CHAPTER 58 - LET’S RUMBLE

MICHAEL’S APARTMENT - TUESDAY AFTERNOON

MICHAEL

I am pacing as I am so furious! He lied to me! I’m debating when to call him out on that. But then my stomach grumbles and I decide to head to the diner.

DINER - TWENTY MINUTES LATER

MICHAEL

Oh you have to be fucking kidding me! David is here! Looking very cosy with Ma! I walk up as calmly as I can so I can overhear their conversation. “So any of these ones right?” He asks.

“Yes honey, I’m pretty sure he doesn’t have any of those.”

“Hello you two, you look cosy!” I chirp and David looks up and smiles. “How was Boston?” I ask.

“Cold and dull. How are you? How was your weekend?”

“Went to the gym and stuff like that. What are you doing here anyway? Bit out of the way for you isn’t it? Thought you didn't like the diner much.” I sneer the last bit.

“Michael…” Ma frowns.

“I could've joined you for lunch.” I talk over her and stare hard at David. “It would've been nice to have been asked.”

“I’m not staying long enough for lunch. I just wanted to ask your mother something about Gus…”

“That you couldn't or wouldn't ask me?”

“Michael…” Ma tries again.

“Are you trying to start a fight? If so could you come around this evening and we have it there? Because I have to go back to work now.”

“Where did you really go?”

“Boston, like I said. Why?”

“Not this weekend, that you were least honest about, I meant last Monday. You lied about where you went.”

“When?”

“In the afternoon, you didn’t go to the library be…”

“It was closed, so I went back to the hospital and did some of my patient reports instead. Thanks for the tips Debs. Michael if you want to continue whatever this is, can you come around before seven?” With that he turns heel and stalks out.

“What the hell was that about?” Ma demands.

“This is between me and David, Ma, when I need your help or advice I’ll ask you.”

“Fine!” She snaps back and storms back behind the counter.

FRANC’S BUNGALOW - LATE AFTERNOON

KITCHEN

MARKUS

Its official, my girlfriend is wonderful! I am currently watching her plate up a Rueben with pickles on the side. I happened to mention that I had never had one and et voila she whips one up for me.

“Oh so good!” I groan after a mouthful. “Sorry but not sharing.” I pull the plate closer.

“Be like that!” She laughs making one for herself. “Oh heads up, when we see Michael on Saturday, David was working on your hip last Monday morning at…”

“He was working on my hip.” I mumble and eye her sandwich suspiciously, it looks different.

“Yes but not at seven he wasn’t.” She catches my glance and smiles. “Gruyere in yours and Emmenthal in mine with extra chillies. And like you not sharing.”

“Why are we adjusting the time?” I start to inch her plate closer while her back is to me.

“Put it back where it was and there’d best be no bite marks.” She calls over her shoulder.

“How’d...never mind. Why again?”

“He wanted a lie in, so got up to drop Michael off before going back to bed. Saying he was meeting us earlier meant there was no hiss fitting.”

“Why not just dump the guy and get it over with?”

“No idea. But am getting the impression from the titbits going round the family, well Debs, that he’s on the cusp.”

“Ouch!” I yelp as she smacks my hand with the spatula when I try to pull the corned beef out of her sandwich. “That hurt!

“It was supposed to!” She scoffs and moves further down the counter to eat her Rueben without any further assistance from me. Ten minutes later, I have one like hers on my plate. I love that woman!

DAVID’S CONDO - EARLY EVENING

LOUNGE

DAVID

He uses his key to come in and I try to keep a lid on it when he slams the door.

“David!” He calls sharply.

“Lounge.”

He stomps in and stands in front of me with his arms folded. “Well...want to finish?” I sigh.

“Yet again you embarrassed me and still think you’ve done nothing wrong?!” He snaps throwing the keys on the sofa.

“When did I embarrass you? You were the one behaving like a member of the Spanish Inquisition!”

“Think about what you said before you stormed out…” He protests. Again forgetting his part.

“Think of the reason I said it!” I snap back and he looks surprised. “So what’s the cause of the drama this time?”

“Dram...is everything a joke to you? You think my feelings are funny? To be discounted!”

I take a deep breath. “Nothing is remotely amusing about the way you are behaving Michael!”

“I don’t know where I stand!” He yells at me.

“Right now you’re in my lounge behaving like a two year old!” I retort.

“There you go again, everything is yours, and nothing is mine!”

“Of course everything is mine in here, it’s my condo!” I stand up to get a drink. “Why did you ask me about the library? Were you checking up on me? If so, why?”

He looks completely thrown by the question. “I wanted to know where you were.”

“But why are you suddenly acting like a jealous housewife?” I glare at him.

“At least as a housewife I would get to stay here more! Have more of my things here! I can’t even hang stuff in your wardrobe!”

“Some of your things are here! Who said you can’t put stuff in the wardrobe?” I frown at him wondering what the fuck he’s talking about.

“A toothbrush and some toiletries, it is so paltry, so meagre I might as well take them home every Monday! And you have by your actions! You’ve made it clear that you don’t want me here…”

“Yet here you are!” I snipe.

“See! There! That tone! And what were you asking my mother about Gus that you couldn’t ask me?!”

“What to buy him for a birthday present!”

He looks a little taken aback. “So why didn’t you ask me?”

“Because you don’t seem to have much interest in Gus. I tried to ask Brian or Justin but they’re in Chicago. And I didn’t have Mel or Leda’s numbers, but Debs has given them to me now.”

“Why do you have Brian’s number?” He regards me suspiciously clearly oblivious to his actions. “How do you know he’s in Chicago and what do you mean no interest in Gus? He’s my nephew!”

