Just Me and the Cat

I was feeling pretty good.
Things seemed to be going my way.

I was back in the gym, looking like myself in the mirror.
My eyes were clear, my face not bloated.
I was getting ahead, financially.

I smiled.

Not like I used to. I used to smile a great big toothy smile.
My new smile was just an upturn at the corners of my mouth.

But it was a smile.

It was just me and the cat, making our way through life.
No dating. No relationships. 1 friend.

My best friend. From the comedy club. From the first night.

He was the only one who sort of saw what had happened to me.
I had shut him out during the darkest of times, but I had come out of them, and our friendship resumed like nothing had interrupted it.

He brought it up once, as we sat on the beach.

I guess the change in my eyes or the look on my face made him think better of a follow up question.

He has never mentioned it again, for fear that I would slide back into my hole, never to be seen again.