Out

Having told my story to Sarah, the rest of the day was comparatively easy.

The thing is, she didn't laugh, run away screaming or look at me as if I was deranged: instead, she was sympathetic, patient and understanding (insofar as my unexplained incident could be understood).

It felt good to have been listened to, and retelling the story became a lot easier after the first time.

I stuck to the few facts that I knew, and most people's reaction was largely the same as Sarah's. A few of the lads had trouble believing that I hadn't been under the influence, but even they could see I wasn't lying.

And so, being back in the workplace had become less like being under observation, and I felt my colleagues relax when they were around me. The facts were mysterious, yes - but here I was, looking well and healthy, and everyone in the office seemed set to file it under "one of those things".

The rest of the day was fairly boring - reassuringly so - but passed quite quickly. For the first week back, the plan was that I wouldn't speak to any clients, but would help out with various bits of admin and filing around the office. Steve, my immediate boss, had thought it would be a good idea to ease myself back in slowly: a more cynical point of view might be that he didn't want me ballsing-up any client relationships.

Personally, I couldn't wait until I was back talking directly to clients - it's what I enjoy, what I'm good at, and what they pay me for, after all. But I could see that Steve had a point. So I did my best to look happy while doing the department's donkey work.

When the day ended, I passed up the offer of a drink - pleading doctor's orders, but really not feeling up to it - and headed to where I'd parked my car.

The city's tramworks meant it wasn't easy finding a space, and the car was a good distance from the office. On the way to it, I thought - not for the first time - about how exotic some of Leith's street names were. I suppose you get this sort of thing in a lot of ports, but they always brought to mind the far-off places they took their name from.

A bit like travelling round the world and never leaving home.



Story begins here.