6

 

 

Forty-five minutes later, the doctor came and checked me out. After a five-minute examination, he said I didn’t need to be admitted. I rose to leave, but he stopped me.

“I can’t let you leave on your own,” he said.

“Why not?”

“You’re intoxicated, and you’ve had a head injury.”

I sighed. “So I can’t stay but I can’t go? What am I supposed to do, doc?”

“Do you have family waiting for you?”

I shook my head.

“Is there someone who could come and get you?” he asked. “A friend?”

And for a long moment, that one really stumped me.