities.”
“Yeah, sorry, go ahead.” Teddy said before he turned to Judy. “Let’s talk in the break room.”
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