Empty Beer Bottle.
Prologue:
I once heard a proverb that goes like this: The smallest actions can have a ripple effect throughout all of eternity. Meaning even actions that seem small and unimportant can have unforeseen consequences that a person could never even imagine. What’s the worst thing that could happen if you throw one piece of garbage in a recycling bin that is not yours?
Part 1
A therapist sits across from her patients, a man and woman that have been married for almost seven years. It was their third session, and Dr. Judy Morton hoped the husband would open up more to his wife. As in the previous two sessions, the wife began speaking, airing out all her grievances from the past four years of their marriage caused primarily by her husband’s alcoholism, which had a devastating impact on their marriage. Even though he has been sober for the past year and a half, she still feels unable to trust him. As his wife speaks, he would adopt the pose of a statue, looking straightforward at the wall, listening to every word trying to bury his emotions. “How does what Nina said make you feel, Reece?” Dr. Morton asks, hoping to finally get him to open up and not just agree with everything his wife said.
“I feel horrible for what I put her through. She had to leave her job as a grocery store manager. She can’t work because of the trauma she experienced. She has the right to feel that way. But, that’s not me anymore,” Reece answers with a quick and direct tone of voice, wanting to cut to the chase and avoid revealing how he actually feels. He then sighs. He had given the same answer in the previous two sessions.
However, Nina quickly noticed that and took it the wrong way. Aggressively turning toward her husband and glaring at him. “I’m sorry, is this boring to you?” Nina said in an angry tone. Reece looks at his wife with a confused expression on his face. Dr. Morton immediately interjects before things get too ugly.
“Nina, calm down; you had your turn to speak. Now it’s Reece’s turn.” Nina then glares at Dr. Morton for a moment and complies somewhat reluctantly, leaning back on the leather couch with her arms crossed, clearly holding back her anger.
“Reece, you’re holding something back. Each session, you’re silent. Speaking only to agree with everything your wife said, then you become silent again. How do you really feel?” Dr. Morton asks.
Reece sighs, seeing his cover has now been blown, and he can’t hide anymore. “Look! I love and respect Nina, and I’m happy she stood by me, especially after everything I put her through. But, I know if I have so much as a sip of beer, our marriage is over. Because she told me that when I came home from rehab. She has the right to feel the way she does about me, but I also feel like she is choking me under the weight of my own guilt,” Reece explains.
“Excuse me!” Nina said, interrupting her husband with her arms unfolded.
“Nina! Let Reece finish,” Dr. Morton said sternly, cutting Nina off. Nina sighs, folding her arms back up reluctantly.
“Please, continue, Reece,” Dr. Morton said.
“If I need to stay longer at the office and I let her know, she begins interrogating me. I’m an accountant, and sometimes I must stay longer at the office. Then, if I go out for a run, she goes through my stuff. She goes through my garbage. I go out with my friends, she begins calling or texting me every hour. God forbid I miss one of her phone calls. I’ll never hear the end of it. I’ve been sober for one year, and I’ve been going to the meetings. A little trust and space would be nice,” Reece states in a frustrated tone. Reece then turns to his wife. “I’m not hiding anything from you,” he concludes.
Nina shakes her head, feeling her actions are justified. Dr. Morton immediately notices that. “Is there something you would like to say, Nina?” Dr. Morton asks.
“I’m not ready to trust him yet, and I don’t know when I will be,” Nina answers. Reece shakes his head in frustration. “Here we go again,” he thought.
“Nina, try giving Reece a little more space for this week. Give him a little more room to breathe. Try to trust him a little more, and we will discuss it in our next session,” Dr. Morton said softly.
“Alright,” Nina said with a somewhat reluctant tone both Dr. Morton and Reece picked up on, but both decided to let slide.
“Good!” Dr. Morton said.
“Man, this is going to be a long week,” Reece thought.
Part 2
The next day.
It’s evening time on Maple Street with many people out for a walk, enjoying the warm evening weather. Everyone in the neighbourhood has their recycling bins out. Reece had to stay late at work. Nina meanwhile is watching some TV, waiting for him to come home so they can have dinner together. Reece sent her a text informing her he would be home soon, and if she wanted, she could start dinner without him. Nina decides to wait.
