Eric or Erica? Pt. 07

I walked up to him and placed my fingertips on his cheeks. "I appreciate your passion, but please, no. There has to be some other way."

In the end, they accepted my counteroffer. The monetary settlement was quickly agreed upon. The one stipulation I had insisted upon was the surrendering of the young man's driver's license to the state and an agreement that he would never, ever get behind the wheel of a car again. Limousine service, Uber, Lyft, taxi, there are too many options in today's modern world. He need never get behind the wheel of a moving vehicle again. I think the family was almost grateful that I insisted upon this stipulation.

I went back for the funerals. Mr. Z insisted that I not worry about the time I would be gone. It was difficult. Many of my parents' friends had no idea and weren't nearly as accepting of Erica as my mom and dad had been. Quite frankly, at that point, I didn't give a fuck. That was their problem, not mine. I appreciated their support and condolences for my parents' sake.

I had been going through the house and their things, trying to decide what I wanted to do next. I donated almost everything to the charities they had supported. After a particularly long day, I decided to treat myself to dinner. I was sitting alone at a table at a local restaurant my parents and I had always enjoyed when I heard 'that voice.'

"Excuse me, miss. Are you any relation to Eric O'Brien? He was a classmate of mine in high school and there is a striking family resemblance."

I looked up into the eyes of Kevin Acres. He was indeed a classmate of mine in high school. He had also been a major-league prick, bullying me and making my high school years miserable.

I was tired and emotionally wrung out. I looked Kevin straight in the eyes and said, "Actually, I AM Eric O'Brien. Or at least I was. Now I'm Erica O'Brien."

He stumbled backwards, stunned by my confident admission.

I continued. "You made my life a living hell during high school. You picked on me, bullied me, did everything you could to make my life miserable. But the biggest thing I've learned since then? I let you. I'm at least halfway responsible for how I let you make me feel back then. Now? I don't give a damn what you think. Back then or now. Go away. Please go away."

Kevin didn't leave. "If you were related to Eric, I actually wanted to find out how to get in touch with him. I wanted to apologize to him. It's part of the process. Reaching out to people you've harmed in the past. I'm an alcoholic. I'm sorry I hurt you. My actions were indefensible. I hope someday you'll be able to forgive me."

I smiled bitterly. "I'm 334 days clean and sober. If I can't forgive you, how can I forgive myself?"

He nodded understandingly and turned to walk away.

"Kevin!" He stopped with his shoulders hunched. "Would you like to join me for dinner?"

"I would. I would like that. Thank you."

We caught up while his meal was coming. The server was kind enough to hold my order so it would roughly arrive the same time as his. Kevin's story was somewhat similar to mine, obviously sans the gender change. He hadn't hit quite the depth of rough patches I had but his story wasn't pretty either. I didn't tell him about my role as entertainer at the mansion but was fairly upfront about everything else.

Soon we were laughing together; clearly the bond of recovering alcoholics was something we shared. After dinner, we ordered drinks. He ordered iced tea; I ordered sparkling cider. We looked at one another and laughed.

"Aren't we the party animals?" I asked.

"Wild and crazy, that's us." he answered.

He offered to buy me dinner; I didn't refuse. "I heard about your parents. I am so sorry for your loss. If there is anything I can do to help while you're here in town, please don't hesitate to ask. I feel like I owe you a debt that I can never repay."

I put my hands on top of his. "Thank you. Just knowing there is someone here who has gone through what I've gone through with alcohol is a tremendous relief. I hope to see you again before I leave town."