Chapter 4 - Corey
As Corey listened to Jeremy on that last night of camp he knew exactly what he was going to do. As with the other guys, Corey's mum came to pick him up and she was just as emotional to have her son back. All the way home in the car Corey listened to his mother prattle on about the insignificant comings and goings of their extended family and the neighbourhood.
"You're very quiet?"
Corey didn't even bother to answer, what was the point?
"Love is there something wrong?" she asked concerned that she had somehow annoyed her boy.
Corey still didn't even bother to answer, as it was all part of his plan. He intended to mix Plan A with Plan B, and he smiled to himself. When he didn't answer her, Sonja became far more concerned.
"Corey love, what's the matter?" she asked with a tone of real worry in her voice. Corey turned on her.
"Have you done it again?" he asked her.
She knew exactly what her son was asking. For some years now Sonja had had a gambling problem; the pokies to be specific. Corey's father paid Sonja an extremely generous alimony and maintenance for Corey, which would allow him to go to university that year. On a number of occasions Corey's dad had accused Sonja of using what he paid her to fuel her gambling habit -- and he had been right, but couldn't prove it.
Corey had been asked by his father, in front of Sonja to tell him when his mother used his money on the pokies. Corey had caught his mother many times, but out of love for her he had said nothing. As he was leaving for camp Sonja promised all sorts of promises that she was no longer gambling, and for the first time Corey threatened to tell his father the next time she did.
"No, of course not," Sonja lied as they drove home and Corey knew she was lying, because he knew her body language and she couldn't hide the truth from him.
"Yes you have," he said angrily and Sonja blanched, because she knew she couldn't hide a thing from her son -- well not usually.
"Are you going to tell your father?" Sonja was petrified of losing her money.
"Yep," Corey answered his mother without even looking at her.
"Oh Corey, love, don't do that," she pleaded with him and grabbed his arm.
He pulled himself free, and looking daggers at his mother he said,
"You just don't care about me do you? It's just show the way you make out how much you miss me when you pick me up from camp, whenever the other mothers are around. Just show," he accused his mother.
Sonja looked gutted at her son's accusation, and she appeared lost for words, but answered his scathing words anyway.
"I do so care," Sonja began indignantly, "and I'm not affectionate to you just for show." Sonja was about to explode into tears as she always did under such circumstances.
But Corey wasn't finished.
"Oh yeah," he exploded, "so that's why you've been to the pokies every day I've been away?" Sonja looked like a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar.
"And don't try to deny it, I know you better then that and you know it," Corey shot at her before his mother had a chance to say anything in her defence.
Sonja couldn't answer her son because he was right, and she knew it. After a few seconds she tried to redeem herself in her son's eyes.
"Alright, I have been at the pokies, but it doesn't mean I don't love you like the other mother's love their sons, in fact I love you more, far more," she said through her tears, but Corey wasn't moved.
"Yeah, sure you do, that's why you lied to me before I left for camp. You already had the pokies planned before I left. You love me so much you lie to me." Corey had managed to work himself up to appear very angry with her.
"Corey love, I'm so sorry, what can I do to make it up to you?" she pleaded with her son, and he could see how desperate she was.
Corey gave the appearance he was thinking, but the truth was this was all part of his plan. Now he had to manoeuvre his mother delicately.
Corey had read everything, listened to everything and watched every TV documentary going on the subject of addiction to gambling, to understand why his mother did it.
He had found there were two schools of thought on the subject, those who saw it as just another behaviour that began in a benign and harmless way, and then developed into an addiction; and those who believed it was to compensate for something missing in one's life, something that had given that person pleasure, excitement, a thrill, the type of something we all need. The flashing lights, the music from the machines, the jackpot announcements over the PA, the friendships with fellow addicts, all worked to give one what they could not get elsewhere. And that's why the pokies were so appealing and inevitably addictive. They gave people what they couldn't get elsewhere. All during camp Corey had thought on each theory.
"Why do you do it mum, why do need to gamble on the pokies?" Corey finally asked his mother, and Sonja was just glad her son was still speaking to her, albeit on this particular topic, one she had hoped he would never engage her about.
"I don't know love, I just like them I suppose," she replied in a sort of distant voice and her expression took on a sad aspect to it.
Corey wondered why the sadness, was it because she could be at the pokies now, or was it at the thought of what they replaced -- what she could no longer have.
"Why do you like them?" Corey pushed.
"Oh I don't know," his mother said dismissively.
"Yes you do, now tell me. I want to understand this thing that takes all your attention, all your love, all your desire. What is it?" he persisted.
He could see his mother thinking, and knew she had the answer, but was debating in her mind if she would tell him.
"Corey, I would talk to you about it, but you wouldn't understand." Her first line of defence he thought -- time to get tough.
"Bullshit! You know how much I've studied it. I know all the reasons, excuses and lies. Now tell me why this thing is more important to you than your own son?" His voice had been rising in volume as he said this.
Sonja looked shocked, and knew there was no shaking him.
