"Where?" Matthew and Mike enquired together. They looked at her as if she was about to give them a shock any second.
"Where do you want to go?" Mike asked her again, this time in a friendlier tone.
She saw that characteristic twinkle in their eyes.
‘What is wrong with you guys?’ She thought. ‘I am only a woman, weak and vulnerable at the moment. Not that I can't break your necks. You have taken care of it and I was a very diligent student in this matter, but not in that state. It's hard to concentrate, let alone any physical exertion…’
Matthew pressed her shoulders against the sofa and he wasn’t gentle compared to when Mike was holding her hand with the drip. Both of them knew that she could be unpredictable. If they pissed her off, they could easily have black eyes. They couldn't afford it. Both of them had to go to work.
"Baby, think of your magnificent body. I'm sure you don't want to have more bruises." Matthew didn't know how to convince her. He couldn't come up with any meaningful argument. He knew that she absolutely didn't care about her appearance. It has always been more important who she was and what she represented herself as. Another moment and he will end up with a lime. He was sure about it.
"Jo... " Mike came up with an intention to help. "You are seriously sick. Your body is rebelling." He spoke slowly, knowing that Matthew had an important trial in court the next day. He was going only to the private clinic so he could make an effort to go with a few bruises. That wouldn't hurt his reputation much.
"You are severely dehydrated. Plus you have a very high fever. It's dangerous, especially for your brain!" That argument was like hitting a bull's eye. She became paralysed for a moment as her brain tried to process everything.
"... But I have to catch my flight!" She almost cried.
"Yes, I know..." Matthew was trying to calm her down by gently stroking her head.
She was terrified of spending time with the two. A moment longer and her head would explode. She was able to deal with them, but only separately. These two together were an explosive mixture. Bloodshed was inevitable.
"You're not going!" Mike took the lead, finally losing his patience. "You have a sick leave until the end of this week! The note has been sent to your employer. Tomorrow morning, I am taking you to the hospital for more tests."
"I am not sick!" She muttered. "Guys, I am just drunk! I have to go to work. I have responsibilities, obligations, deadlines…"
"I already changed your reservation. The end of discussion!" Mike added. "Understand?"
"I returned your rented car to Hertz and brought your suitcases from Monica." Matthew reported. "I told her that you will spend a few days with me. Most of your clothes were dirty so I washed them too."
She was done for, she realized. They already thought of everything: the flight, the rented car, her work, luggage, even Monica.
‘Only, who is going to finish my work? Who will conduct the training? Damn... work can wait. Someone will take over my responsibilities… but…how am I going to survive a few days with these two?’ Jo was really exhausted and thus, she closed her eyes to give her racing mind a rest.
The familiar music and well-known lyrics woke her up. "End of passion play, crumbling away; I'm your source of self-destruction; Veins that pump with fear, sucking darkest clear; Leading on your death's construction…"
"Turn that off! Pleaaasseee…" She screamed.
"You don't like the track of our favourite band. That can’t be the case." She could hear the sarcasm in Mike's words who was sitting on the armchair next to the sofa, still holding the drip.
He turned the volume up. The characteristic guitar riffs and Hetfield's vocals reminded her of many painful memories.
"Master of puppets, I'm pulling your strings; Twisting your mind and smashing your dreams; Blinded by me, you can't see a thing; Just call my name, 'cause I'll hear you scream…"
"Does torturing me give you satisfaction? Mike, I always knew you were a fucking sadist! Nothing new!"
"Ooo… Does it still hurt? You are sensible, Jo! I didn't know that side of you, but it's probably just because of a high fever."
"Stop!!! I announce an armistice!" Matthew came back to the living room. "Shut up guys!"
He turned off the music and took the remote control from Mike's hand. He knew that if he won't change the subject immediately, there would be a real war with loss and bloodshed. If they start, he won't be able to stop them. He did not want to listen to their ills and turbulence of their stormy relationship once again.
