Last Leaf on the Oak Tree (5 page)

"Well, just two more weeks then. We have exams next week and then we are free for a week. I'm going home to the reservation, too. Mike has told me I have the week off, and I get all the fry bread and Indian tacos my mama can cook."

PJ and Paulette both grinned at the thought of a week off and unlimited sleep and food.

The party started on Friday night, even before the sun descended on the muddy and dank Mississippi River. Students gathered in the second-floor student commons area, now dubbed the DrinkNDive. The resident hall mother was detained in her room by the Designated Drama Queen. Each week the students elected a student to distract the resident hall mother by concocting a sad story of a doomed love complete with tears and the need for crisis intervention. It was never quite so desperate as to require paramedics or the Suicide Prevention Team, but it always took a few hours until the Mother was so sleepy she drifted off without double-checking on the students. Of course, when the Dorm Mother was served hot tea laced with lots of honey and a dose of Advil PM for relaxation, well that did not hurt, either.

Taylor came by the dorm room with a bottle of Seagram's and 7 Up. "Ready for some 7/7?" she asked Paulie.

Paulie nodded. "I have glasses in the cubby and ice in my fridge. I need something to help me study."

Taylor poured her a tall glass and said, "All this studying has made you ragged. You need to relax tonight and study tomorrow at the library while you work. Why don't you come on down to the mixer and party with the rest of us?"

Paulette shook her head no, and said, "This drink will be enough. Thanks."

Paulette finished her drink in one good gulp and put the glass down. She looked at her biology book, but the page was a little blurry. She closed her eyes just for a minute, and then was fast asleep. She awoke on Saturday morning with a fuzzy mouth and a screaming alarm clock.

"Yikes!" she cried. "I'm going to be late to work!" She started grabbing books and study guides, rummaging through her backpack to make sure she had everything she needed for the day. She swiped two protein bars for her breakfast and lunch and then ran out the door in her U of M sweats since the bracingly cool Fall temperatures had finally arrived.

Paulette spent the day studying and finally felt somewhat prepared for the exams beginning Monday morning.

PJ stopped by the library to pick her up when her shift was over. They stopped by Garibaldi's for a Vesuvian Steak sandwich then left to go to the Tower for the Saturday AA meeting. Paulette was very quiet in the AA meeting and didn't discuss her relapse at all.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Monday started the grind of exam week, and distracted students covered the campus like ants at a picnic of toddlers. Attendance was mandatory for exams, although several professors had a much laxer policy during the rest of the semester. Some professors even claimed no attendance was necessary as long as the tests were passed and the papers turned in on time.

Paulette started the day with her Biology exam; one of the two she thought might have a precarious outcome. All of the pieces of the cell, the parts of the body, and the periodic table of elements went swirling through her consciousness, engaged in a combat of sorts, leaving pieces of misplaced information on the highway of recall.

Paulette groaned when she saw the 50-question test. She knew this was the norm for semester tests, but she was hoping it would be easier. Instead, there were multiple-choice answers with just a smidgen of misinformation, enough to trick you into the wrong answer. After the exam was finished, Paulette exited the classroom with the countenance of someone awaiting the executioner.

PJ was waiting outside the door for Paulette to exit. He finished his exam much earlier and was feeling good about his grade. He stopped grinning when he saw the tears welling in the eyes of Paulette.

"Oh, Baby, what is wrong?" he asked her.

"I just know I flunked that exam. Everything ran together, and it all became a big mess." Pauline reached for PJ and leaned on his shoulder and cried.

"Oh, I know it's not that bad," consoled PJ. "I'm sure you did better than that."

PJ patted her on the back like you would a small child, awkwardly attempting to get her to stop sobbing. The tears were unleashed now, and Paulie was having a meltdown, hiccupping and crying at the same time.

"It's going to be all right," PJ murmured. "This is not the end. You will do better than you think."

Paulette slowly downgraded to weeping as she removed her head from PJ's shoulder and returned to the present.

"What's the next exam?" she asked, for, at the present, she was too sorrowful to remember.

PJ answered, "We have only one exam a day, tomorrow is English. There is no exam for swimming, and then we have Psychology, we have no Lab exam. On Friday, we have the Art Exam, and then we get to go on Fall Break."

Paulette smiled a real smile when he said "Fall Break."

"That's what I was hoping for," remarked PJ, "my girl is back with her beautiful smile."

"Why don't we pick up our suits and head to the indoor pool for some exercise?" suggested Paulie. "I think a dip will help my concentration and ease my anxieties."

"I like that," agreed PJ. "We can go from the pool to the meeting at Wesley and afterward split a pizza, you think?"

Paulette agreed. PJ started his moped and Paulette climbed onboard. Off they ran to the dorms for their swim gear, and then over across campus to the indoor heated pool. Each walked into the separate changing rooms and appeared through the opposite side by the sidewalk surrounding the heated pool. Paulette had dunked her hair under the shower to rinse the hair products off her hair so she wouldn't contaminate the pool. She was smoothing her hair into a low ponytail when PJ approached her at the poolside. He, too, had dunked his head, although his hair was still braided compactly in his plait.

PJ looked to Paulette and said, "Race?"

Paulette nodded, and they both dove neatly into the water, swimming quickly in hopes of reaching the other side first.

PJ was first to emerge from the water and tap the side of the Olympic sized pool. Paulette came up out of the water like a sprite, droplets falling from her shoulders and hair. She wiped the water from her eyes and said, "You had the jump because you knew we were going to race."

PJ laughed and said, "Okay, best of three laps. Let's race to the end, touch, back, touch, and then to the other side AND out of the water onto the sidewalk."

Paulette said, "On the count of three, 1, 2…" and into the water they dove.

