p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Waiting Up/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He smelled of whisky and opium when he finally sauntered into the bedroom at whatever ungodly hour it was. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I had waited up. Not that I had been worried. Doc was a big boy who could clean up his own messes. But still. I had waited. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Through a cracked eye, I watched his drunken fingers fumble with his trouser buttons in the dark. Several long moments of silence passed, cut only by the shuffling of fabric against fabric, as he struggled to undress himself. Finally, I heard the last clasp pop and Doc let out a triumphant sigh. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Humming contently to himself, he swaggered over to the lounge chair in the corner and flung his clothes over the arm. I blinked lazily and stifled a yawn, comforted by the familiar tune. Abruptly, Doc's humming escalated into a wheeze, as he was overcome with a coughing fit. Suddenly, I was wide awake. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"It was a bad one. He stumbled forward, eyes squeezed shut, wrinkled face hacking into his arm. Then, he lost his footing completely. I thought for sure Doc was about to fall flat on his face before I could get out of bed to catch him. Then, I'd have to take him down to the town physician's house to see if he'd busted his nose again. That'd make it the second time in a month he would have to treat a drunk, naked gunslinger in the middle of the night. Nobody wanted this to become a habit, least of all me./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Luckily, he caught himself on the bookcase and leaned against the wall until the fit subsided. He rested there for a good, long while, catching his breath and regaining his composure. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I'm sure he was aware of his audience by now, but I don't blame him for refusing to acknowledge me just yet. Moments like this were private. I was proud man. I understood. He was having a closed conversation with the Devil and God and who knows who else. It wasn't my business to go poking my head into the middle of it. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He was getting worse. I tried not to think about it, but in fragile times like this I was reminded: John Henry Holliday was mortal, and he was dying./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I knew the last thing he was looking for was pity, so I didn't give it to him; I pitied myself, more than anything. On the good days, I made him laugh and on the bad days, I made him laugh, too. Or, he made me laugh. Doc was always good for a laugh./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"After a short eternity, he pushed himself off the wall and staggered over to the bed. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I closed my eyes and felt the bed shift under his weight. The sheet slid across me as he covered himself haphazardly. I could tell he was tired. I wriggled myself closer and adjusted the sheet so that it was adequately blanketing both of us. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Thank you, Wyatt," he rasped./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Don't mention it," I mumbled into his neck, already feeling myself drift off to sleep. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"We were both tired./p