You and Me Together

The next morning, or actually around noon when she woke up, brought new revelations to mind as Piper hurried to shower and dress. “Did I actually volunteer to move in with a drunk customer last night?” she wondered. “What the fuck was I thinking?”
She decided the best thing to do would be to clear up the matter with Anthony. There was no way he would have that same offer while he was sober. She just knew he’d understand. When she arrived at his home, however, he was not there, and after a quick look under the mat, Piper helped herself into the mess with the aid of the spare key.
She was determined to wait there for him, and in the meantime, made up her mind to straighten up as much as possible. She started in the kitchen, washing sinkful after sinkful of what she imagined were probably really expensive pieces of china in their day. Now with all the chips and scratches, they were nothing more than TV dinner holders. She hadn’t realized it until Anthony came home, but she had spent almost 5 hours just washing dishes and cleaning in and out of the oven.
“What are you doing?” Anthony asked, placing his briefcase on the couch.
“What does it look like?” Piper answered, too worn out to care whether he was some dangerous drunk or not. “I’m cleaning this filthy hole you call an apartment. And don’t try to tell me your ex did this. This is filth that has been here for months.”
He let out a sigh and sat in the dining room, just watching her for a moment. She continued cleaning, dutifully attending to every dust particle in every corner, seemingly unphased by the fact that she had someone staring her down as she did so. She reached for a particularly stubborn spot she noted on a cupboard, and began searching for a step stool with which to climb to said spot. As she searched franticly, Anthony gently grabbed her arm and pulled her to a stop.
“Can you chill? You must chill.”
Piper glared at him with that infamous, although sometimes considered stereotypical, Latina rage. “Are you crazy?” she exploded, “You must be out of your mind living in this disgusting pit! It’s not fit for pigs! And then you have the nerve to expect me to clean it for you while I’m still paying way too much in rent as it is. Do you think just because I’m a Latina woman that I’m a maid? I’m not, you know. I’m a fucking grown ass woman with responsibilities of my own! I could be doing all sorts of things right now, but no! I come here to be with you, and clean for you, and wash dishes, and probably you would expect me to kiss your feet and – ”
Anthony stood up and looked into Piper’s yes. She stopped what she was yelling as she saw tears in his baby blue eyes. He still had his hand on her arm gently, but as he realized how embarrassed he was, he slowly withdrew it and placed it in his pocket. With the other hand he tenderly drew circles with his fingers into the dust on the kitchen table. He looked away for a moment, thinking perhaps he could compose himself, but he knew he was too emotional. He looked back at her sheepishly, but it was Piper who felt sorry. She must have said something to offend him. She must have done something the wrong way. She wondered if maybe the ex hadn’t dumped him – maybe the ex had died months ago and this mess was all Anthony had left to remember her by. She didn’t know why he looked as he did in that moment, but her instincts to comfort and sooth him kicked in, and she began to apologize for yelling.
“Don’t,” Anthony said humbly as she continued to tell him how out of place she was in yelling.
“No,” Piper answered, “I feel bad. I don’t know the whole story. Maybe I should just go. I feel like I broke in here. But to be fair we had agreed it was where I would be living, and I let myself in. I feel bad for you – I do. But this situation is just not working for me.”
Piper gathered what few things she’d brought and headed for the door. She wouldn’t soon miss this place, but she couldn’t help but feel just the slightest amount of guilt.
"I - I think maybe I need you," he called timidly after her.
When Piper looked at him, she could see there was some sort of deep sorrow that encompassed him. Not knowing exactly how to react, she simply said, "Why? What do you mean?"
"I have a problem," he said. "A drinking problem."
She knew he did. She had found enough bottles to get an army drunk. Through bloodshot eyes now filled with tears he looked into her eyes, and she felt a moment. It was a connection; you know, one of those things that happens maybe once in a lifetime, and not to everybody. Hip chin was quivering and his hands didn't seem to quite know what to do, so they folded tightly on his lap as if he were in 3rd grade Sunday School.
"I have no one, Piper. I have no family, I have no friends, I have no one to talk to at the end of the day. And when you're that lonely, there's not much that appeals to you other than drinking and emptying your thoughts into the ear of a perfect stranger. And before I knew it, I was alone, almost jobless, living in filth because I was with someone who was comfortable that way. And when I lost the one person I finally found - the one person I thought I could spend my life with, I didn't know how to change. I had this mess on my hands and I hated it. But cleaning it, changing anything from the way it was left seemed somehow to be a bit - sacrilegious."
Piper put her purse back down and approached Anthony. She fell on her knees before him and held his strong hands in hers. Wiping his tears she began to cry herself. "It seems we're not too different," she spoke. "I have no family anymore, either. And the family I did have... well, they're not even worth talking about. I understand how difficult it can be when there's no one there for you."
He hugged her tight and let out childish, almost feminine sobs.
"I'm no therapist, she told him. "I can live here and pay my rent and do my part, but you need professional help."
"I don't want you to be my therapist," he said, finally managing to quit crying and release her. "I just want to know that there's someone somewhere who wonders where I am. I guess I need to know someone would miss me if I died. I need that so that I don't let myself die."
"You want to get better?"
Anthony nodded. "Desperately."
"Then I will tell you what I'll do. I will move in here tomorrow, and you will get sober tomorrow. You will go to AA, you will see a therapist, and you will do it not because you have someone else to live for, but because you have your whole life ahead of you, and because it's worth living for yourself."
"This is crazy," Anthony said. "I'm sorry, I have no right telling you to stay here. I - I do need to do this for myself, by myself. I'm sorry I asked you to be involved."
"Well, don't be sorry," Piper told him. "I'm here now, and I can't leave you to rot. I can't promise I'll stay long, but I'll stay until you are well on the road to recovery. Please know that I am here for you."
He couldn't thank her enough.
Finally, she got the chance to stand and began to leave. "Hey one more thing," Anthony said.
Piper nodded in anticipation.
"Will you please seriously consider acting? I could really use the money."
Piper smiled, glad that Anthony was in a lighter mood.
"I will consider it," she smiled. "See you tomorrow."