He came at the oddest time of the day. When he visited, it was 4:00 when the nurses were switching shifts. Plus, at that time, it was during rush hour and people were coming back from work but he proclaimed he was going to work afterwards. Talking him on the phone was much better, because at least I didn’t have to make physical contact with him. Now, we were sitting in front of each other, simply waiting for the right moment to speak.

            “How are you feeling?”

            “Aside from being wired up, I could honestly use a drink right now.” He didn’t respond so I scrutinized him. “You own the bar that I always go to, don’t you? I slightly recognize you.”

            “I’m headed off to work afterwards,” he said, admitting that he was indeed the owner.

            “Yeah, thanks for saving me the other night, I guess. I heard you came every day, but I don’t see the point of it.”

            “Since you’re such a frequent customer of mine and ended up getting alcohol poisoning, I had to take responsibility of you at some point.”

            “Well you don’t have to anymore. I’m fine now.”

            “I think you should lay off the drinks for the time being,” he said with a slight frown.

            “Why? If I come for drinks, I’ll be helping you.”

            “But you’re not helping yourself.”

            “Aren’t you supposed to take me up on my offer? You earn money through me. You don’t earn money if I don’t come.” Our words rivaled the speed of a tennis match – the ball was soaring back and forth, back and forth.

            The ball was suddenly halted to a stop. “And I don’t want you to die.”

            I stared at him, wide-eyed. “Excuse me?”

            “I think you need to see a psychologist.” He stood up, grabbing his jacket. “Although I sell alcohol, I don’t like to see it get abused, particularly for stubborn people like you. When touching upon substances like alcohol, it’s all about control. You clearly don’t have any.”

            By the time the words sunk into my brain, he h