Learning the hard way

"It's Tony."

"What? What about him?"

"He said he wants to speak to you. Urgently."

"Shit. What have you told him?"

"Just what you told me."

"Jesus, why the hell-"

"You're a former customer of his. He deserves to know. If word gets out, it could be bad for business."

"Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck. Right. Okay. I'll call him first thing."

*********

"Is that Tony?"

"Speaking."

"It's me."

A pause. "You know what you did wrong?"

"Listen, Tony, it's fin-"

"Tell me. Tell me what happened, and tell me what you did wrong."

"It was just one of those things, alright? I've been careful - on the wagon - for months. It's not going to happen again."

"Tell me."

"It was a party, okay? One of the old gang was getting married. Things got a little out of hand, is all. You know how it is. We started early, finished late."

"How late?"

"Does it matter?"

"It matters. How long were you going for?"

"It was a long one. Overnight and into the next day. That's all you need to know."

"Jesus Christ, did you forget everything I told you about using, and keeping things clean? About being sensible? What were the conditions I gave when I agreed to start supplying to you?"

"Only in short bursts. Never overnight. Avoid long sessions at all costs."

"You're damned right only in short bursts. This stuff can be fucking lethal if you, well, for want of a better word, if you 'overdose'. What happened when you came down?"

"Was fine at first. Monday morning... Let's just say things were messy Monday morning."

"How messy?"

"... Was sore. Sensitive to light. Nearly fainted. There was a white spot in the eye."

"Of course there was. Then what?"

"I went to that specialist clinic round the corner. They checked me out. Said it's been a close call. If I hadn't come in straight away, things could have gotten bad. They gave me meds. Said I need to take this seriously; make sure I use the meds every hour. Through the night too. Said I need to go cold turkey. And need to stay clean at least a month before I can even think about using again."

"Cold turkey, eh? Did they at least give you a patch?"

"What?! No! You're telling me I could have had a patch?!"

"Well. At least it'll be a lesson to you. I'm guessing it's been a rough few days."

"Barely slept. Been clean three days. The meds, they're, they're brutal."

"You're coming in to see me Saturday."

"Oh come on Tony, it's fine. Listen, I've learnt my lesson, it won't happen again."

"Shut, the fuck, up. You're back with me now, you hear? I'll supply you privately, keep an eye on you.You will come in on Saturday. I will check out any permanent damage you've done yourself, you dumb fuck. Clean you up. Get you back on track. If you're going to keep using, you're going to be using my product, and you're coming in for regular checks."

"Yes, Tony. Cheers. And, for what it's worth, I'm sorry."

Tony hangs up.

*********

Moral of the story? Never - and I mean, never - sleep with your contact lenses in. Bad things will happen. Oh, and always keep your optician sweet.