Celeste shoved the car in park under the beer sign that had tempted her. She rocked back and forth to the rhythm of the creaking sign swaying in the wind.
“Just one” she thought.
She opened her wallet and spotted the 30 day chip.
“Buck it” she swore and went inside and bought a six-pack.
Back in her car she looked around before guzzling one.
“Aah, that’s better” she belched, smelling her own noxious vapors.
She looked over at the five remaining and knew what she had to do.
“Buck it” she swore and went inside for six more.
This week’s photo: © Jean L. Hays
Friday Fictioneers is a weekly 100 word writing challenge inspired by a picture prompt. Click here to read other stories.
The Day After 
Dear Dawn,
You had me shouting, “No Celeste! Don’t do it!” Sigh. Good one.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Thanks Rochelle.
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You have captured her problem beautifully, Dawn. Well done.
Susan A Eames at
Travel, Fiction and Photos
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Thank you Susan
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Nooooo! Like Rochelle, I was trying to get her to turn the key and keep on driving!
Alas… ’tis a strong addiction, it is…
Well done!
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Well at least she is not going to drink and drive. She knows enough not to do that. She realizes if she left with just the one six pack she would drive back for more. Alcoholics easily convince themselves just one…more.
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We don’t know that!! Hopefully she will pass out in the back seat…
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I my mind she takes her (now 11 beers) and goes back to her seedy motel room (it ain’t much but its home) and drinks the rest of her beers while…watching giving herself a pedicure, watching TV, drunk dialing her ex, calling her sister and cussing her out, posting on facebook…you know typical stuff. 😉
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Buahaha! Yes! I shouldn’t laugh but I can so picture the drunk dialing and sobbing and…
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LOL…well according to CE Ayer…this is autobiographical (I think he likes to aggravate me a little) …so…you know I know! 😉
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Hahaha! what does he know?
His middle name is aggravation. I have been put on his shit-list so he doesn’t even look at mine now.
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Oh my…hmmm….
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I was willing her to just drive away. A slippery slope.. you show the danger of addiction well.
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Thanks Lain.
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I just love your autobiographical pieces, Dawn!
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You know what they say, “Write what you know”.
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Oh dear….one six pack is never enough. 30 days was a good start but looks like her life is “unmanageable” again.
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Sad to say 😦
Thanks for reading.
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Having received my 16 year chip just 2 weeks ago, I feel for her. It ain’t easy but it’s worth it, Celeste!
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Congratulations!
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Thanks 🙂
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Some habits are difficult to get rid of, even at the cost of great difficulty to self.
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So true, thanks for reading.
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Poor Celeste… 😦
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Thank you Michael
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Oh, dear. Work so hard to reach a goal, then buck it! I don’t drink, but I do eat. . . . . .
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Funny…was just talking to my sister about something like this today. A brother of a friend has OD’d on heroin and he is 55 years old! My sister had asked for prayers for this man and was met with silence. Everyone knows he has been abusing drugs for 40 years; honestly, it is a wonder he is still alive at all. We talked about how we really didn’t understand it (the draw of using heroin) but then I said, yes, but look at us, we are both overweight, so we have our own addictions. We can certainly understand that. EVERYONE has their own addictions and if they look deep enough into themselves they can find empathy. It’s hard, but it is not impossible.
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That is a remarkably long time to be using heroin and still be alive. And I appreciate the story, Dawn. It’s true, there’s something in each life that can get a hold that is nearly impossible to release.
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I honestly do not know how long he has been using heroin. I knew him when he was 15. It wasn’t then but he did things at that age that kids that age don’t typically do. It was just astounding (to me).
When my sister asked for prayers I rebuked her suggesting he has been trying to kill himself for 40 years. Maybe it was time he succeeded. Harsh, right? But he has children and they love their father. So, for their sake I relented and offered compassion. Eventually I justified it to myself, if to no one else by remembering how imperfect each of us are. It is not mine to judge.
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One for the road buck it, make it six! A sorry state to be in, but so many are.
My FriFic tale!
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Thanks for reading, Keith.
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If you’re gonna go- go big. If she lives, there’s always next time…
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Yup.
Thanks for reading.
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Interesting story. it fits the prompt perfectly.
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Thanks Shirley.
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Now she’s got to start all over again. She’ll be cursing herself when she sobers up. Kind of sad, Dawn
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Thanks Lynn.
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My pleasure
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Too bad. She just hasn’t hit bottom yet, has she?
Too bad to have to keep putting her hand back on that hot stove trying to prove it won’t burn her this time.
Buck it!
Good moving story.
She should have called her sponsor first. Put a little distance between the thought and the action.
Randy
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Yes, maybe next time.
Thanks Randy.
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it looks like one for the road isn’t good enough for her. she needs help real bad.
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Indeed.
Thanks for reading.
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Staying on the wagon isn’t easy. My son and daughter in-law both got their one-year chip in December. Staying sober has done a lot for their relationship.
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