Sara M., my old friend from junior high, has become a prostitute, & I am watching her entertaining a client. We are in a room that is both a bedroom & a saloon. There are 2 beds & a chair on one side of the room, & a fully stocked bar with barstools on the other. The room feels like the old west; dirty floors made from planks of wood, like the walls, & wooden furniture, white bedding, linen curtains. There is dusty morning light streaming in through the window.

The room contains 4 people: me, alone in one of the beds (where I’ve slept & just woken up), my old friend the prostitute with her John in the other, & the saloon owner sitting in the chair. The saloon owner is a pothead, & drinks a lot too. He seems kind of surly but deep down has a soft heart. I don’t know why I know these things about him. He & I are both blankly watching the other 2.

Sara the prostitute has 7 kids & a boyfriend at home, & she never does business with anyone she knows. I don’t know why I know these details either. As she straddles her John, I notice that her labia is abnormally wide, smooth, & striped with the deep orange markings of a tiger. Then the saloon owner grumbles, “This is no way for grown men to be," referring mostly to his pot habit. He is between 50 & 60 years old.

Soon after, the saloon owner is buying me drinks at his bar, even though it’s still morning. He is impressed that I can drink whisky so early. A 3rd man appears at the bar, much older than me, but he can’t handle whisky in the morning. The saloon owner takes a shine to me because I can drink with him, & I’m flattered, but also conscious that I’ve become an alcoholic.