"Why are you constipated?" asked the old man.
"Sorry," I said, "I don't like vegetables, fiber, oatmeal, salads, or anything green."
I could not believe I was telling Gilbert my deepest darkest secrets. Still, Gilbert had always been there for me. Sure, he was so much older than me, but the old man listened to me and never criticized me.
The old man shrugged his shoulders. He laughed. I tried to move my arm, but it was in a sling. The night shift was much more dangerous than I had ever imagined.
"My doctor says I need to eat more fiber," said Gilbert.
I looked at Gilbert. Even though he had no hair and he had a lot of sun spots, Gilbert was not overweight or decrepit. In fact, Gilbert seemed to move along quite well for a retired person.
"Do you?" I asked.
Once more, the old man shrugged his shoulders. Then, he patted his flat stomach.
"I eat so much fiber," said Gilbert, "I'm always in the bathroom."
I nodded my head. Ever since I had known him, Gilbert was always going to the bathroom. Since I didn't have a whole lot of friends, I often found myself chauffeuring the old man to his appointments whenever I was not at work. Since I worked the night shift, it was hard to have a decent social life like most other young guys.
"It keeps the weight off me," said Gilbert.
Gilbert smiled and I wondered if that was the reason the old man seemed to be in such great shape. It was then that I remembered what my own doctor had recommended to me. Sheepishly, I pulled out the prescription bag from my jeans pocket. It was crumped beyond recognition, but the old man was not easily fooled.
"Medicine?" asked Gilbert.
I nodded.
"What's wrong?" asked Gilbert.
That was when I pulled out the suppositories. The doctor had recommended some laxatives, but the doctor knew how much I hated to swallow pills. Quickly, I gave Gilbert a quick explanation of how it boiled down to using a suppository.
"Do use these?" I asked.
"No," said Gilbert, "But how are you going to use those with your arm in a cast?"
I shrugged my shoulders. I guess I had to go back home and have my mother help me.
"I don't know," I said.
"Do you need help?" asked Gilbert.
I grimaced.
"I can't ask you to do that," I said.
"Don't be silly," said Gilbert, "You would do the same thing for me."
I looked at Gilbert with amazement. Truth be told, there was no way I would do that for him. Still, the old man was ushering me to his bathroom. Within minutes, my pants were down and I groaned as the old man slid one of the suppositories into my tight anus.
"Done," said Gilbert triumphantly.
At that, Gilbert washed his hands. I pulled up my pants. I was not sure whether my wounded pride was hurt more than my newly violated sphincter.
"Sorry," said Gilbert, "Haven't you done this before?"
"No," I said.
"Well, I'll grease it up next time," said Gilbert, "You should have said something."
The next day, I came to see Gilbert once again. We talked about stuff before the old man popped the question.
"Did you bring the suppository?" asked Gilbert.
I blushed. I was trying find an easy way to bring up the subject, but it was hard to fool Gilbert.
"How did you guess?" I asked.
The old man got up and ushered me into this tiny bathroom.
"Do you want me to grease you up first?" asked Gilbert.
"With what?" I asked.
"Petroleum jelly," asked Gilbert.
"My mom uses that on her lips," I said.