" Julie said, reaching for the wine bottle.Roy picked through his clothes in his closet. Half of them were dirty and the other half didn't fit now tha... he'd lost fifteen pounds, shed from hard work, anguish, and late night drinking that left him hung over and appetiteless the next day.The movie was just about finished. Another week's work and he could make copies of the film and, hopefully, have it sold by the following month.Maybe then his life would straighten out. With Julie gone time seemed. Jason might be good looking, but Di's dream revolved more around how safe he made her feel. It was a dream she hadn't allowed herself to have for a long time."We ate like this all month," Jason said to Carrie with a big grin.Carrie looked between Jason and Di with a thin lipped expression. "Really."Di picked up on Carrie's insecurity and frowned down at her plate. Jason was oblivious as he continued to praise Di for her hard work around the house. With every compliment Carrie grew more annoyed. And 6 A. M. He always waited at the bus stop with his brown bag lunch and read the sports section of the daily paper. He always threw the unread sections of the paper into the trash as he boarded the bus to his place of employment eight miles away.Each morning he arrived on the bus and stopped at the twenty-four hour liquor store half a block from his home where he bought a pint of cheap vodka. He always sat on the steps in front of his apartment building and drank half the bottle before going. That's when the problems started. Billy was working so hard Nadine was feeling left out and when she complained to Billy he told her he had to work for her and the baby. Nadine was too young to understand that Billy was building their future. She wanted fun now. So she went out and got it. She started going to the dance hall with her sister. Trouble was, Cheryl was a year older and single and a bit wild. She convinced Nadine it was ok to drink and dance and flirt as long as she didn't fuck some.