Matthew truly loved them both. They shared the most wonderful moments of youth, spent together, so he didn't want to expose the wounds of the past once again. It was enough that Thomas tortured them the day before yesterday; he still hadn't picked himself up after it. He was still thinking about the conversation they had that night.
"The dinner is ready! Let's go eat." He said.
"What's wrong with you bro?" A confused Mike asked. "Where is the perfectly set table? Where are the candles?"
"Today's dinner will be served in the kitchen! Jo, will you join us? There are no smells, the ventilation is perfect, so if you cannot eat, just sit down with us."
"Is that dead body able to even get up?" Mike was sarcastic as he roughly pulled out the cannula from the back of her hand.
"Am I only a body to you?" Jo said. "Thanks friend..."
"Today you are my patient. I am a professional in every way. No offense." He stated with a poker face.
"Jo, could you?" Mike repeated his question. "I can see an improvement, you look better. How do you feel?”
"I slept again. I think my fever is gone..."
She got up slowly and picked up the white bathrobe from the sofa to put it on and the next second, she almost fell over. Fortunately, Mike caught her in time.
"I should check your blood pressure. Are you dizzy?" He asked in a gentle tone. He was so angry with her but at the end he knew that she was not well. He spent four hours with her watching the two bottles of glucose being administered in her body.
Without anymore words being exchanged, he slowly led her to the kitchen and sat her down on a stool. "Are you sure you can make it?"
"Yes. I want to stay with you, guys."
Jo truly liked the time she spent with Matthew at the table. Maybe another story could be learned from him. Each and every meal, be it a fancy dish or a simple quick whip-up, prepared by him was the most delicious and exquisite to her. For years, all of her friends, though joked amongst each other but still agreed that even a mere French toast made by him had a unique character and could be served to the crowned head.
The white kitchen table was perfectly set for three people. Every detail looked polished to excellence. Jo loved the contrast between the table: grey placemats under white plates and bright grey napkins accompanying them. In the middle, it was like a full-fledged feast had been arranged with all kinds of stuff like salmon, potatoes, green asparagus and spinach."Wild Atlantic salmon and organic vegetables. All steamed. No fat. No oil. No salt." Matthew informed. "Jo, try something. The food is light. I also have some steamed whole grain rice, if you prefer some.""Where is my favourite white wine?" She asked looking around the table."Nooo… She looks like a ghost from a dark horror movie and still asks about Chardonnay!" Mike was really frustrated."Why Chardonnay? It doesn't go nicely with this meal! I was thinking more like Sauvignon Blanc or Riesling, something more suitable for fish. And who said that I will drink it?" As Jo was speaking, she s
The rays of the summer sun streamed into the bedroom through the open window blinds. Jo woke up just before 6.00 am as she felt some warm light on her face. It was an amazing feeling to wake up without the after-effects of a great night with alcohol: a pounding headache, but most importantly, no burning sensation or stomach discomfort and nausea. She felt refreshed. "No more parties! No more alcohol! No more madness!" She decided.She could already hear some noise in the apartment which, she was certain, was coming from the kitchen. She heard the clinking of cutlery and dishes; she could feel the delicate aroma of freshly brewed coffee tingling her nose.Matthew didn't drink it in the morning so probably Mike was already here. She didn't want to see him. That wasn't a secret. So why was he here so early in the morning?Jo didn't feel sorry for him regarding what had happened years ago. She didn't blame him or herself. Why would she? They were not perfect h
As Jo entered the kitchen, she felt consternation. In the background, she heard the Zimmers' music score from The Dark Knight. That moment she knew for sure they were playing with her. That was the sophisticated game they've been playing for years: a game of words, music, lyrics and gestures. They expected her to be the foreground character so she would play along as they wished.She didn't mind their way of playing. She was good at it too. The only thing that surprised her was that they didn't take into account that she really felt bad. Today she should have been fasting because of the tests and visit to the hospital, but judging by the smell throughout the apartment, the two had prepared her favourite breakfast. Were these two friends of the seven sorrows so ruthless?"Good morning my handsome, heartless heroes!" She smiled.
