Half a Policy
The next day I was stunned to see the middle-aged man sitting
in our waiting room.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, hoping he was visiting
someone.
In his Eastern European accent he said, “I slipped. After 15
years, I slipped.”
I’d met Tomas when he first stumbled into an AA meeting. He’d
struggled with depression for as long as I’d known him. We’d talked about antidepressants, but he had
refused to consider them.
“I blame you,” he said, chuckling. “I finally took the pills
and the cloud lifted.”
“That sounds like a good thing,” I said, puzzled.
“It was, until I started thinking maybe I’m not so
depressed, I can drink a little.”
“You know it’s a bad idea for you to drink regardless of medications,
right?”
“I know.” Pointing to his black eye and swollen lip, he
added, “Also bad idea to ask muscled guy in bar if he thinks he’s tough. Or ask
his girlfriend if stripper pole puts callouses on her hands.”
“Luckily you have half an insurance policy,” I said.
“What is half policy?” Tomas asked.
“Imagine something bad happens. You relapse, or lose
someone, and the world comes crashing in. You call the ‘my life is crashing insurance
company’. They send you the materials to rebuild, like AA, or a grief
counselor, maybe a physical therapist if you get hurt. These folks do their half. Your half is doing
the work.”
“You’re saying I’m lucky I have what I need to put my life
back together?” I nodded, he nodded, and
the work began.
Today I’ll be grateful I have half an insurance policy.
Fawlty Showers 2
is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and anyone you
might know is purely coincidental.
Other works by Ken Montrose are available at:
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