“Six-thirty in the morning is an obscene hour,” he says, staring out the window at the golden-lit trees. “It’s an obscene hour no matter which side of th day you’re coming at it from.”

“Of course,” you say, humoring him. He’s just going to keep talking whether you answer or not, so you might as well answer.

“If you wake up at six-thirty, it’s obscenely early. No one in their right mind should be up prior to eight o’clock.” He speaks as if you should be keeping notes. Perhaps you should. “If you’re still up at six-thirty, then by god you’re up obscenely late. Insomnia is a dangerous thing for the human mind, James.”

“Of course,” you reply, simply, not mentioning that it’s six-thirty in the morning on his third day without sleep.