The Call

At two A.M. the phone rings; there's a Twelfth Step prospect. You can't get an AA member to go with you. You go anyway. You meet the prospect and he's drunk. You suggest he sleep it off. You return at seven the next morning. He does not remember you from the night before. You read chapter seven in the Big Book. You take him to an AA meeting. You take him home. That afternoon his wife calls. He is drunk again. You call detox for a bed. You take him to detox. He discharges himself after twelve hours. He calls you from his favorite watering hole. You tell him to go home. He calls you from the police station. You take him to another detox. There's no bed. You travel between hospitals. He messes his pants and your car. You find a hospital that will take him. He discharges himself after fifteen hours. His wife calls you. His boss calls you. The cops call you.