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"I can see that I'm not going to get any further with you today than any other time, so I will drop the subject."
He stood up and went to his desk. "I have a couple of articles I would like you to read for next week."
I took the
file he offered me. There were the usual psych journal articles, mixed in with a couple of exercises for sleep. "Thanks.
I'll go over them this weekend."
"Good. Now, Nicolas, have a good week and I will see you next Thursday. And please,
try not to be late." He opened the door to his office and I stood up from the bench. As I walked by him he took my hand
and shook it firmly. "Nicolas, time is running out. Do the right thing."
"I'll think about it. See you." I walked
out of his house and to my car. While I was driving home, I went over the session in my head. I didn't go to Dr. Woon for
help so much anymore, but more for reassurance. It's hard to explain, but he's been the most solid person in my life - I've
known him since childhood and he's still there. I know I pay him to talk to me, but it's still nice to know that he's there.
He could have told me that I was 'cured' years ago, but I think he knows what he does for me. I'm not on the verge of cracking
up or anything, but he knows I need an outlet and guidance from someone who's older, like a father-figure.
I pulled
into my driveway and went inside. I noticed the box for the scavenger hunt sitting on the kitchen table and went over to
look at it a little more closely. I don't know what I was expecting to find - some kind of clue that would have explained
what the hell was going on. As I was putting it back on the table, the phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Could I speak
to Nicolas, please?"
"Um, yes. Who is this?"
"Oh, Nic, it's Bri."
"Hey. Hi."
"Hi. Um, I just
wanted to call and thank you for lunch today."
"Well, it was nothing." I took the phone into the living room and laid
down on the couch. "I mean, it was a free meal and everything."
"Yeah, I know. But it was nice meeting you."
"You,
too."
"Um, I wanted to say sorry about not telling you about Jayme before..."
"Oh. It's... ah... no problem."
It wasn't a big problem, but it was one that would hang around the fringes of my mind everytime I talked to Bri.
"That's
good. Listen - about tomorrow."
"Yeah?"
"Are you excited?"
"Not really. I'm really curious, more than
anything. I just want to know what the hell is going on."
"I've talked to Jayme about this - sorry..."
"So
have I."
"Oh. She didn't tell me that."
"Last night she called me at three in the morning to tell me."
"Really?
That doesn't sound like her."
"She was just worried and paranoid. I have no idea why she called me, but she did."
"She
must have called me right after. But we're convinced this is some kind of wierd reality show-type thing that the town's putting
on."
"You think the town's putting this on? How long have you lived here?"
"My whole life. Why?"
"I've
lived here for almost 10 years - which is quite a bit less than you have - and I know there is no way the town can be doing
this." I heard Mickey's truck pull into his driveway and looked at the clock - he was off early from work. Whenever he got
off early from work it could only mean one thing - he'd done something to really piss off his boss.
"But someone's
behind it."
"Of course. Look, Bri. I gotta go. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" I stood up and saw Mickey stomping
across my lawn to my front door.
"Sure. See you then." She hung up and I went over to the door and opened it before
he had a chance to reach for the doorknob.
"Hey." He pushed past me into the hall.
"What's up?" I closed the
door and threw the phone onto the couch.
"So, I got fired today." He stood in front of me with his hands on his
hips and a very dark look on his face.
"What the hell did you do?" I went past him into the kitchen to get him a beer.
"Nothing. That's the problem. You know how I get picked on all the time because of this...?" He waved his hand
over his small stature. I knew all too well how much he got picked on - but he did stand up for himself, which is a credit
to him. "Well, today, I just had it. But I didn't do anything like I usually do."
"Usually do?" I handed him his
beer and he sat down on a chair.
"Yeah, practical joke stuff. This time, I just ripped into the guy. I just let him
have it."
"You yelled at him?"
"Yep. Felt pretty damn good, too. But I guess I did it to the wrong guy, because
right after lunch I got canned."
"That's fucking ridiculous!"
"Yeah. I know. And you fell for it!!!" He was
doubled over, laughing at me.
"What?" I stepped closer to him and he cowered in his chair a bit, still laughing.
"That's
the funniest expression I've seen on your face for a long time, man." He stood up and put his hand on my shoulder. "Yep,
buddy, I can still pull them over on you."
"Yeah, well..." I started laughing, realizing how stupid I must be to fall
for something like this. Mickey was a valuable worker for the company he was with. He was never late, showed respect to
the right people, got along with his co-workers and did his job. They loved him so much they offered him a percentage in
the company the previous summer. It was only a few percent, but it meant something to him, to have a stake in what he does
for a living, not just a paycheck.
"Geez, Nic. Woo..." He sat back down and I sat across from him on the couch.
He wiped his eyes. "How was your date today, by the way?"
"Not bad, I guess. I mean, she's a nice girl and all that,
but I don't know about the whole her-and-Jayme thing."
"Fuck man, just forget about it."
"I'm trying."
"Did
you talk to Ian about it?"
"Yeah. Dr. Woon..."
"You still call him Dr. Woon?"
"Yes, he's my doctor.
Anyway, he didn't say much about it, probably because I didn't tell him much outside of the fact that I had lunch with Bri
and that she's friends with Jayme."
"Oh. So no help from the Doc either, eh?"
"Nope."
"Shit, man. And
Jayme's part of this scavenger hunt thing, too?"
"Yep."
"Wouldn't it be funny if the two of you were paired
together?" He giggled to himself and quickly stopped when he saw the look on my face. "Well, maybe not funny, but it'd be...
um... different?"
"Different isn't quite the word I had in mind. Disasterous, horrendous, terrible... I hadn't really
thought about the possibility of Jayme and I being put together. I just kind of assumed that it would be you and I. But if
they're putting us together, I could get anyone."
"Like Jayme."
"Or Bri."
"The chick from lunch? She's
in this, too?"
"Yep. So there's a good chance I'm going to end up with someone I know."
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