Grace rarely found herself in the bar, preferring to drink in the privacy of her own home. But something about tonight was different. She didn’t trust herself to be alone.
Her hands had started shaking mid afternoon, while treating a young schizophrenic boy who had threatened to kill her. She had stumbled over her words and wrapped up the session quickly with a lump in her throat. She downed a Valium with water, attempting to calm herself, but had been unable to return her heart rate to normal.
Now she was a few drinks in, and rather than having calmed down she was feeling more anxious than before. Grace was startled by someone behind her, and knocked her tumbler to the floor where it shattered. Closing her eyes, she placed her head in her hands and took a few deep breaths, before turning to face the person who had approached her.
“I’m so sorry, are you alright?”