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“Michael, stop it, please, come back! I already miss you so much,” I leap forward and eagerly hug him.
“I miss you too,” he kisses my head warmly again. “Come on, let’s get dressed now and see what’s going on back on planet Earth.”
I quickly straighten my clothes and finish getting dressed.
“Your room is so lovely. It’s just my taste.”
“Is that so?” he laughs.
“Yes,” I reply embarrassedly. “Of course, it looks much more impressive here than it does in my house,” I add.
“You’ve got great taste,” he smiled and gives me a perfect wink.
As I try to take in all the furniture and my new surroundings, Avi interrupts my thoughts as he storms in with a stack of documents in hand. With an intimidating tone and unquestionable nervousness, he reaches his hand out to Michael and shakes the papers in front of him.
“Some of us get to have fun and others get nothing but headaches. I can’t do this anymore; I’m done with everything and everyone. I swear, I think I’m going mad!” he states. His face becomes glum and he seems so sad, frustrated and lonely. All I want to do right now is hug him; I don’t know why I feel that way, but something about this man completely throws me off. When we sat in front of each other on that day at the café, and he dared wipe away that tear with sheer confidence, I felt deeply unstable in front of him. He must not be aware of it, but when he spoke to me and tried to soothe me, I found myself trusting his voice and his words, and inexplicably doing what he had suggested. I tried to release myself from the ties I had weaved around myself; he unravels them and makes me face them. But now, he seemed so exposed, so hurt, and so desperate; all I want to do is embrace him.
“Is everything alright?” I mustered the courage to utter few words.
“Alright? Are you kidding me? he replied. “Is there anything that could be right in this world?” he says with a bitter voice and turns back to attend to his business.
“Probably not, but I’d still like to know if there’s anything I can do to help?”
He apprehends my sincere intentions and smiles at me slyly.
“Of course!” he surprises me. “Come with me!” He reaches his hand out and pulls me to his office. “There! Press on the activation button,” he instructs and points at the shredder. As I press the button, he gives me a diabolical laugh and forces himself to laugh.
“Now just watch how much you’ve helped me!” he states while he feeds the pages into the shredder and looks at me brightly as the pages are shredded and sliced into strips before my eyes.
“What are you doing? Are you insane? I swear, you’re absolutely unpredictable and insufferable!” Michael, who had followed us, says with an aggravated tone.
“I didn’t do anything wrong...” his expression is coy, and he opens his hands with feigned wonderment. He isn’t expecting any response. “There!” he announces, and disconnects several cables from different devices, pulls the sim card out of his cellphone and throws it to the trash. Then, he takes a black marker and blacks out all the documents on his desk.
“I finished working for the day,” he declares.
“You’re losing it!” Michael states seriously. “What’s wrong with you, bro, pull yourself together, please!”
He becomes withdrawn, shrouded with sadness, stifling his tears. He’s in desperate need of warmth, I think to myself. He quietly leaves the office, approaches the drawer in the kitchen cabinet, and pulls out a black metal box with joints. He takes one, pours himself a glass of whiskey from the bar, adds some ice cubes, stirs with his finger and then heads for the large yard.
“He drives me up the wall! I’m sorry for all that drama,” Michael immediately adds.
“Are you serious?” I answer firmly, “I actually really like Avi. But he seems quite upset. Maybe you should go talk to him. Don’t stop yourself on account of me,” I add, “just go.”
He smiles, grabs my hand and leads me to the yard.
“Boss,” he lets out a deep sigh. “Come on, come here and vent it all,” Michael lightly pats Avi’s shoulder, grabs the back of his neck, pulls his head to his chest and hugs him. “I love you so much, my bro.” He’s completely sincere. I’ve never witnessed such a relationship between two men. Avi is a significant part of Michael’s life. He loves him deeply, which is clearly evident from the hug he’s giving him and his eyes. It’s such a lovely and moving gesture. Avi frees himself from his embrace and his expression becomes grave.
“That’s it, it’s all lost. It’s the end.” He looks at Michael’s face. “What am I supposed to do, Michael? Do you have a solution for me?” He wipes a tear away.
“Avi, my pal,” Michael tries to console him.
Avi continues as if he hadn’t heard him.
“You know, this glass I’m holding in my hand right now, it’s whole, isn’t it?” He lifts it up and holds it under the rays of sun.
Michael rolls his eyes as if he knows what’s going to happen next. Then, he shatters the glass on the ledge of the pool. “Now it isn’t. It’s just, gone. In a mere moment,” he adds bitterly.
“Don’t look so scared,” Avi addresses me. “I’m crazy but harmless,” he lets out a bitter smile, keeps smoking, then passes the cigarette to Michael, then to me. We’re both very happy to join him and he slowly calms down. However, I can still sense his tumultuous and agonized soul.
