Chapter 1: My life is shit!

I held the bottle up to the setting sun and squinted, one more swig of cheap bourbon left. It didn't seem like the bottles lasted as long as they used to. That's okay, the park bench was trying to wear a hole in my ass, I'd been sitting here drinking and watching the rich bitches walk past all afternoon. The stifling heat of the afternoon was gone and I could finally go back to my fleabag hotel room, throw up in the toilet, pass out on the bed and toss and turn all night long trying to catch a few hours of tortured sleep.

I stood and wobbled on alcohol addled legs, took the last hit off the bottle and threw it at the trashcan. It missed and broke on the sidewalk. Some stuck up bitch in a designer dress, high heels and smelling of expensive perfume walked by and gave me a nasty look, "Well excuse the fuck out of me for breathing the same air as you." I yelled at her. She quickened her steps and shouted over her shoulder, "Stupid fucking drunk. I'm going to call the cops."

I knew I should have stayed in my part of town. The Southside of Chicago didn't care if I sat on my ass all day and drank, but uptown was different. I needed to move it because I didn't want to deal with the CPD again, last time that happened I spent a week in jail. I stumbled off to the closest bus stop and caught the bus towards the Southside and anonymity. The bus driver looked at me and shook his head, "You puke on my bus and you're going to clean it up." I weaved down the aisle and collapsed in a seat, the girls that were in the seat behind me jumped up and moved.

I probably smelled like the shit my life had become, but I didn't care, I didn't give a fuck about anything not since that day twelve months ago when I stepped off the plane from Iraq. I expected my wife and two girls to meet me; instead a lawyer met me with divorce papers and a restraining order. I lost it and beat the hell out of him, which didn't help my case. I knew we didn't have the perfect marriage, but I never expected this.

Every time I remember my "ideal" life I remembered my first time with Sue, my ex-wife. It was about ten years ago, she was this smart sexy nurse at the hospital where I was finishing my last year of residency. We had talked several times and she'd saved my ass a couple times from making stupid mistakes. We'd never even dated, but had a great friendship.

Christmas Eve we both finished duty at the same time. I walked out the door with Sue and she said, "So, you have any plans for tonight?"

"I think I'll just head home and go to sleep." I answered. "That's no way to spend Christmas Eve. I have some friends that are having a party. I was told that I could bring a date. You wanna come?" She smiled at me.