“I’ll let you focus on clearing the house of our stuff and calling the moving company,” he says, ignoring my outburst. “Let’s say… Ten days. It seems reasonable. So you’ll handle the moving, and booking of the plane tickets and I’ll deal with the rest. I’ll find the new medical team there, I’ll find the house we’ll rent for a few months before we buy one…”
I frown as I interrupt. “I usually handle the medical staff.”
“I want to do it myself.”
There’s a long pause where neither of us talk and we just stare at each other.
“Why?”
A smile stretches his lips. “Well, not to criticize your skills in reading people, but Richard irks me and Giulia is always late…”
“What’s wrong with Richard?” I gasp with a frown.
“I feel like he talks more than he actually works. Not what I want from my physical therapist.”
“No he doesn’t,” I scoff, “he barely talks at all!”
“Right, that’s even worse,” he shakes his head. “Anyway, I’ll handle the medical care from now on.”
What is wrong with him today? Why is he casting me aside all of a sudden?
“Jack, I…”
“I’m a little tired,” he sighs before giving me a faint smile. “I’ll get to bed. We’ll talk tomorrow, and we’ll start planning.”
I stare at him, a little dumbfounded for a few seconds. He doesn’tmove, waiting for me to acknowledge his words. I want to insist we talk now so I can understand. But I don’t. I can’t fight with him. What if something happens and it’s our last interaction? What if we go to bed angry at each other and when I wake up he’s gone? So I nod in silence, a knot in my throat, and watch him wheel towards his bedroom.
4
A WORTHLESS MANWHORE
Jack: Just landed, waiting for the car to pick me up.
Jack: How’s the road?
Prudence: I’ve just stopped for the night.
Prudence: The hotel is nice, I think I’ll enjoy thespa.
Jack: You should.
Prudence: Are you sure about the address you sent me?
Prudence: It’s written as a private beach on the GPS.
Jack: It is. Private beach with houses. We’re in n°5.
Prudence: For fuck sakes Jack.
Prudence: For the record, I’m still upset. You are being completely irrational.
Jack: You mean ‘spontaneous’.
Jack: The car’s here. Call me when you leave tomorrow morning.
JACK
The driver is nice enough to understand that I’m not in a talking mood, and doesn’t try to push any conversation. It took me a hell of a long time to track down my old college roommate. Three whole months just to find him, and a lot of emails before he finally answered me.
