Esurio says: —Lost? Far from it, Lincoln. You are absolutely in touch with your essence but I’m so concerned that you’re in danger of forgetting who you are and what makes you happy. I fear you’ve already forgotten your one, true friend. Being sober is like peeling away a thick layer of skin. It doesn’t fall away all at once. Bits of it break off here and there and, as they do, I notice things. This morning I was running along the Embankment and my head was clear. I thought about new ways to leverage relationships with the concierges to bring more punters into The Club. I thought about doing a Jet Set in the South of France and I called my Mum to tell her I would come round to build her a small rock pool in the back garden. She said: —That’s lovely, darling. Then: —Are you all right? That’s the thing about clarity in drunks. It shocks people. They get used to your hazy, virtual life, then you mess up their world with a shocking display of sobriety.
