About six months had passed after Cassie's birth when Jim and Julia were visited by an unexpected guest. Jim and Julia had lots of family friends, some which liked to drop by at unexpected times. However, none of them would ever randomly visit in the middle of the night. In this particular visitor's case, it was at one o'clock in the morning during a cold and very windy night.
Jim had just finished changing Cassie's diaper and feeding her when the visitor rang the doorbell. While Jim was confused at why somebody was ringing the doorbell at one in the morning, he decided to just not pay attention to it at first. It was late at night and he had class early in the morning. Jim didn't feel like wasting his time answering the door for somebody who should know it's rude to be bothering somebody this late at night and without calling first.
Jim carefully rocked Cassie back to sleep and kissed her on the forehead. He placed her back in her crib and turned off the lights to the nursery.
"Sweet dreams, my little angel," Jim said before leaving the room.
Right as Jim was about to enter his bedroom, the doorbell rang again. By this point, Jim wasn't sure whether to very confused and at the same time curious about why somebody was desperate to speak to the Burlesons in the middle of the night or just irritated that the visitor was keeping Jim from getting his sleep. Sleepless nights were not something Jim wasn't already used to, as he had to endure plenty of them while studying for tests and getting homework done all throughout his high school and college years, but Jim was a human like everybody else and wanted to get as much sleep as he could when possible. Needless to say, Jim wasn't sure if he even wanted to answer the door or not.
After Jim paused for about three minutes to think about the situation, the doorbell rang a third time. This person obviously wasn't going to quit until they got some sort of response. Jim decided just to answer the door just so the doorbell would finally stop ringing. Whatever got Jim back to sleeping peacefully again faster was the much better option.
Jim walked up to the front door and opened it. A man that Jim had never seen before stood in the doorway. Or, at least Jim thought at first he had never seen the man before.
"Jim Burleson," the man said. "Man has it been so long."
After a close examination of the man, Jim's eyes widened in shock.
It was Chris. Jim hadn't recognized him at first because Chris looked nothing like he had when Jim had last seen him nearly eight years earlier. Chris was wearing a blue t-shirt that was torn in several areas, he had long black hair (which was originally brown) that looked very scruffy and filthy, had both a nose and lip piercing, and had large green dragon tattoos on both arms (Jim, Julia, and Chris had once had a conversation about tattoos back in high school and Chris had stated that he would never get one because he was afraid of "how much it would hurt"). He also carried a very foul stench that smelled like a combination of alcohol, cigarette smoke, and body odor. Jim was so shocked at Chris' appearance that he wondered if he was still asleep.
Chris held out his hand. "What's up, man?"
Jim slowly held up his arm and shook Chris' hand. Chris gripped Jim's hand so tightly as he shook it that it hurt.
Yep, this most definitely wasn't a dream. This was reality.
"Uhh....uhh...how...how's it going...Chris?" Jim stammered, as he shook Chris' hand.
"May I come in?" Chris asked.
Jim let go of Chris' hand and paused for a moment. Normally, he would've been happy to let somebody in his house, especially if it were an old friend. But after seeing Chris's disheveled appearance and smelling his horrid odor, it was apparent that this was not the same Chris he had said goodbye to during his high school graduation. Jim was very reluctant to see what this new Chris was like in it's entirety and was not at all comfortable with that new Chris being in his house, especially not when his wife and child were home. However, Jim knew it was not like him to tell an old friend of his to leave and stay outside in the cold weather, especially when they weren't wearing a coat. Jim was also not one to judge a book by it's cover.
"Umm...sure," Jim said.
Chris walked into Jim's house and looked around for a minute. Jim closed the door behind him.
"Wow!" Chris said, very loudly. "What an awesome place you've got!"
"Please keep it down," Jim said, grabbing a bottle of air refresher he kept on the table in the foyer. "My wife and daughter are both asleep."
"Oh that's right! That's right! You and Julia are married now! Man, I still think that's weird!"
"How on earth do you know that?" Jim sprayed the air freshener in every area that Chris walked. "And how'd you get my address?"
"Your parents gave it to me. Even after all these years they've been living in the same place. I guess they don't get around much, know what I'm saying?"
"Oh," Jim said. "Brilliant."
So apparently Jim's parents had thought it was smart idea to give Chris his address. Then again, they were probably too exhausted from work to notice his unkempt appearance.
"They also told me you and Julia got married! Who would've predicted that? Then again, I kind of did see a thing going on between you two during our high school years. So, I guess it shouldn't be a surprise. But still, that's awesome!"
"Please keep it down, Chris." Jim had now wasted almost the entire bottle of air freshener.
"And y'all have a kid now! Who would've known y'all would have even made it to second base, let alone home plate! Man, that's awesome, too!"
Okay, this was most definitely not the same Chris that Jim had known before.
"Chris," Jim said, throwing the now empty bottle of air freshener in the trash can. "Not to be rude, but what happened?"
"What are you talking about?" Chris asked.
