He swore on his mother's grave, but then he swore on just about everything. He would give absolutely anything, even his soul, for his next drink, for his next drug. He can be charming. In fact, he is utterly charming. He makes people follow him out of sheer wonderment. But that day, he specifically swore on his mother's grave that he is now going to make it better for himself. He would definitely book himself into a rehabilitation centre, and he was going to get clean. All he wanted from me, was trust. He wanted a stipend for me, because his medical aid would not pay for his treatment. If only I could help him with at least a deposit, he would go immediately. So I said to him, over the phone, that because I am so proud of him, I would like to lend him my full support. I mean, I loved the man. I knew his dark side, I was on to his lies. However, I was probably also a little bit enslaved by him. He could do that to anyone. So then I said, let me go with you to get you booked in. No, he said to me. I did not have to drive all the way to where he lived. He already felt indebted to me, and he really did not want me to go through all the trouble. All I needed was to deposit the money into his bank account.
"You could make a living doing that kind of thing." I suppose I could, but I had never thought about it, until then. That kind of threw me. What was he trying to say to me? He chuckled over the phone, a deep, velvety sound. My heart skipped a beat. I asked him, what do you mean? He answered gaily and warmly: you could become the world's best charity fundraiser. You could help so many people with your warmhearted generosity. Something stirred in me. He threw me a bit off balance with what he said. It was if he was reading my mind. And with his silver tongue, he played right into my naivety. He knew I was going to give him the money, and he probably realized that I was on to him. You see, I loved him, and therefore I ignored every single one of his lies. I even ignored that fact that I knew in my soul that he was a womanizer. And here he was doing it again: complimenting me with my charity towards him, as if he knew that I knew that i was being used.
Remember that time when you helped that girl with the tear in her dress? I mean, she was so down and out. Who could know that she was such an evil little bitch? You just wanted to help her, he said. Oh, you are such a goodhearted person. That girl probably tore her own dress, just to get the attention of some gullible person like you.
That is it, I thought in my mind. He went too far. He overplayed his hand by pointing out to me that I am gullible. So I said to him: Baby, I am on to you. I will bring the deposit, and I will help you get booked in. But you are not going to lie to me again. You swore on your mother's grave that you wanted to get clean. I think you are probably lying to me, just to get your hands onto some money for more drugs and women.
My heart ached. I loved him. He just laughed cruelly. "Baby, my mother is still alive and well. Now, do not contact me again, you stupid woman. I have had enough of you."
