margin-right:0in">“Yeah, because I drain all the blood. Good one, Buttons.” My painted-on smile fades a bit more each visit. Don’t get me wrong, he's a nice guy, but I’ve grown far more comfortable among the trees than socializing with people these days. The monotonous politics of navigating society just don’t have the same appeal as they used to.

We continue laughing on through a few more bad jokes until he pays me my “ransom money," and I’m free to scooter off into the night. Luckily, I don’t have far to go. Only a few buildings up is my favorite watering hole, Pandora. It’s nothing special during the day, but for a desperate man, she looks real good at night. Especially since there’s a parking spot right up fr...

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