Use it or lose it

He lay on the hospital bed wondering how on earth this had happened. He was a responsible man. He had never done this before. DUI? Why? How?

His mind travelled back to the time leading up to the accident. Jill had ditched him, but he had sensed it coming. So why had it impacted him so much? What was it that she had said that upset him?

She had been carrying on at him about his wasted life. She felt that he was allowing himself to be eaten up by his mundane 9 to 5 job. His life had become so predictable and boring. His job was uninspiring and did not interest him. But what the hey? It paid the bills.

Jill had moaned that his artistic talent was being abused, forgotten. How had she expressed it? He thought she had said, “Use it or lose it”. She had hit the nail on the head. He was very close to losing it. Did he even know where the paints were in his new flat?

He had sat at the bar of the restaurant after Jill had left. One drink followed the next in quick succession, only walking out when the bartender warned, “Five minutes to closing.”

He walked outside and stood undecided on the pavement. He took faltering steps to his car, pressed the remote, climbed in, and had battled to get the key in the ignition. And that was all he could remember.

When he came to in hospital they had told him that his car had tried to climb a tree, breaking his left arm and bruising a couple of ribs. He was lucky it wasn’t more serious. He was lucky that no one else was hurt.

His thoughts were interrupted when a nurse arrived and said, “Come, time to get up and exercise your uninjured muscles.”

He felt very wobbly on his legs as the nurse supported him on the slow walk down the corridor. They passed the recreation room. He looked in as his eyes widened with wonder.

“Can I use this room?” he asked.

“Yes of course,” replied the nurse. “It helps with the healing process.”

He felt his interest stirring – there were paints. There was paper.