Ryan’s sister, the blonde girl, spoke next. ‘Hi, I’m Sandy and I’m a proud member of this group. Yep, Mum had a bad weekend last week and it sucked how I had to get everything together because Mum went out. Dad was stressed out of his mind wondering where Mum was and I didn’t want Ryan’s comp to be ruined. But I was also surfing in the comp and I had to get everything together, make lunches and things to take with us and make sure that Mum was okay in the morning. I wish Ryan had helped. Dad was fuming the whole way to the surf and he wouldn’t shut up talking about how irresponsible Mum is and how he didn’t want us to be like her and all of that stuff. So much for trying to get in the zone for our comp. When I finally got out in the water, I was exhausted. I wanted to sit there and float and never have to come back to shore. And Mum’s of course been promising us all that she’ll never drink again. It’s been like four days so far. The best she’s ever done is eleven. I reckon she’ll drink again by Friday. She might even be pissed when we get home.’

I kind of laughed to myself, thinking about how Sandy counted the days that her mum didn’t drink because I did that too. But it wasn’t funny and I knew how much it hurt when Mum started drinking again after counting the days she’d been sober.

And then Sue asked, ‘Do you want to speak, Phoebe?’

Although I wanted to spill my guts, I said, ‘No, it’s okay.’ And then I said, ‘I won’t say much, but I really appreciate you all sharing. Lots of the things you’ve said are the same as what I’ve gone through. I think I just need time to think about everything I’ve heard. And it’s good to know that I’m not alone.’

Everyone said thank you when I stopped talking, maybe because I shared something that reminded them of how they felt when they attended their first meeting.