This time, Paulette was mentally prepared and physically ready for a win. She pushed herself hard as she swam dolphin-like across the pool. She tapped the side and turned underwater, heading back across to complete the next lap. PJ was slower on the turns but passed her in the lap because of his longer reach. They were head to head as they were completing the third lap to the forefront of the pool. Paulette heaved herself out of the water and onto her forearms, twisting her body to sit on the pool shelf. She scrambled to get her legs underneath and her body up so she could be declared the winner. PJ did likewise, just a fraction of a second behind Paulette. Paulette danced on the side of the pool as she declared to the room, "The Winner!" PJ bowed to Paulette as they laughed at their competitive spirits.

The rest of Exam Week passed in a blur of packing and studying, with a swim and an AA meeting every night. Paulette was holding her own, but she still had not been honest with PJ or her AA group about her drinking habits. Because of her dishonesty with everyone, she was ripe for a fall into relapse.

On Friday, the Art Exam was Paulette's worst nightmare come true. She looked at the collection of slides on display and oscillated between Manet and Monet, Degas, Hopper, and Homer. She couldn't recall the term pointillism, instead substituting pixels. She knew she was doomed.

PJ finished his art exam and waiting for Paulette to leave the building. He saw her sad face and prepared himself for another meltdown into tears. To his surprise, Paulie just shrugged and asked quietly to be taken to the dorms. When PJ dropped her at the dorms, he said goodbye for the week and kissed her gently on the lips. She waltzed into Richardson Towers reveling in her first kiss with PJ.

As the day drew to a close, Pauline was exhausted from the tension of the week, and the time she spent in the library worrying about her grades. Taylor came by to announce the last mixer of the first half of the semester, and this time, Pauline was ready to party her troubles away. She didn't have any alcohol to contribute, but she had brownies from her mom, and several bottles of 7-Up soda. She added a big bag of Tostitos and some cheese dip that she had made in a crockpot for her supper. Down she tripped to the second floor with Taylor, knowing PJ wouldn't see her as he had already left for Fall Break. Paulette had to wait until Sunday for her ride as she was still scheduled to work Saturday at the Library.

When Taylor and Paulette entered the room, the party was in full swing. Many of the students had started drinking afternoon. The Resident Mother was nowhere to be found; the rumor was she left campus at nine a.m. for the week. Officially, the campus was now closed, and residents were supposed to be evacuating their rooms.

This group was nowhere near ready to leave campus. The music was flowing, and so was the juice. Paulette quickly poured a 7/7 over ice and gulped it down, then put her glass down for more. She forgot about exams, grades, papers and reports. She also forgets she never ate breakfast or any other meal that day. She was thoroughly trashed in minutes. Within the hour, Paulette had passed out on the couch. The other students left her on the sofa, covered her with a blanket, and partied throughout the night. Early in the morning hours, Paulette awoke with a hangover and the desire to throw up. Whether the desire was triggered by her binge drinking or her self-loathing, she was unsure. She toddled up the stairs to her dorm room and set the alarm for 8:30, leaving just enough time to shower and run to the library to work.

On Sunday afternoon, Paulette was packed and dressed for her transport back to St. Ives. Paulette was both chagrined and ashamed of her now total relapse back into her addiction. She wished she had PJ to talk with, but she figured he would break up with her when she announced her lost sobriety. She intentionally avoided his phone calls, even though his special phone ring was often and loud. She finally turned her phone completely off and just waited on the curb for her parents.

When her parents arrived at the dorm, Paulette was ready to go home. She helped her Dad place her bags in the trunk, then climbed into the back seat for the two and a half hour drive. As soon as they left Memphis, she immediately fell asleep. Her parents exchanged amused looks at their college student sleeping like a toddler on a road trip in the back seat.

Monday Paulette had the luxury of sleeping in, and she enjoyed the bliss of having clean sheets, clean laundry and clean room, all taken care of by her Mom. She loved the home-cooked meals and family time around the dinner table. She told her Mom and Dad of how much she had enjoyed the art practicum and how Biology was not her favorite subject. She had really enjoyed Psychology, another surprise, and discussed with them the possibility of becoming a Psychology Major. She didn't have to declare a major until the end of her fourth semester, as it took that long to complete the undergraduate prerequisites. Her parents encouraged her to wait until the end of her sophomore year to declare her major for her studies.

When she began to tell stories of her time with PJ, her voice took a soft, warm tone of affection.

Paulette's mom immediately noticed the difference in her stories and the feelings conveyed in her voice.

"Are you serious about PJ?" she asked, a little on the concerned side. She wasn't sure yet that Paulette had mature judgment, given the fiasco of the past summer. Lauren's death had taken a toll on Paulette and her mother. Her mother had moved closer to Lauren's mother, but Paulie had run to alcohol instead.

Paulette answered, "I could be. We are not at that stage yet; we've only exchanged our first kiss. We are at the "I really like you stage now." Paulette did not inform her Mom that PJ attended AA or that they were dating steadily. She didn't mention her relapse either, thinking those days were over.

Mackenzie, one of her old drinking buddies, dropped by that evening to invite her down to the river. Paulette saw her mom lingering in the kitchen to eavesdrop, so she shook her head towards her mom and said, "No, I'm just going to relax here at home." Then she mouthed at Mackenzie, "What time?"

Mackenzie held up eight fingers. Paulette said "not tonight," but did not voice it aloud. Mackenzie got up to leave, and Paulie hugged her goodbye. Paulie whispered into Mackenzie's ear, "I will come one night, but not tonight. We're having company tonight."

Mackenzie and Paulette said their goodbyes aloud, and then Mackenzie went on her way. Paulette's Mom came back into the living room and asked, "What did she want with you?"