"What happened to you after all these years?"
"What happened to me? I'll tell you what happened! I became awesome! That's what happened! I'm awesome now! And it feels great!"
Jim didn't even know how to respond to that.
"So how've you been, Jimmy?" Chris grinned widely, showing his cigarette damaged teeth. Jim cringed.
"I've...I've been okay," Jim said. "For the most part."
"Awesome," Chris said. "I would love to tell you more about how awesome everything has been going for me, but I've been doing so much driving that I feel like I'm gonna pass out. Can I crash here tonight?"
This had gone far enough. After seeing Chris' mannerisms, Jim wasn't even comfortable of letting him stay in his house for five more minutes, let alone the rest of the night. Jim decided that at that moment he would politely tell Chris to leave his house, lend him one of his coats (his brown one that he didn't entirely like), give him some money, and give him directions to the nearest motel. Then, he could finally get some sleep. If Chris ever returned, Jim would tell him to never come back again unless he attended rehabilitation.
But just as Jim was about to speak again, he heard a sound of footsteps from behind him. He turned around.
Julia stood behind him, wearing her pink nightgown and rubbing her eyes.
"Jim, what's going on here?" She asked. "I heard people talking."
Julia then noticed Chris. She seemed so tired that it took a moment for her to finally realize he was there.
"Who is this?" Julia asked.
"Julia!" Chris shouted. "It sure has been a while!"
Julia stared at Chris for a moment and then her eyes widened in surprise.
"Chris?"
Chris nodded.
Jim had assumed that Julia would react to Chris in the same way he had. He assumed that anybody with common sense would react the same way he had.
However, when Julia realized she was talking to Chris, she smiled widely and gave him a large hug. Jim knew he wasn't dreaming at this point, but he really wished he was.
Chris and Julia hugged for a very long time. Jim started wondering if he would get any sleep at all that night.
"Oh, Chris," Julia said, finally letting go of him. "Where have you been all this time?"
"Back in Houston," Chris said. "Just being awesome."
Julia laughed and turned to Jim.
"You should've woken me up the minute he got here!" She said, loudly. "We could've had a nice little reunion all together!"
"Honey, please be quiet," Jim said, trying his hardest not to get agitated. "You'll wake the baby."
"Oh right, right," Julia said, lowering her voice. She turned back to Chris. "So, Chris. What brings you here this late at night?"
"I just wanted to stop by and see you guys," Chris said. "I mean it has been like ten years since we last saw each other, am I right?"
"It's actually only been about eight years, Chris," Jim said. "And that doesn't explain why you decided to come here this late at night."
"Phhhbt, who cares how late it is? All that matters is that we're finally all back together! And it's awesome!"
"I know right, right?" Julia said. "I'm not even feeling that tired right now!"
Jim put his hands on his head. He felt like he was getting a migraine.
"Julia," Jim said, still trying to sound calm. "Can we go talk in the other room, please?"
"Umm...sure, Honey," Julia said. She and Jim then walked to the dining area.
"You guys take your time!" Chris called out to them as they walked off. "I promise I won't break anything! I'm awesome that way!"
Jim and Julia kept walking until they were sure that Chris was out of earshot of them. Jim then spoke in a very angered tone of voice.
"I swear, if he wakes the baby I'm going to grab something really big and smash his head with it. Then he'll finally shut up."
"Why are you talking that way about Chris?" Julia asked, irritably. "Have you forgotten that he's our friend?"
"That's not Chris! The Chris I know doesn't drink alcohol and talk like a lunatic. Also, what on earth is wrong with you? You're acting very strange."
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. When I saw Chris, I just got overexcited and starting saying things and doing things without thinking first. Jim, I've really missed Chris all these years. When we lost connection, it hurt me very much. You and him were the first friends that I ever had and I could never bear to lose one of you. I've actually been hoping for this day for a very long time."
"Julia, I understand that he's our friend and it is great that we're finally seeing him after a long time. And yes, it upset me too when we stopped talking to him. I've been thinking about him almost every day for all these years. But, like I said, this isn't Chris! Did you not smell his breath? He's clearly been drinking and smoking all day! Did the Chris we knew in high school ever do those things?"
"But he's still our friend. Are you saying that because he's acting this way he's suddenly not our friend?"
Jim took a deep breath.
"Honestly, Julia. I don't even know."
"So, are you just going to kick him out and tell him to never come back? If your brother suddenly became an alcoholic, would you do the same to him if he came over?"
"I would try and get help for him so he would stop being an alcoholic."
"Then why can't we do the same thing for Chris?"
"Because I'm not even sure if Chris would attend rehab!"
"And what if Anthony wouldn't attend rehab if he was an alcoholic?"
"Stop bringing Anthony into this!"
"It's just a question!"
Jim was not getting anywhere in this argument. The night was fading fast and he was ready to pass out from exhaustion. At this point, he just needed to say whatever it took to end the conflict in the quickest way possible.
