How did the rest of Pride play out?
Me:
The cops were just here bc I found him trying to take my cat outside at 2AM, so I peeled his fingers from the leash and he threw me to the floor, and I can barely move bc he injured my neck/back.
Alice:
That’s absolutely not okay, and highly concerning.
Me:
Yeah. Well, my friend Jimmy called and introduced me to his friend, and she’s pretty cool. I think you’d like her. She’s talking sense. And she says she is a stripper, but that she isn’t very good at it, which is hilarious in my current state of sadness.
As if on cue, the moment the police left, my good friend Jimmy from DC called me. We have a weird connection, and he always seems to know when something’s up.
He and his friend Vanya were having a late night art session, and when I filled them in, they’d been concerned and caring, and managed to make me laugh, even though it hurt my neck.
Alice:
It’s pretty funny.
But I’m worried. He’s going to paralyze you.
Me:
Yeah, I’m worried about it too. I told his dad.
His dad didn’t go through an entire military career to get calls about how his son is hanging out with homeless men at the beach.
When I’d called Phil, he’d been calm as usual. “Well, I’ll give him a call and try to talk some sense into him,” he’d said. It did strike me that he didn’t really seem surprised or concerned, and he didn’t really ask me about my neck.
Alice:
Tell his dad to come get him.
My phone rings. It’s Phil, calling me back.
“Hey Margaux, it’s um, Phil,” he says, the way boomers sometimes identify themselves on the phone, as if their name doesn’t flash up when they call. This time, his voice is flat and hollow… dull. Defeated.
“Hi,” I say, bracing myself for the update.
“Well, uh, listen… I just spoke with Timmy, and he says he wants to go back to the apartment and sleep in the back room and move his things out tomorrow.”
“Okay. Thank you for the update.”
“You’re okay if he comes back to do that?”
I sigh. “Yeah, I guess. As long as he’s calm and doesn’t mess with any of my stuff. I can barely move because of what he did to my neck.”
Phil sighs too. “Yeah, listen… I, uh… I’m really sorry this is happening. I hope you feel better soon. Love you.”
“Love you,” I reply. “Have a good night.”
I fill Alice in.
Alice:
That’s what always happens.