three days were filled with hanging out, drinking wine, and enjoying each other’s company. Lucy spent the last two days with them, and they closed the weekend with a steak dinner. Remo fired up the barbeque grill, and they splurged on filet mignon bought from a local butcher. They hadn’t seen Sara since she entered rehab. The staff there informed them she wouldn’t be able to see anyone until she was detoxed, a process which could take five to seven days.
On Monday morning, while Alessa was reading a book to prepare for a class that would start that afternoon, the phone rang. It was the clinic telling her that Sara had come through the detox fine. Sara had asked a nurse at the rehab to call Alessa and let her know she was getting better. She had also requested a visit from her.
Alessa thanked them, showered, and headed over to the clinic for a short visit before her class. Sara looked more herself, the way Alessa remembered her, but she could see she was tired. Alessa knew she had been through a lot. Sara told her she would have to stay in bed for the next couple of days until she was eating normally and had regained some of her strength.
During the visit, a doctor came in to check on Sara.
“We got the results of your blood tests,” he announced, then looked pointedly at Alessa.
“It’s fine,” Sara reassured him. “You can tell me in front of her.”
“You’ve been very lucky, Sara,” he continued. “You tested negative for HIV. However, you do have syphilis.”
Sara looked confused. “So what does that mean?” she asked. “Can you give me something for it?”
The doctor explained it was a common form of STD, and he would start her on a course of antibiotics.
“Could I die from syphilis?” she asked with panic in her voice.
The doctor assured her she could not but reminded her how lucky she was to have been spared something worse.
When he left, Alessa said, “You have a new start, Sara. You’ve been given another chance. Make the most of it, girl.”
Sara dropped her head back on the pillow. “Alessa,” she said, “I can’t even tell you what I’ve done in the last eight months. I was stoned all the time. I don’t know how, but thank God I stumbled on you. I probably would’ve died if I hadn’t.”
Alessa stayed for a bit longer. When she got up to leave, Sara was overwhelmed with insecurity, thinking about being alone. “Will you come back?” she asked, the desperation evident in her voice.
“Of course I’ll come back,” Alessa reassured her. “I have classes tomorrow morning, but I’ll come in the afternoon.”
Sara lifted her eyebrows. “You go to school now?” she asked, amazed.
Alessa laughed. “Yeah, I want to be a psychologist.”
Sara sat up in bed. “That’s so cool,” she said softly. “You really made it. You’re so lucky, Alessa. That’s so friggin’ cool.”
Alessa looked away, feeling as though she had been far too lucky, while her friend had been far too unlucky. “Yeah. You’ll make it, too,” she said gently.
Alessa made her way to school, remembering the desperation with which she had once wanted to change her life and wishing she could help Sara to turn her own life around. She thought about all the questions she’d once asked herself. How can I change my life? Could it even happen? Am I destined for a life where I’ll always need more than I have? Oh yes, Alessa remembered the feeling well.
She didn’t know what the right answer would be for Sara. Alessa had kept moving forward with her life, and with some luck, she had made it through. She had met people who, in one way or another, had helped her to pull herself out of the nightmare that was her existence.
That night at dinner, Alessa talked to Ebby about Sara. Ebby explained that she could probably get Sara into a halfway house after she had completed rehab. Alessa was comforted by the thought that Sara would have a place to start her life over once she got released.
With things settled, she stopped worrying about Sara and thought about Christmas, which was fast approaching.
