Oh man, Jerry thought. I’m in deep shit now.

On his living room floor, he beat his head again and again into the wall. He glowered at his watch: 1:13 a.m. This was not something he could just go back Monday morning and fix. No, he had squandered a plum job, a job that would have led to another plum job and another, with a great pension and health care plan waiting for him at the end, safe and cared for as he cruised down the freeway of life. 

What the hell was he going to tell his parents?

Oh man…

He rushed to the bathroom, clung to the toilet and puked his guts out. He rinsed his mouth out, shuffled over to his bed and lay down, sat up, slipped off his bed and descended to his knees. He rested his finger laced hands on the side of the bed like a child saying bedtime prayers.

God, I can’t keep going on like this. I’m giving it all up for you. I need you in my life. Please. Show me a sign.

The words quieted him. He slid back into bed, still fully dressed, and fell asleep, a sound sleep, the first one in days.