A neighbour goes for a walk in the neighbourhood with a green glass bottle of Hilft beer to keep him company. He walks slowly, so the beer does not foam too much. Taking a quick sip every couple of minutes to truly savour the beverage during his walk. He then turns on Maple Street. The man admires the beautiful homes on the street as he passes through. He has lost track of time, walking for twenty minutes at that point. He lifts the bottle to his mouth to take another sip and realizes he has finally reached the bottom. The bottle is now empty. Not wanting to hold the empty beer bottle in his hand to dispose of it when he gets home and not wanting to litter. The man opens the lid of the next recycling container he happens to be passing on the curb on Maple Street. He opens it a few inches and slides the bottle inside, walking away before anyone notices. There was a slight thumping sound created from the lid closing and the bottle landing on top of the garbage already in the container, but nothing that could be heard from a distance. “What’s the worst that could happen?” he thought, walking away from that bin, proud he did not litter.
A few hours later, Reece arrives home. He had told Nina he would be another hour at work. She asked why and Reece explained there was admin he needed to catch up on. Contrary to what Reece expected, the questions stopped there. Reece ended the conversation believing the therapy was working. Nina watched TV, waiting for her husband to come home from work so they could have dinner together. She knew Reece would not mind if she had dinner without him, but this evening, she decided to wait. When Reece arrives, she politely greets him at the door, giving him a firm hug and kiss on the cheek. Signs of affection that seemed normal but had a secondary motive behind them. She examines him closely. Dr. Morton said she needs to stop interrogating Reece, but she did not say anything about examining him, seeing if he looked or smelled as if he had had a drink. After all, old habits die hard. Satisfied he did not seek a drink before coming home, they ate in peace.
Part 3
After a calm and quiet dinner, Reece runs upstairs to take a shower. Another trash bag needs to go in the recycling bin. Instead of having Reece do it when he gets out of the shower, she throws the bag out herself. Nina carries the full garbage bag to the bin with both hands. She sets the bag down on the ground and opens the container’s lid all the way. Nina then reaches for the bag of recycling. After getting a grasp on the bag, she lets go. Something has caught her attention. “Is that?” Nina thought, immediately letting go of the bag, looking inside the bin and seeing a bottle of beer in the recycling bin. Nina picks it up and glares at it. “I knew it,” She thought.
She quickly throws the bag in the bin and marches inside, beer bottle in hand. Nina couldn’t wait to confront Reece wearing an angry expression on her face. Her blood is pumping. Nina barges in, forcefully pushing the unlocked door open. The door slams against the washroom wall, the ensuing sound causing Reece to flinch. He looks over as Nina opens the stained glass shower door yelling at him with the beer bottle in hand raised as water from the showerhead continues to pour on him. All this was an assault on Reece’s senses. Nina was yelling with the sound of her voice amplified in the shower booth.
“Wait, wait,” Reece yells out, finally turning off the water, then wipes away extra water running down his face. However, Nina will not stop yelling. Finally, Reece shouts, “Enough!” silencing Nina for a moment. “Nina, why are you acting like this?” Reece asks in frustration. Then Reece’s eyes turn to the empty beer bottle in her hand, and then Reece understands. “You think I drank that?” he asks.
“You were home late, and then I found this in our recycling bin. How do you explain it being there?” She asks furiously. Reece sighs. He lightly pushes past her for a towel and begins drying off. Nina, angered by Reece’s silence, goes off on him again. “Are you even going to try and deny it?” Nina asks.
“Nina, what the hell are you talking about? That beer bottle could have come from anywhere,” Reece answers while getting dressed with the clothing he set out on a chair before his shower.
“I’ve heard that one before. Now, get out of my house,” Nina said. She begins shoving Reece. Reece is shocked for a moment. “Is this really happening?” he thought as Nina continues to push him out of the house. Halfway through the bedroom, Reece stops moving. “Nina, use that hard head of yours and think for a moment. If I did sneak a beer, why would I hide the evidence here? There are a thousand bins outside; why would I use ours?” Reece explains.
Nina glares at Reece. Reece’s “hard head” comment did not go over well. She had heard Reece use excuses like that before when he was drinking, only he could not remember. However, Nina did, and she wasn’t having it. “You must think I’m stupid? I’ve heard that one before. Now get out,” Nina rebuts and shoves her husband once more. “Now get out before I call the police,” Nina concludes. Reece realizes there is no getting through to her. He quickly goes downstairs, takes his car keys and leaves. Reece drives to a motel. He’s frustrated and is unsure of what to do next. He wonders if his marriage will end over something he didn’t even do. Nina watches Reece leave with a feeling of triumph.
