“H
e calls his father, asks what’s new, and how grandmother is holding up.
They speak for 90 minutes.
He calls his sister, asks if she needs to go to the fertility clinic.
Is the tumor gone?
It is. And she must.
He meets Marcus.
Recently in a car accident, now in a wheelchair but still alive.
All evening, Marcus explains how he could’ve died.
He brushes his teeth.
Spits out toothpaste.
Finds tiny specks of red in thick, white saliva.
He lifts his upper lip.
Stares at bleeding gums.
Cauterizes these wounds with whiskey.
And promises he won’t tomorrow