My Drunk Friend in What's Happening

My friend was in the area last night and he stopped over to visit. He walked in the house with a can of beer that was already half finished. “Did you drive over here with that?” I said. He looked down at his hand as if he was just acknowledging the can for the first time and said, “Yeah.”

I told him that I wasn’t drinking this week and apologized for having nothing to offer. “All I have is one 8 ounce can of Bud Light in the fridge.” I said.

Part of me thought it was insulting to offer that to someone. He tipped back and finished his 12 ounce craft beer and returned from the kitchen with the tiny Bud Light. He joked that he felt like Andre the Giant holding the little beer and I laughed because that’s exactly what it looked like. We both were engrossed in our phones and we chatted in between thumb scrolls and short swigs; his being from the tiny beer can and mine from a pint glass of water. It took him a while to finish the beer.

He left my house shortly after and must have gotten into some trouble. He texted me late last night and asked me to leave my door unlocked so he could sleep over. “I need to hide.” he said. I got up and unlocked the door and tossed a spare blanket on the couch. I was hoping he wouldn’t really show up.

I woke up at 5:00am to pick up my friend and head to the gym for an early work out session. When I opened my bedroom door I could smell the scent of his body processing alcohol taking over the air in the living room. It was like day old beer breath, but with enough volume that you didn’t need to be close by to smell it.

I chuckled a little bit at the site of him passed out on the couch with an open 20oz can of beer on the floor next to him. Even after a long night of whatever it is he got himself involved with, he continued to drink on my couch until he fell asleep.

I’m not even going to ask what is going on because I really don’t want to know. I’m wondering if he mixed some pills with his alcohol and did something regretful. He is in his mid 40’s. Sometimes I wish he would make better decisions.