seven

My GP tells me later that I have a concussion, which she refers to as a “mild traumatic head injury.” My boss is waiting for me in the waiting room after I have seen my GP. I tell him that she said it was just a concussion and she said I am to get plenty of rest. He tells me I can have the next week off work if I like, but he’ll put it down as holiday. I say thanks and he drives me home.

His car seems like it is brand new and smells of air fresheners in the shape of pine trees that you get at garages. The radio volume is on about 1 and I ask him if he can turn it up. He says he doesn’t like to have to speak over the radio and he continues to drive me back to my house in silence, albeit for the tiny sound of the radio coming out of the doors.

I spend the rest of the day on the sofa watching TV and applying ice packs to my head. My Mum tells me I should try and stay up because it’s bad to fall asleep after getting a concussion. I tell her that the doctor would have said something to me when I saw her if that was the case. Still, I end up staying up until around four in the morning with the TV still on. When I wake up I cannot remember any of the dreams I had during the night. I go to the bureau in the hall and take out a pen and a piece of writing paper. Our address is pre-printed in the top right hand corner. I pause for a second and then start writing a letter of resignation.