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Absolut under the bathroom sink.  Absolut vodka was Mrs. Stewart’s drink of choice—but usually with cranberry and a lime—not straight out of the bottle.
    But, if anyone could drive a person to drink, it was Bill Stewart.  Lord knows if Lorene had been married to that horse’s ass, she would’ve been in the crazy house a long time ago.
     
    ***
     
    Lorene got off the bus and started walking home.  Another week was done and it had been an eventful one.  Bea’s news about the boy was a surprise.  She wasn’t sure what was going to come of it, but it would be interesting when Mr. and Mrs. Stewart found out.  Lorene had a feeling that a garbage picker from Westwood would not be the Stewart’s first choice of an ideal boyfriend for their only daughter.
    She opened the front door of her colonial on Revere Road.  Although she was technically in Cleveland city limits, she lived in one of the nicer areas on the East side.  They were close to two prominent universities as well as the museums and the orchestra hall.
    She hoped Reggie was home.  She needed to let off some steam and he was a good sounding board.  He always listened and acted interested, even when she knew he wasn’t.  “Hey honey!”  She hung her jacket on a hook by the door and went into the kitchen.  She always brought home the leftovers for Reggie.  It was close to eight o’clock, but he didn’t mind a late dinner.
    “I’m on the porch!” Reggie yelled from the back of the house.
    Lorene joined Reggie on the porch, sitting on a wicker chair and putting her feet up on the ottoman.  “What a week.”
    Reggie was hunched over his work table.  “Yeah?  What’s happening over in rich-man’s land?” he asked, paintbrush in hand.
    Reggie collected model trains.  In the evenings he would spend hours on the three-season porch working on his hobby.  In the corner of the porch, sat a large display table with a replica countryside on top.  A myriad of railroad tracks crossed over mountains and through tunnels.  All of his train cars were Lionel, and they all were made prior to 1960.  Depending on their condition, he could spend days on one car, sometimes even months.
    “Oh, I’m just a little worried about Bea, that’s all.”
    “Okay…” He dipped his paintbrush into some red paint.  “Tell me about it.”
    “You’re going to think I’m over-reacting, but I just have a really bad feeling about something.  See, she met this boy, and she was so excited about it.  I can tell she really likes him.”
    “Well that doesn’t sound so bad.  She’s like seventeen isn’t she?  This is the time she’s going to start dating and all that.”
    Lorene got up and walked back into the kitchen.  “I know.  But let me tell you how they met.  You’ll love this.”  She took out a frying pan to warm up the shrimp stir-fry.  “She’s going to school in the morning, pulling out the driveway, and she sees this kid getting up off the ground.”  She peeked around the corner into the porch.  “Are you listening to me?”
    Reggie stopped painting, “Yes, I heard you Lorene.”
    “Well, get this.  Bea sees that his arm is bleeding badly.  Blood all over the kid’s sweatshirt.  Apparently, he had been attacked by a raccoon.  Can you believe that?”
    Reggie looked up, a big smile on his face, “Are you kidding me?”
    “I swear,” she put her hands up in the air.  “And guess why he got attacked by that raccoon?”
    “I know you’re going to tell me,” Reggie chuckled.
    “He was hiding in some bushes at the end of the Stewart’s driveway.  And you may ask, ‘Why was he hiding in the bushes Lorene?’  And I would tell you, because he was garbage-picking!”
    Reggie shook his head, “Oh no.”
    Lorene went on, “I know!  Can you just see Bill Stewart’s face?  ‘Hey daddy, I’d like you to meet my new boyfriend.  I met him while he was picking through our garbage.’  Oh, it’s just too much