Jane and the OD

Jane and Robert were watching Days of Our Lives while freezing rain fell outside. Jane had propped open the front door, liking the rush of the cold air into the house.

Robert had bundled himself under two blankets and was complaining when a car screeched up outside.

A young woman ran up to the house yelling "Jane! Jane!!"

"What the hell?" Jane got up and went to look out the front door. "Oh, no. It's Shellie. What now?"

Shellie ran up the porch steps. The windchimes clanged together as she stumbled to the front door. "It's Bradley." she panted "I couldn't find him. So, I went and looked in the park where he sleeps sometimes. He's passed out. He's totally cold and his lips are blue. Please you have to help him."

"Shellie, you have to take him to the hospital. Why did you bring him here?" Jane yelled through the screen.

"Jane we don't have any money! He's got warrants out! They'll send him to psychiatric! He'll just check himself out! Stop fucking around and let us in!"

"Shit, fine, okay. Robert go help her."

Robert tossed off the blankets and got up. Jane took them to her room and spread them out on the bed. She went back to hold the screen door open so Robert and Shellie could haul the skinny, unconscious man into the house.

Shellie and Bradley had been together since they were twelve, ten years. Bradley had been on and off drugs for the last three. He'd finally settled on prescriptions. His family and Shellie had intervened, but he'd refused treatment. The consequences had been losing his place to live with his parents. Shellie had taken him in, which was not what she'd said was her bottom line, but he disappeared for days at a time. This sent Shellie into hysterics. She called everyone they knew and drove around for hours, checking all the places he might hide.

Shellie had come to Jane for anything to help Bradley. Jane had told Shellie he needed rehab and given her some tea to help her calm down when she felt a panic attack coming on.

Shellie had taken to coming over when she was scared or worried, asking for tea and crying.

Jane had learned to work around her. Giving her tissues and refilling her teacup as Jane moved through her daily routine.

"Strip him down and put him in my bed. Make sure he's dry first. There are towels in the bathroom. Bobby go put the kettle on." Jane knelt next to Bradley on the floor and held her ear next to his mouth, which looked like he'd been eating blueberries. She felt a small puff of air. He was breathing.

Shellie came out of the bathroom with a stack of towels and began to take Bradley's wet clothes off, trying to yank his soaked sweatshirt over his head while she sobbed and begged him to wake up.

"Oh, for fuck's sake." Jane muttered. She reached into her apron pocket and brought out a pair of scissors. She quickly cut through Bradley's clothes and dropped the scissors back where they'd come from.

Shellie started to rub him down. His skin was white and cold to the touch. Jane pried his mouth open and stuck her fingers into his mouth. She felt along the back of his tongue, waiting to see if he'd gag. He didn't.

"Shellie. His gag reflex isn't working, so I can't make him throw up whatever he took. All I can do is get him warmed up and wait until his body starts to respond. Okay, he's dry. Put him in my bed then you strip down and get in with him."

Shellie frowned. "Huh?"

"Shellie. He's hypothermic. We need to warm him up slowly. The best way is with another person's body heat. You're going to get in bed with him and hug him until the warmth from your body starts to warm him up. Now get undressed and get in bed with him."

Robert came back into the room and helped Jane hoist Bradley's naked form up onto the mattress. Shellie got in and undressed under the covers.

She hugged her boyfriend and started to cry. "Oh god. He's going to die isn't he? Isn't he? He's freezing! It feels like he's made of ice!"

"Shellie, I'm going to keep bringing you tea so you can keep warm. I'll keep checking on Bradley until I can do something else okay?" Jane shut the door and sighed. "So much for our quiet evening. Would you close the front door? Get away from my door you stupid cat!"

Robert closed the front door. The kettle whistled. Jane made calming tea for Shellie. She took it to her then stuck her finger down Bradley's throat again.

This time he gagged. "Bobby! Get a bucket! Here we go!"

Robert brought Jane's metal bucket from under the kitchen sink. "He gonna yak?"

"Oh yeah." Jane rammed two fingers down Bradley's throat. His stomach sucked up under his ribs as his body tossed up whatever was in his stomach. A large number of partially digested pills came up. Robert deftly caught the stream, waiting a minute to see if anything else would appear.

"Man! I can smell the gin. How is he alive?" Robert made a face. "Whew!" He left toting his bucket of vomit. Jane heard him go out the back door.

"He's a long time user that's how he's alive. He's going to start going through withdrawal soon. This is gonna suck. Shellie, you can't bring him here anymore. I won't be able to save him next time."

Shellie hugged Bradley's back and nodded, tears streaming down her face.

"If he's an advanced alcoholic the withdrawals can kill him. Do you get that? He needs a medically supervised detox. Even then he may not stop." Jane squatted down next to the bed so she could look in Shellie's face on an even level. "But listen to me. If you bring him here again I'm going to close my door to you. I can't save him. You can't save him. He's an addict. Tea is not going to solve this. You got it?"

Shellie hid her face in Bradley's back.

"Warm up your man." Jane stood up and went to let Robert in the back door. She found him on the back porch, watching the sleet come down.

"You can't take them in anymore." Jane went to lean against him.

"I told her that. He'll be okay this time, but next time he won't. If he keeps this up he's going to get a bleed in his throat and die. She thinks it's been three years but he's been using since they were fourteen. She thinks they're Romeo and Juliet."

Robert moved behind Jane to put his arms around her waist and rest his chin on top of her head. "It's like Catherine all over again."

Jane nodded. "Like Catherine all over again. Cheap hooch and lady heroin." Then Jane cried too.

Robert hugged her and listened to the women cry.