A Bright Ray of Darkness

by Ethan Hawke

“Dad, I’m really worried about something.” He was seated in my lap, still with his Star Wars pajamas under his overcoat and boots. “Yeah, bud, what is it?” “I think I have a drinking problem,” he said. “Really?” I asked. “Yeah, I’ve been trying and trying but I just can’t stop. I drink in the mornings, in the afternoons. I have way more than two drinks a day.” “What are you drinking?” I asked. “You know, everything.” “Everything?” “Orange juice, mostly.” “There’s nothing wrong with that,” I said. “There isn’t?” “No.” “On TV, they said if you have more than two drinks a day, you have a problem. And I have way more than that, Dad, I really do.” “They’re talking about alcohol.” I laughed. “Oh,” he said, pausing for a moment. “What’s that?” “Like beer and wine, stuff like that. Champagne. You can have as much juice and water as you want.” He hugged me. I hugged him back. His sister leaned over next to us wondering what was wrong. We just smiled and hugged her, too. I wished all my problems could be like that, some giant misunderstanding.