January 15, 2012 The Vigil

January 15, 2012 Sunday 5PM

The cool is beginning now. The quiet day is ending. Soon the sun will go down. I love Sundays here.

Yesterday was another story. First thing in the morning Marte asked Miss Vida & me to lock her into the compound at night so she couldn't go get something to drink. She wants to quit drinking, she says. This is her 4^th day without liquor, she says, and claims to be suffering from physical detoxification symptoms. We agree. Miss Vida takes her gate key and goes off to the house where she is dog sitting tonight. I am alone, my neighbor's warden. At six, she wants to go walk the dog. She smells like beer. Benefit of the doubt. I go with her. It is a short walk. At six-thirty she wants to ask my advice. Rattling on like a kid pulling a fast one, she wants to go to a meeting. A guy there owes her 500US. He is leaving for San Jose tomorrow. She wants to confront him in front of the meeting members, shame him. (He was her lover a little while ago.)

I say, bad idea, she counters, I repeat, she argues, I am firm. Finally I say, we have an agreement. If you demand to go out, I will open the gate. She's not willing to do that.

She wants to call another program woman. I say of course. Call whomever you want. She refers to it is wanting a second opinion. I laugh, say, a second opinion doesn't matter, what I said stands. She calls the lady. The lady wants to talk to me. I repeat the story.

The lady says I want to call a psychologist. I am puzzled, but okay. I don't care. I go back into my apartment.

Marte comes over in fifteen minutes, says the lady consulted the psychologist, the psychologist said the guy had already left town. My neighbor goes into her apartment, to sulk? To drink? To watch TV?

I am on edge, worried, what if she takes pills? What if she gets sick? I am responsible for her. I call my sponsor in Indy, ask her advice.

My sponsor's response, I don't have to do this. In the morning I can cancel the agreement.

So, this AM, I get Marte, Miss Vida & me together and cancel my part in the whole thing.

My neighbor rushes around all day, chatting up local recovering ticos, arranging dog transport, conning her US spouse into removing the limit on her credit cards.

She buys a bus ticket to San Jose. Tomorrow she is going to check in to a relapse prevention center there. For a month. She has made the arrangement by phone and it costs $1000.00 a week.

Her spouse is willing to pay anything for her to get well and she talks a great game to him on the phone.

Half hour later she has lost her wallet. She rushed frantically to stores, looking. She calls the spouse to cancel the credit cards. I can hear him suggesting possibilities on the phone. He has a nice voice.

Miss Vida & I are sitting on the Sunday evening porch, chatting, eating ice cream. Miss V says, I see a plot here to get money on those cards and blame a thief. Maybe.

Marte came here over a year ago to go to rehab. She was there for a month. She hasn't had a sober week since, but she keeps stringing the spouse along, advertising her attempts to quit, her failures, her anguish, her pain and confusion. She says she plans to divorce the spouse, but she has been saying this for a year and he is totally unaware of any of this.

It is seven, Sunday night now. Miss V has gone to her dog sitting job. The neighbor has gone out. Another day for an alcoholic.  Peace reigns and tonight I don't have to keep watch. I love Sundays here.