Marco looked at his wristwatch, which read 5:00 in the morning. After polishing off a bottle of vodka, Marco took a shower in the bathroom attached to his office. First, he wanted to get rid of the smell of the drink; he didn't know if it would bother Laura, as he himself couldn't stand the smell of alcohol on other people and didn't want to impose that on her. He waited before going up to the bedroom to let the effects of the alcohol wear off. He wasn't usually prone to mood swings when he drank, but he was aware that things could get out of control when one of the parties wasn't adequately sober. And it was even worse if the one who had been drinking was the physically stronger party. He had witnessed his father drunk many times, and it was always his mother who suffered the consequences
