Machine Man (serial)

The nurses were not pleased to see me back at the hospital. I detected resentment in the clatter of my meal tray onto my bedside table, a new roughness in the sponge. Sometimes, when the painkillers were wearing off, I pushed the call button and no-one came. At first it was a mystery. Then one night, sweating and unable to stand the terrible crawling sensation in my leg that was no longer there, I held down the call button for as long as it took. Nineteen minutes later, a nurse appeared. She stared down at me like I was a stain. “Oh, I’m sorry for the delay,” she said. “I was busy with the patients who want to get better.”

22.