Part 4
Nina sits alone, having dinner. It had been two weeks since Nina kicked Reece out of the house. He would call and text Nina, but she would refuse to answer. During those two weeks, Nina called her mother to tell her the marriage was over and called a divorce attorney whose number she had been saving in her purse for three years. Lastly, she called Dr. Morten to inform her that she would no longer need marriage counseling because she would be divorcing Reece. Yet, sitting alone in complete silence, she feels no contempt for her decision.
After dinner, she takes out the recycling. She rolls her recycling bin to the front of her driveway. It’s early in the evening, with a couple of hours of sunlight left. As she sets out the bin, she sees someone walking on the other side of the street with a green beer bottle. He opens it a few inches, slides the bottle inside, and walks away. There was a slight thumping sound from the lid closing. He strolls past Nina realizing she saw him but brushes it off and keeps walking. “Realistically, what is she going to do? It’s not like I’m littering,” he thinks.
Nina watches the stranger walk away, wondering if she made a mistake. “Was Reece telling the truth?” she thinks as she stands at the end of her driveway watching her neighbour’s recycling bin. A few minutes pass, and Nina finally finds the courage to walk over to her neighbour’s recycling bin. She lifted the lid, and sitting on top of the trash inside is an empty green Hilft beer bottle, the same one she found two weeks ago.
Then she realizes Reece had been telling the truth. Everything she had done had been an overreaction. She runs inside, trying to call and text him repeatedly, desperate to get a hold of him. Wanting to apologize and fix things. However, Reece does not respond. Reece looks at his phone. Seeing it’s Nina relentlessly trying to reach him, he blocks the number. He no longer wants to speak to her. After failing to contact Reece, Nina begins to get the message. She falls to her knees with tears rolling down her cheeks. Reece was right. She was choking him under the weight of his own guilt, and Dr. Morten was right. She should have trusted Reece more.
I once heard a proverb that goes like this: The smallest actions can have a ripple effect throughout all of eternity. Meaning even actions that seem small and unimportant can have unforeseen consequences that a person could never even imagine. What’s the worst thing that could happen if you throw one piece of garbage in a recycling bin that is not yours?
Part 1
A therapist sits across from her patients, a man and woman that have been married for almost seven years. It was their third session, and Dr. Judy Morton hoped the husband would open up more to his wife. As in the previous two sessions, the wife began speaking, airing out all her grievances from the past four years of their marriage caused primarily by her husband’s alcoholism, which had a devastating impact on their marriage. Even though he has been sober for the past year and a half, she still feels unable to trust him. As his wife speaks, he would adopt the pose of a statue, looking straightforward at the wall, listening to every word trying to bury his emotions. “How does what Nina said make you feel, Reece?” Dr. Morton asks, hoping to finally get him to open up and not just agree with everything his wife said.
“I feel horrible for what I put her through. She had to leave her job as a grocery store manager. She can’t work because of the trauma she experienced. She has the right to feel that way. But, that’s not me anymore,” Reece answers with a quick and direct tone of voice, wanting to cut to the chase and avoid revealing how he actually feels. He then sighs. He had given the same answer in the previous two sessions.
However, Nina quickly noticed that and took it the wrong way. Aggressively turning toward her husband and glaring at him. “I’m sorry, is this boring to you?” Nina said in an angry tone. Reece looks at his wife with a confused expression on his face. Dr. Morton immediately interjects before things get too ugly.
“Nina, calm down; you had your turn to speak. Now it’s Reece’s turn.” Nina then glares at Dr. Morton for a moment and complies somewhat reluctantly, leaning back on the leather couch with her arms crossed, clearly holding back her anger.
“Reece, you’re holding something back. Each session, you’re silent. Speaking only to agree with everything your wife said, then you become silent again. How do you really feel?” Dr. Morton asks.
