Friend of Bill W.

by Pamela Tyree Griffin

Thanks for that nice welcome.

Hi. I have a long name from the old country so they call me Frank, for short. I’ve been sober for six months. I’ll get to why in a minute.

I know I haven’t talked much at these meetings. I promised you last time that I would speak up. Here goes.

The drinking really started when my father felt I needed a mate and was determined to get the best arrangement he could “put together” so to speak. I know parents mean well but I just knew nothing good would come of that. But Dad is old school after all; I didn’t have much of a choice.

My mother? I don’t know how my mother would feel. I never knew her.

Dad had no intention of asking me what kind of woman I wanted or if I even wanted a woman. Seems like just yesterday I started “getting” myself and I realized some things. I wasn’t sure a woman would find me that appealing anyway. Besides I wasn’t quite sure what to do with a woman.

You’re just being nice because we’re all in this group. Don’t kid a kidder.

Look at me. I am no Van Helsing or anything. I came like this, with a face looking like it was put together by a madman. I am used to that. That’s not what drove me here and that’s not what used to make me drink myself into a stupor every day.

It was her.

She just showed up one day. Dad called me downstairs and there she was.

Now, I am no prize I know, but she... She wasn’t anything to write home about either.

Look: she’s got wild hair with a white streak down the front, bug eyes, and the disposition of a snake. I used to wake up every morning screaming because she was still in bed next to me, staring.

Dad wants us to keep living with him, says we need to stay together, that there’s things about the world we can’t handle. That’s probably crap. I think Dad’s getting on in years, doesn’t want to be alone, and he can’t rely on his assistants forever. I’m... I mean, we’re his family now. So we’ll see.

Her? Yeah, I got off the path for a minute. Thanks for your patience.

We made it through our first night and we’re getting to know each other. When this all started, like I said, I wasn’t quite sure what to do with a woman anyway. Well apparently I do, ’cuz... well now she’s having a baby. My baby. I stopped drinking when she told me six months ago! Cold turkey, too.

Thanks, thanks. You guys are the best.

Yeah we’ve got some names picked out. She likes Gerhardt. Dad likes Victor, for obvious reasons. But I’d like something simple.

What do you guys think about Sam?

Sam Frankenstein. I think it has a nice ring to it, don’t you?