Ripple Effect (Effect 1)

I remember the feeling.

When I’d been alone in her mom’s backyard, I’d called Brandt to see if he knew anyone who could help from his stint at a facility. I hoped he called me back with good news.

“I appreciate your time. I understand. Thank you.” She hung up the phone and sighed. Then, she said to herself, “Why won’t anyone go over there with me and talk to her?”

She looked down at the next number and dialed it, not giving me a chance to say anything. She had been like a machine, making phone call after phone call.

My phone vibrated. It was Brandt calling. I nonchalantly walked out of the room.

I answered the phone, “Hey, man. Do you have anything?”

A door closed, and then Brandt’s voice came over the phone, “I talked to my buddy, Jason, the interventionist. He says if Ainsley’s willing to call him and talk to him, he’ll come help and do whatever he can to try to convince Christine to admit herself. This is going to be tough on your girl. It’ll only get worse before it starts getting better.”

“I know. I’ll be by her side the entire time. Can you vouch personally for Jason?”

“Yeah, I met him at one of my support group meetings. He’s a recovering addict, too. I think they make better interventionists than someone who doesn’t understand what it’s like.”

Putting Ainsley in the room with a recovering addict that I didn’t know bothered me. I’d trust Brandt with my life, but Jason was a stranger.

Brandt must have sensed my struggle as his voice came over the phone again. “I promise, Adam, I would never put Ainsley in harm’s way. I know what she means to you even if you haven’t fully accepted it yourself. Jason has been clean for over ten years. He’s in his thirties. This isn’t a Roach thing where I’m doing something for another buddy to help out a friend of a friend. I promise.”

The sincerity of Brandt’s voice helped assure me. “Text me Jason’s number, and I’ll let Ainsley know. Thanks for covering for me at the club.”

“Anytime. You know that, man. I’ll send the number as soon as I hang up.”

I started walking back toward Ainsley. “I’ll check in with you in a bit.”

“Sounds good.”

I hung up the phone as Ainsley was pressing the End button with a little more force than necessary.

She muttered, “I don’t understand why it isn’t easier to find help.”

I knelt beside her as my phone vibrated with what I assumed was the number from Brandt. Ainsley glanced up with a determined look on her face.

“Brandt has someone, an interventionist, who is willing to come out to your mom’s house. His name is Jason. He’s going to help get her placed if she wants to go somewhere. He’s a recovering addict, but Brandt has personally vouched for him.”

Ainsley was already nodding her head as she sprang into my arms. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Adam, this means so much to me.”

We fell back onto the floor, and I held her tight.

“You’re welcome, baby. Call Jason and talk to him. See what he has to say, and then we’ll go from there. Here’s the number.”

She took my phone and dialed the number from the text into her phone. She began pacing the room as she waited for Jason to pick up the phone.

“Jason. This is Ainsley Pearson. Adam Ryker gave me your number. Yes, something’s happened to my mom. She regressed back to the time when my dad lived in our house.” She paused and took a deep breath. “He used to repeatedly beat her at night if one of his rules wasn’t followed. If she was perfect, he would invent something new that she had done wrong.”

She was listening and walking. Lindy was following her every step. My dog loved her. Each time Ainsley would stop walking, Lindy would lean against her, and Ainsley would pet her head before resuming her laps around the living room.

A few hours had passed while Ainsley and Jason talked on the phone. I had started working on my laptop since Ainsley had kept looking at me and asking if I was still okay. When I had started working, I thought it had eased her mind. Ainsley had answered question after question for Jason. From Ainsley’s talks with me, I’d known most of it but not all the smaller details. Ainsley and Christine had been through hell.

Ainsley and Jason’s conversation was coming to an end.

“Thank you so much, Jason. You have no idea how grateful I am to you. Yes, that sounds good. I will see you there.”

She hung up the phone and came to sit beside me. I set my laptop aside, and Ainsley curled into me. She was twirling her ring at record speed as a few tears fell down her face.

“We’ll get through this. What time are we meeting Jason over there?”

“Nine in the morning. I gave him the address, and he’s going to meet me there. Jason thinks that it would be best if I did this alone. Having someone else there who doesn’t know my mom well might put her more on edge.” Her voice was soft and tired.

Irritation began to loom in the back of my mind at the thought of some other guy spending time with Ainsley without me there. I was an asshole, and I knew it. She lifted her head, and I pushed the feeling aside as I saw the relief in her eyes.

“Sounds good, Ainsley. I’d still like to drive you and wait out in the driveway, regardless of how long it takes.”

She hugged me. “I’d like that.”

She yawned, and I started to sit us both up. “Let’s go to bed. You’ve had a long day.”

Ainsley rubbed her eyes. “Now that I’ve found someone to help my mom, I’m exhausted.”

We stood and headed to bed. Ainsley quickly put on one of my T-shirts and laid down. I took all my clothes off, got in bed, and brought her to me, needing to feel her against me. Her sweet floral scent surrounded me. Soon, Ainsley’s breaths evened out.

I closed my eyes and thought about what I had found when I least expected it.

We were almost to Ainsley’s house to meet Jason. She had been on the phone most of the morning while Jason prepped her for the upcoming meeting with her mom.

She had gone to my office to write a letter to her mom that described her feelings. It would hopefully cause her mom to want to get help. It was a standard technique to use during an intervention. Since coming out of the office, Ainsley hadn’t talked about the letter. I would never ask to read it. That letter contained every raw emotion she had as she was going to plea for her mother to choose life. Her delicate fingers kept making an infinity symbol on the letter she held.

“Ainsley, don’t be surprised if your mom is resistant at first. Just know that she might say things that she do

esn’t mean. Follow the interventionist’s lead. He’ll know how best to handle the situation.”

Her head cocked to the side, and I knew what was coming next.

“You seem to know a lot about this process.”

I nodded as we turned into her neighborhood.

“How do you know so much?”

We pulled into her driveway.

“Brandt.”

She looked shocked, but she nodded her head. I knew she wouldn’t ask any more questions about what had happened to Brandt. It wasn’t my story to tell, but he’d made a mess out of his life for a bit.

A black Honda Civic pulled up to the curb of the house shortly after we did. A tall man with glasses and a zipped polo got out of the car. I jumped out of my vehicle before Ainsley could stop me. I needed to meet this Jason character before he took my girl into the house.

Confidently, I walked up to him. “Jason, I’m Adam Ryker, Ainsley’s boyfriend.”

I shook his hand firmly while his grip was loose.

Good.

“Nice to meet you. Ainsley talked about how supportive you’ve been.”

“I’d do anything for her.”

Jason gave a genuine smile. “I know what you mean. I feel the same way about my wife.”

Jason and I are going to get along great.

Ainsley walked up to us. She had put on jeans and a T-shirt this morning and thrown her hair up into a ponytail. She looked tired. Her sleep last night had been restless at best.

Jason turned his attention to Ainsley as he adjusted his glasses. She had that impenetrable mask on. In moments like this, I realized how much more of herself Ainsley gave me than anyone else.

Ainsley started to speak, “Adam is going to stay in the driveway and come in if we need him. I have my letter. Is there anything else you need from me?”

Jason gave her a fatherly smile. “You’ve done everything you can. Remember, it’s up to your mom to decide if she wants help. Follow my lead, and we’ll do everything we can to get your mom help. Do you have any questions?”