Reece sighs, seeing his cover has now been blown, and he can’t hide anymore. “Look! I love and respect Nina, and I’m happy she stood by me, especially after everything I put her through. But, I know if I have so much as a sip of beer, our marriage is over. Because she told me that when I came home from rehab. She has the right to feel the way she does about me, but I also feel like she is choking me under the weight of my own guilt,” Reece explains.
“Excuse me!” Nina said, interrupting her husband with her arms unfolded.
“Nina! Let Reece finish,” Dr. Morton said sternly, cutting Nina off. Nina sighs, folding her arms back up reluctantly.
“Please, continue, Reece,” Dr. Morton said.
“If I need to stay longer at the office and I let her know, she begins interrogating me. I’m an accountant, and sometimes I must stay longer at the office. Then, if I go out for a run, she goes through my stuff. She goes through my garbage. I go out with my friends, she begins calling or texting me every hour. God forbid I miss one of her phone calls. I’ll never hear the end of it. I’ve been sober for one year, and I’ve been going to the meetings. A little trust and space would be nice,” Reece states in a frustrated tone. Reece then turns to his wife. “I’m not hiding anything from you,” he concludes.
Nina shakes her head, feeling her actions are justified. Dr. Morton immediately notices that. “Is there something you would like to say, Nina?” Dr. Morton asks.
“I’m not ready to trust him yet, and I don’t know when I will be,” Nina answers. Reece shakes his head in frustration. “Here we go again,” he thought.
“Nina, try giving Reece a little more space for this week. Give him a little more room to breathe. Try to trust him a little more, and we will discuss it in our next session,” Dr. Morton said softly.
“Alright,” Nina said with a somewhat reluctant tone both Dr. Morton and Reece picked up on, but both decided to let slide.
“Good!” Dr. Morton said.
“Man, this is going to be a long week,” Reece thought.
Part 2
The next day.
It’s evening time on Maple Street with many people out for a walk, enjoying the warm evening weather. Everyone in the neighbourhood has their recycling bins out. Reece had to stay late at work. Nina meanwhile is watching some TV, waiting for him to come home so they can have dinner together. Reece sent her a text informing her he would be home soon, and if she wanted, she could start dinner without him. Nina decides to wait.
A neighbour goes for a walk in the neighbourhood with a green glass bottle of Hilft beer to keep him company. He walks slowly, so the beer does not foam too much. Taking a quick sip every couple of minutes to truly savour the beverage during his walk. He then turns on Maple Street. The man admires the beautiful homes on the street as he passes through. He has lost track of time, walking for twenty minutes at that point. He lifts the bottle to his mouth to take another sip and realizes he has finally reached the bottom. The bottle is now empty. Not wanting to hold the empty beer bottle in his hand to dispose of it when he gets home and not wanting to litter. The man opens the lid of the next recycling container he happens to be passing on the curb on Maple Street. He opens it a few inches and slides the bottle inside, walking away before anyone notices. There was a slight thumping sound created from the lid closing and the bottle landing on top of the garbage already in the container, but nothing that could be heard from a distance. “What’s the worst that could happen?” he thought, walking away from that bin, proud he did not litter.
A few hours later, Reece arrives home. He had told Nina he would be another hour at work. She asked why and Reece explained there was admin he needed to catch up on. Contrary to what Reece expected, the questions stopped there. Reece ended the conversation believing the therapy was working. Nina watched TV, waiting for her husband to come home from work so they could have dinner together. She knew Reece would not mind if she had dinner without him, but this evening, she decided to wait. When Reece arrives, she politely greets him at the door, giving him a firm hug and kiss on the cheek. Signs of affection that seemed normal but had a secondary motive behind them. She examines him closely. Dr. Morton said she needs to stop interrogating Reece, but she did not say anything about examining him, seeing if he looked or smelled as if he had had a drink. After all, old habits die hard. Satisfied he did not seek a drink before coming home, they ate in peace.
Part 3
After a calm and quiet dinner, Reece runs upstairs to take a shower. Another trash bag needs to go in the recycling bin. Instead of having Reece do it when he gets out of the shower, she throws the bag out herself. Nina carries the full garbage bag to the bin with both hands. She sets the bag down on the ground and opens the container’s lid all the way. Nina then reaches for the bag of recycling. After getting a grasp on the bag, she lets go. Something has caught her attention. “Is that?” Nina thought, immediately letting go of the bag, looking inside the bin and seeing a bottle of beer in the recycling bin. Nina picks it up and glares at it. “I knew it,” She thought.
