When I was much younger, my dad’s little brother and sister went to another country to look for greener pastures. They were together for a few years and lived under the same roof until my aunt found the love of her life, got married, and moved out of their apartment. This left my uncle to be on his own for the first time.
Whenever Uncle Jay would call us back home, he would sound really well. He told us that his passion in the kitchen worked in his favor as he already became a sous chef at the restaurant where he used to work as a busboy. My uncle never got formal culinary training, but his hard work paid off.
As for my aunt saw my uncle less and less since she got pregnant and started her own family. They could no longer go out together, especially when Aunt Mary gave birth and got busy looking after her kid. Still, we had the impression that there was nothing wrong with them.
When my uncle said that he would be visiting home for a month with a friend, my dad teased him and asked if it was his girlfriend. However, Uncle Jay said that it was a male friend. We knew that he was not gay, so my dad was like, “Cool! Let him tag along, and we will have fun.”
Once Aunt Mary called and found out that my uncle would be bringing his friend home, though, she was a little offended. She said, “What was he doing? Why would he bring that aspect of his life to our family?” Of course, my dad was confused because the only thing he knew was that the guy was a work friend who had never been to the US before and wanted to see the country.
My aunt sounded hesitant initially, but she eventually divulged that the same guy introduced my uncle to drugs. When I heard that, even I could not believe it. I thought my Uncle Jay had always been sensible and responsible enough to know that that’s not good for anybody. My dad did not believe it either and even got a little upset with my aunt for thinking awfully about their brother. All she said was, “You’ll see what I mean when they get there.”
The Visit
I hated to seem snoopy, but ever since I heard from Aunt Mary that my uncle could be a drug user, I observed his every move whenever he was at my parents’ house. It had been almost ten years since I saw him last, but Uncle Jay did not change much. The most apparent thing was that he wore more expensive clothes these days, which was nice.
As for his friend, who I learned was named Julio, I was not very sure. He was polite and quite generous, but there was something a bit off with his actions that made me wonder if Aunt Mary was correct.
Then, one evening, my mom asked me to call my uncle and his friend since dinner was already prepared. They shared the guest room while staying with us. I slowly walked up the stairs for some reason. I would typically knock on the door before opening it, but for some reason, I decided against it and opened the guest room without a sound. That’s when I saw Julio in the act of inhaling two lines of cocaine on his side table.
What did I do, you might ask? I shrieked so loud that my parents ran upstairs. The sound also freaked Julio and caused him to swipe the illegal powder and scatter it all over the carpet. However, he was too late – my dad saw everything. Dad kicked Julio out that same night and told him never to come back since he was no longer welcome in our home.
What Happened To The Suspected Drug User?
As all the drama was happening, my uncle was rooted in the bathroom entryway. He only moved when dad returned upstairs and asked him if he knew that Julio was a drug user.
Uncle Jay was adamant at denying it. He said he wouldn’t have made friends with the guy if he knew beforehand. However, since Aunt Mary forewarned us, my dad did not believe him. He brought my uncle to the hospital the next day for a drug test, regardless of how much Uncle Jay protested.
The test results did not go in his favor, of course. The doctor found traces of cocaine in his blood, even though my uncle insisted that he never tried using drugs in his life. That made my dad angry. He would have disowned my uncle right there, but mom got him to calm down and advised him to take my uncle to a psychologist/counselor instead.
As it turned out, Uncle Jay started using drugs when my aunt got married. He was not used to being alone, so he turned to drugs to feel less lonely. While it was no excuse to do so, my dad’s heart softened and allowed him to stay in our house while getting counseling.
The treatment practically aimed to help my uncle learn independence and become less gullible than usual when it came to friends like Julio. It only took six sessions, but the change in my uncle’s disposition was incredible.
Final Thoughts
When my uncle left, the first person he went to was Aunt Mary. Uncle Jay told her everything that happened during his visit, and they patched their relationship up. Last I heard, he was volunteering at a local drug counseling facility in his spare time to help to reform drug users like him.