More than a reset, Jo needed a proper rest. Right after graduating from university, she moved away, far from everyone she knew. She lived in a completely unknown environment and started everything from scratch. All she had achieved so far was due to her determination and hard work. She was very proud of herself but she had been working so hard over the past few years. She couldn't remember the last time she had allowed herself to a moment of weakness. When she had a cold or even pharyngitis or bronchitis, she continued to go to work unless she had a high fever and couldn't get out of bed, in which case she stayed home. Immediately after graduation, she had joined the corporate "rat race” in which she lost herself for several years, but that was the reality of the labour market when she finished university. There was no other choice. If you wanted a job, you h
She still couldn't believe that she was sitting on the plane and in less than three hours, she would be in her beloved Paris. Despite the fact that it was not so far away, due to her life plan being jam-packed to the limit, she could not pay the visit there earlier.She had to fall ill to have free time. In addition, friends had to use a trick to make her forget about work. It was really pathetic when she thought about what had happened to her life. There hadn’t been even a hint of spontaneity in the recent years.What happened to her? She became the person she swore not to be. Has she grown up? Is this what the life of mature people is like?Everything in her life had to be carefully planned. At work, she had a plan for any unanticipated situation. Seemingly impossible, but it was so. Working in public
They walked all the way from Rue du Bac and the D'Orsay Museum to the Notre Dame Cathedral, on the southern side of the Seine. The weather was absolutely stunning. A gentle breeze was blowing so they did not feel the heat.There were a lot of souvenir stalls, painters selling their paintings, various types of artists, musicians, dancers and mimes performing along the shore. Jo took a lot of photos, as usual.Matthew was very exhausted, but he didn't want to tell her. She looked radiant, and it seemed like her smile did not want to leave her face even for a moment. That was an extremely rare sight for him to admire.At that moment, he felt as if she was so happy, then he could be too. He just had to find a way to sit, even for a few minutes. He hadn’t had a proper rest and sleep since the reunion of their team on Saturday. His body was desperately demanding a little downtime to get back up."Jo, it's almost lunch time. We should look for a nice
The loud sound of the phone ringing woke her from deep sleep. The ringtone was really annoying. It just kept ringing and ringing. When she woke up, it was so dark in the room that she didn't know where she was. She forgot that last evening she had tightly closed the shutters to make the bedroom completely dark and more quiet. It took her a long moment to realize where she was. Finally, she found the source of the sound that disturbed her nap.When she picked up the phone, she heard a well-known voice. It sounded lively and fresh, even quite irritating."Hi guys! How are you? What did you do yesterday? Nobody called me. What did you do last night?" All in one breath, Mike recited."Damn, Mike! It is half past six in the morning. What do you expect?" Jo had already found her mobile phone and checked the time and to say that she was furious would be an understatement."Is Matthew around? Could I talk to him?""No. You can't!"She really w
As soon as Jo and Matthew had their breakfast, they packed up and got ready for the late evening flight so they could spend the day out. The weather was amazing with the blue cloudless sky and a nice cold breeze."Matty, let's go to one of the most amazing places in Paris." Jo piped up as soon as they arrived at the Esplanade de la Defense station."Hm…" Matthew just muttered in agreement. He wouldn't consider that place as amazing. He wondered why she wanted to come here. For him, it was just a business district like Manhattan in New York or The City in London. There was nothing interesting among tall skyscrapers."That's our goal!" She said pointing in the direction of La Grande Arche de la Defense.On the way, Jo stopped many times to take some photos of original skyscrapers and several dozen modern sculptures by artists such as Calder, Miro, César from the station to the Grande Arche. She also showed him interesting reflections in the gl