11/20/10 The very nice doctor is not a dentist

"Well, when I got out of the shower," the doctor says, finishing his story, "the ants had covered the sandwich! The hotel got me an upgrade, told me they'd never had anything like this before."

He smiles shyly as we laugh with him, and he writes out our prescriptions. He has a small, black something-or-other caught in his teeth, but before I can mention it to him, he's left the examining room to talk to another patient who is wandering the hall of the office.

6/28/09 - still tempted

The pill bottle was lodged between the wall and the back of the dresser, and believe me, I'd known exactly where it was for a week. I also knew that we'd be out of town for two weeks, no pills, and I'd given up Kratom for over a month.

I gently lifted the bottle from its precarious perch and poured two codeine tabs into my hand, which I planned to take while Katie was in the bathroom, and which would carry me in slow, rolling half-sleep until the wee hours.

And then I put them back in the bottle, placed the bottle back where it had rested, and lay down, embarrassment and pride contending in my chest, until Katie clambered over me to her side of the bed, and we fell asleep.