"Look Julia, all I'm going to do is tell him to go stay the night at the nearest motel. That's it. I'm not even going to be rude about it. If he wants to keep seeing us, I'll just tell him that we can start hanging out again after he attends rehab. If he truly was our friend, he would at least listen to us and understand."
"Why can't he just stay here?"
"Stay here? Julia, he smells like he hasn't showered in a year. I don't want him stinking up the guest bedroom with that smell! And I especially don't want the smell of alcohol around the baby!"
"Then we'll tell him to take a shower before going to sleep."
"Julia, please."
"Jim," Julia said. "Jim...I...really don't want to lose Chris again." Julia's voice cracked as she spoke. Jim could see tears forming in her eyes.
Jim bit his lip. What a way to spend his night.
"Okay, fine," He said. "Chris can stay here. But yes, he is to take a shower before he goes to bed and I will make sure he takes one. Also, we're telling him he needs to go to rehab as soon as possible tomorrow, he is to take a shower each day he is here, he is not allowed to smoke or drink in the house, and I don't want him around Cassie."
For a moment, Julia was completely silent. From the living room, Jim could hear Chris singing "Born to Be Wild" with the most obnoxious singing voice that he had ever heard. This was officially Jim's worst night ever.
"Okay, fine," Julia said. "Fine, that's what we'll do."
Jim and Julia then walked back into the living room.
"Hey, did you guys know that 'The Exorcist' was based on a real-life event?" Chris asked Jim and Julia as they walked up to him. "That's freaking awesome!"
Jim and Julia explained to Chris that he was allowed to stay at their house (Jim cringed immensely as they said this), but that he had to follow the rules that they had come up with for him. After they were finished speaking, Chris paused for a moment.
"Well?" Jim asked.
"I'm tired," Chris said, sitting on the couch.
"Are you going to follow the rules we gave you?" Jim asked.
"Yeah, sure. I'm tired."
Jim put his hand over his face.
"Are you going to hop in the shower, Chris?" Julia asked.
"Yeah, whatever," Chris said in a very weary voice. He stood up and walked out of the living room. Jim heard him bump into a wall the instant he was out of the room.
"Show him where it is before he destroys something," Jim said in a very agitated tone of voice.
Julia nodded and rushed out of the room.
Jim sat on the chair next to the couch, trying his hardest to ignore the putrid smell that Chris had left behind. He was still trying to process all that happened that night.
After a few minutes, Julia returned to the living room.
"He's in the shower now," Julia said. "If you want me to, I can stay awake and make sure that Chris washes himself good enough to sleep in the guest room without leaving a smell behind. You can go to sleep now."
"Goodnight," Jim said. He then marched back to his room and collapsed onto his bed.
Although Jim was now finally in bed, he could not at all fall asleep. There was no way he could relax knowing that Chris was staying at his house. Jim had never been comfortable even being around people who acted in this manner, let alone letting a person like that stay the night at his house. Former best friend or not, Jim couldn't imagine getting a good night's sleep knowing that there was a heavy alcoholic sleeping under the same roof as his infant daughter.
Julia walked back in the bedroom after about an hour had passed. Jim was still wide wake.
"You haven't fallen asleep?" Julia asked.
"Trying to," Jim replied, gruffly.
Julia lay down in the bed and pulled the covers over her.
"He's asleep now," She said. "He did manage to get most of the smell off him. Although, you can still smell a bit of alcohol on his breath. I also put his clothes in the washer and gave him some of yours. The grey shirt and brown pants that you never wear."
"I don't want them back."
"I kind of figured you would say that."
Julia lay down on her pillow and said nothing for a moment. Jim snorted.
"You know, Jim?" Julia suddenly said. "Chris acting this way does upset me just as much as you. I've been waiting for us to all be reunited for such a long time and he comes back...well...not acting like himself. It actually kind of breaks my heart."
"This is himself now, Julia," Jim replied. "He's an alcoholic and this is typically how alcoholics act."
Julia sighed.
"I really do wonder how he got to be this way," She said. "It's just so strange."
"Yeah, I'm wondering the same thing. But what caused him to change doesn't matter at all. All that matters is the fact that he has changed. He's not Chris anymore."
"I know. But at least we have a chance. We can help him overcome this addiction. Everything we'll be back to the ways things were before in no time. We'll all be a happy group of friends again."
"And if he doesn't overcome his addiction?"
"Jim..."
"Rehab doesn't always work, you know."
"Jim..."
Julia's voice cracked again.
"I really, really, really don't want to lose him again. Especially not after seeing him like this..."
Julia turned over and buried her face into her pillow. Jim could hear sniffling sounds that easily showed that Julia was sobbing uncontrollably. Jim sighed and turned over.
He closed his eyes, hoping he would fall asleep if he just tried not to think about Chris for a few minutes. He instead thought about how wonderful it would be to come home to see Cassie's adorable little smile when he was finished with class tomorrow. However, it was very hard for him to get Chris' ear-grating singing out of his head.
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