Challenge #00072: Dingy, Dire, Depressing

Describe the first AA meeting Sara’s mother goes to.

[my wrists hate me :P]

It was in a basement that smelled heavily of dust. And mildew. Like all truly public spaces, it was painted in a shade of easily-cleanable cream that gained a patina in seconds, and quickly smelled of cabbage. Seating was by means of folding chairs in Bargain Blue that had no basis in comfort.

Older hats, Jacqui noted, bought their own pillows.

She sat on her chosen seat as if she wished she could sit on Sara’s mythical ‘fried air’.

Everyone around her was either clinging to coffee or attached to cigarettes. Transference, Sara would say. One was knitting. Jacqui didn’t know how to knit, and smoking was a filthy habit. It was going to be coffee or finding something else she could do with her hands.

She fetched herself a coffee. Ugh. Cheap instant roast.

Too soon, they came to new members. She climbed the stage with trembling knees. “My… name is… Jacquelline. And I’m an alcoholic.”

Already, she felt lighter.

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