The smell of strong coffee and cheap perfume woke Hicks. He had been out for a while, but not long enough to make him sober. He was still drunk and telling everyone he loved them. He saw he was no longer in his office through his blurred vision but at the nurse’s station. Hicks went to sit up, but the sudden movement made him nauseous.
‘Lay down before you fall off the couch again,’ Nurse Hawthorn said without compassion.
‘What time is it?’ Hicks tried to look at his watch.
‘Don’t matter what time it is, sir, you ain’t goin’ anywhere. Not in your sorry condition. Really, a person of your stature getting blind drunk like that, I never,’ she grumbled, shaking her head and crossing her arms across her large chest. Hicks lay back down and held a palm to his head as if it would stop the worl