She quickly throws the bag in the bin and marches inside, beer bottle in hand. Nina couldn’t wait to confront Reece wearing an angry expression on her face. Her blood is pumping. Nina barges in, forcefully pushing the unlocked door open. The door slams against the washroom wall, the ensuing sound causing Reece to flinch. He looks over as Nina opens the stained glass shower door yelling at him with the beer bottle in hand raised as water from the showerhead continues to pour on him. All this was an assault on Reece’s senses. Nina was yelling with the sound of her voice amplified in the shower booth.
“Wait, wait,” Reece yells out, finally turning off the water, then wipes away extra water running down his face. However, Nina will not stop yelling. Finally, Reece shouts, “Enough!” silencing Nina for a moment. “Nina, why are you acting like this?” Reece asks in frustration. Then Reece’s eyes turn to the empty beer bottle in her hand, and then Reece understands. “You think I drank that?” he asks.
“You were home late, and then I found this in our recycling bin. How do you explain it being there?” She asks furiously. Reece sighs. He lightly pushes past her for a towel and begins drying off. Nina, angered by Reece’s silence, goes off on him again. “Are you even going to try and deny it?” Nina asks.
“Nina, what the hell are you talking about? That beer bottle could have come from anywhere,” Reece answers while getting dressed with the clothing he set out on a chair before his shower.
“I’ve heard that one before. Now, get out of my house,” Nina said. She begins shoving Reece. Reece is shocked for a moment. “Is this really happening?” he thought as Nina continues to push him out of the house. Halfway through the bedroom, Reece stops moving. “Nina, use that hard head of yours and think for a moment. If I did sneak a beer, why would I hide the evidence here? There are a thousand bins outside; why would I use ours?” Reece explains.
Nina glares at Reece. Reece’s “hard head” comment did not go over well. She had heard Reece use excuses like that before when he was drinking, only he could not remember. However, Nina did, and she wasn’t having it. “You must think I’m stupid? I’ve heard that one before. Now get out,” Nina rebuts and shoves her husband once more. “Now get out before I call the police,” Nina concludes. Reece realizes there is no getting through to her. He quickly goes downstairs, takes his car keys and leaves. Reece drives to a motel. He’s frustrated and is unsure of what to do next. He wonders if his marriage will end over something he didn’t even do. Nina watches Reece leave with a feeling of triumph.
Part 4
Nina sits alone, having dinner. It had been two weeks since Nina kicked Reece out of the house. He would call and text Nina, but she would refuse to answer. During those two weeks, Nina called her mother to tell her the marriage was over and called a divorce attorney whose number she had been saving in her purse for three years. Lastly, she called Dr. Morten to inform her that she would no longer need marriage counseling because she would be divorcing Reece. Yet, sitting alone in complete silence, she feels no contempt for her decision.
After dinner, she takes out the recycling. She rolls her recycling bin to the front of her driveway. It’s early in the evening, with a couple of hours of sunlight left. As she sets out the bin, she sees someone walking on the other side of the street with a green beer bottle. He opens it a few inches, slides the bottle inside, and walks away. There was a slight thumping sound from the lid closing. He strolls past Nina realizing she saw him but brushes it off and keeps walking. “Realistically, what is she going to do? It’s not like I’m littering,” he thinks.
Nina watches the stranger walk away, wondering if she made a mistake. “Was Reece telling the truth?” she thinks as she stands at the end of her driveway watching her neighbour’s recycling bin. A few minutes pass, and Nina finally finds the courage to walk over to her neighbour’s recycling bin. She lifted the lid, and sitting on top of the trash inside is an empty green Hilft beer bottle, the same one she found two weeks ago.
Then she realizes Reece had been telling the truth. Everything she had done had been an overreaction. She runs inside, trying to call and text him repeatedly, desperate to get a hold of him. Wanting to apologize and fix things. However, Reece does not respond. Reece looks at his phone. Seeing it’s Nina relentlessly trying to reach him, he blocks the number. He no longer wants to speak to her. After failing to contact Reece, Nina begins to get the message. She falls to her knees with tears rolling down her cheeks. Reece was right. She was choking him under the weight of his own guilt, and Dr. Morten was right. She should have trusted Reece more.
