Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 73556 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73556 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
“Well, I didn’t wake up one daydreamin’ about that. Though I’ve continuously had an entrepreneurial spirit, and I enjoy learning about economic matters. I’ve also always been really good at math. I used to help my mother with her taxes when I was like fifteen because she didn’t understand some of the forms.”
“That’s funny, impressive, and sweet.”
“Yeah, but then I grew up and life came swinging. Reality sunk in. It’s one thing to want to be rich, it’s another to wonder where your next meal is comin’ from. I didn’t have the money to do what I wanted to do in life. I always wished to go to college, but not any ol’ college—a good one. There was no money for that, and despite my good grades, I didn’t get approved for enough scholarships to attend. My family went through numerous spurts of poverty. Hardships. My dad worked on and off, typically manual labor and minimum wage jobs. I say spurts because sometimes we’d get a windfall, like my mom’s overtime, a Christmas bonus given to my dad, or my grandfather would toss us some money. But he and my father never really got along, so that wasn’t consistent, either. My dad, as I already explained to you the other day, had a drug problem, so some of the money would go to that. My mother would hide cash, but he’d still somehow manage to find it, and go drink or smoke it up.”
“Yeah, that’s not uncommon unfortunately.” She sighed. “I’m sorry you had to go through that.”
“It’s all good. It made me stronger. The last thing I want is for anyone to pity me. Even though he’s in prison in Louisiana right now, we talk often, and he’s actually doing better than when he was in the free world. More lucid.” She nodded in understanding. “My father and I for the most part have had a decent relationship in most recent years, in spite of all of that. Now, when I was younger, it was a different story.”
“What was going on?” She crossed her legs and leaned in.
“I was angry with both of my parents about things I felt they could have done to protect and help me and my brothers. They were dysfunctional, but now that I am an adult, my relationship with them is pretty good. Communication and accountability is key.”
“That’s a great happy ending! A lot of times when a parent has a substance abuse problem, it doesn’t end nicely at all. I had this one friend when I attended Houston Community College for my dental assistant degree. Her name was Eve. She and I got close real quick and would study together and hang out. I found out later that she was dabbling with Ice.”
“Crystal meth?”
“Yeah. I didn’t know how bad her habit was until one day, she came in cryin’. Told me that her mother wanted nothing to do with her, but she didn’t give a lot of details as to why. Then, a short time after that, I came to class and the teacher sat us all down. Said Eve was shot and killed by her own mother. She wanted to warn us before it aired on the news.”
“Damn. What happened?”
“Eve had a stepfather, apparently. Her mother stopped givin’ her money because she was spending it on drugs, I guess. They had a big fight, and that was the day she came in upset, and I spoke to her. I didn’t know the details; I just knew they’d fallen out. So, long story short, Eve agreed to sleep with her stepfather for money while her mother was away from the house one day.”
“Ohhhh, shit.”
“Yeah. So, she slept with him and probably had been doing it, but this time, they got caught.” Roman’s eyes widened as she told the terrible tale. “Her mother walked in on them in the act, and I guess lost her mind. The lady grabbed her gun and shot both of ’em.”
“So, both of them are dead now?”
“Her husband lived, but Eve died.”
“Damn. That’s uh… that’s really messed up.”
“Mmm hmmm. I was sad. Then numb. That’s the type of thing drug use can do to a family. It tears families apart. She wasn’t that type of person before her habit got the best of her. Eve was a sweet lady and was tryna make something of herself.”
“I don’t mean to sound insensitive or anything, but don’t you think it’s kinda wild that she was on crystal meth, which fucks up your teeth, but was also in dental school? Who would want someone like that messin’ around in their grill? Her teeth may have looked like she was chewing concrete cinder blocks and frozen razor blades. What kind of customer confidence could she possibly instill?”
“Roman…” It took everything in her not to laugh at his morbid observation. He had a point though.