the rouged-corpse look of late-stage detox — "He has been watching the air…"
He has been watching the air conditioner all day. His face produces the little smiles and grimaces of a person who’s being thoroughly entertained.
Context
The roommate as a preview of the disease's terminus: the rouged-corpse flush of late-stage alcoholic detox, the hepatitis-yellow beneath it, and a man who spends the entire day raptly turning the air-conditioner dial, thoroughly entertained by gushing vents. The bottom looks, from here, like a mind with nothing left to want but the smallest available stimulation.