25 ♢ Convalescence

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   "How are you this week Oliver?"

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   "How are you this week Oliver?"

Oliver stretched his arms, feeling comfortable at his third appointment with Dr Rami.

  "I started going to the gym. I lost a lot of weight this past year and I want to get fit again. It was tough so I hired a personal trainer."

  "Studies have shown a link between physical fitness and mental health. I'm very glad you did that."

  Nodding, Oliver took a gulp from his water bottle. "And no more damn juice cleanses. Water is so much simpler. They kept forcing these weird detox drinks on us at rehab. Why do rich people have to complicate everything?"

♢ ♢ ♢

"I returned to work today."

"Is that so?"

Oliver nodded happily. He had come straight from work so he was still in his suit but he had taken off the blazer to account for the heat in Rami's office. Apparently the thermostat had gone haywire, blasting the heating to full-mode.

"When are you getting your heating fixed?"

"Today, hopefully. Sorry it's so warm."

Oliver loosened his tie. "That's okay."

"So, how was work?"

Digging into his pocket, Oliver thumbed his sobriety chip. Three months. He brought it to work so that if he felt uneasy at any point he could use it to reflect back on what he learned about himself.

"It was weird. A three month sabbatical can really throw you out of the loop. Plus it didn't take long to realise that everyone has crazy rumours about what happened to me."

"Do they bother you?"

"The rumours? Nah, I don't really care anymore. I told one guy where I really was. Chad. He was really understanding."

"And what's your workload like?"

"I did what we discussed last week and actually had a long talk with my father about my responsibilities in the company. He was very understanding."

"What did you tell him?"

"I told him that I feel he overloads me with work sometimes that is way above my capabilities. And that there are more competent people in the company."

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