Biff picked up
his 24-hours chip.
And then he got
his 7-days chip.
And his 30-days chip.
He kept on going
to meetings.
After some time
he did not go every day.
But he did go
two or three times
every week.
He had not seen
his friend Jerry
from the pub
since the night
of his slip.
there was Jerry,
at a meeting.
It was great
to see him.
Biff had missed
his old friend.
He just couldn’t go
to the pub.
And that was where
Jerry could always be found.
Until now.
After the meeting,
Biff and Jerry
went out
for a cup of coffee.
They started
going for coffee
after all the meetings.
Some days
they went out
for a bite to eat.
Sometimes, other people
came along.
Biff was having
a good time.
He didn’t even notice
the good times came
without a drink.
And without
a bad stomach.
And without
a bad hangover.
And with a good job
to go to the next day.
At home,
making dinner with Abby
became an every night thing.
They tried new dishes
and gained a few pounds.
For both Biff and Abby,
it was the best time
of the day.
One night
Abby asked Biff
“Do you think
you’ll ever drink again?”
“I don’t want to, Baby,”
said Biff.
“But I can’t look
that far ahead.
I’ll think about tomorrow
when it gets here.
Right now,
I’m living
just for today.
One day at a time.
In the present.
Because right now
is all there is.
You know what I mean?”
“I do,”
said Abby.
“Just for today.”
They lifted
their water glasses.
“To today,”
said Biff.
“To today,”
said Abby.
Then they tapped
their glasses together
in a toast to today.