“I shall answer those in order. I have Brian and Justin’s numbers because they gave them to me at the picnic. I know he’s in Chicago because when I rang him to ask about the present that’s where he told me they were. You barely acknowledge him when he’s in the room; he’s not your nephew, he’s your friends’ son.”

He opens his mouth and then closes it again. “So what are we getting him?”

We? Is he fucking...oh its go time! In every sense of the word!

“We are not getting him anything!” I walk over to the sofa and pick up the keys. “I am getting Gus a present from me! You get him whatever you want. But not a comic!”

He goes red and then curls his lip at me. “How do you propose to get it to him? Since you won’t be at the party. I will obviously give your apol…”

“I will be at the party Michael. Who the fuck…”

“No you won’t! They are my friends and family and besides the invite was to the both of us!”

“Check yours again! I got my own invite from Gus and I also got an invite from Randolph, so I will be there. Now, since we are obviously done in this, pack your meagre things and go and be an infant at your place! You clearly have too much time on your hands Michael if all you can do all day is imagine slights and subterfuge!”

He storms upstairs and I follow, when he reaches the bathroom he glares at me in the mirror.

“Trust me, I’m only taking my meagre things! I have no intention of coming back and being treated like this!” He pulls out his phone and calls for a cab. “Five minutes. Great.” He looks at me coldly. “Let’s try and be civilised on Saturday! We wouldn’t want to ruin anybody’s fun would we?” He sneers.

“Michael, wait…”

“No David! I’m done, I didn’t imagine the slights you said them and you showed them. I hope you treat the next man you’re with a lot kinder.”

“But Michael…”

“Goodbye David.” He wrenches open the door and storms out.

“You’ll be back Michael!” I shout.

“No I really won’t! You’re not the only man in town!” He snipes and runs down the hill to get his cab.

“But I’m the only man in town who has your door key!” I laugh to myself,

After 10 minutes I decide to the grown up in this again and call him a few times. Naturally, he’s still being a child and not picking up. I decide to call the diner...

OUTSIDE MICHAEL’S APARTMENT - AN HOUR LATER

MICHAEL

I am now coming down from my rightful indignation and it hits me that we have split up. I feel proud of myself for standing up to him. He was a fucking snob of the worst kind! I have ignored his calls since I got in the cab, it’s going to take a lot of begging and change for us to reconnect!

My stomach grumbles and I decide to hit the diner before calling it a night.

DINER

RODNEY

I stare at Debs in disbelief and am about to ask if she’s sure when the man of the hour comes in looking pleased with himself. He bounces over looking like the cat who got the cream...but little does he know how sour the taste is going to be.

“Hi Ma, Uncle Rodney, guess what?” He sits down put his bag under the table.

“David dumped you. You left your keys behind when you threw them on the sofa after finishing the row you started earlier.” Debs replies rubbing her temple. “He’s sending them round in a taxi. And because you were being such a brat and ignoring his calls, you will pay for it.”

His jaw drops and then he rummages through his pockets before groaning. “So that’s why he said I’d be back… Wait! I dumped him he didn’t dump me!” He protests. “He was treating me like a mere chattel and…”

“What?” Debs demands. “Go on try and justify your behaviour to me. He’s a decent man who…”

“Wouldn’t let me have anything in his house. Didn’t like me...”

“How dare he want things in his home the way he wants it? How dare he have free will? But more importantly, how dare you uninvite him from a party that’s not even yours?! How were you going to explain his absence to Gus?”

“He’s been telling tales I see…” He protests.

“Michael, you lost a good man because you were an ass. The cab will be here in 20 minutes.” Debs sighs and gets up to serve a rather fetchingly attired leather queen.

“Aren’t you even going to ask for my side of the story?” He calls after her.

“No!” She retorts.

“Well good evening to you Michael, I’ve got a good man of my own to look after.”

“Oh gross!” He shudders.

“At least I’m getting some, which is more than I can say for you!”

MICHAEL

I have a man thank you Rodney, he’s just not ready yet!

KINNETIC - THURSDAY AFTERNOON

TED’S OFFICE

TED

Seriously the man has the golden touch! Another client has jumped ship from VanGuard and come our way! Vance has been here every day since PlexiGlass Foundation signed on the dotted line. He’s haemorrhaging clients left, right and centre and now he’s come cap in hand to try and persuade Brian to persuade Franc to sell the shares back to him.

Brian, of course, has no intention of doing that. He wants those shares for himself. Franc is waiting for Libierwize Pharmaceuticals to jump and then they are his!

“Ted, shall I send him in now?” Caroline asks grinning.

“Yeah why not, it'll will pass the time.” I grin back. Ever since she came over from VanGuard he’s tried twice to get an NDA against her retrospectively and he was laughed out of the room by his own attorney!

“Mr Vance for you Mr Schmidt.”

He looks worn out and frustrated. “Kinney still out of state?”

“Mr Kinney is currently out on business yes, but will be returning tomorrow. As I said, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and…”

“You’re enjoying this aren’t you?” He sighs crossly.

“Of course I am!” I laugh. “You treated Brian and Caroline abominably and now you have to come to him to keep yourself afloat. He’s got over 65% of the market share of Pittsburgh’s advertising alone. We’re ever increasing and you’re not. How many of your top of the shelf clients remain with you? You know we’ve signed Shickel’s Pickles on the recommendation of Seabird?”

“Is he trying to destroy me?” He grouses pulling at his tie in frustration.

“Weren’t you trying to destroy him?” I retort.

“I was protecting my client. And…”

“Of course you were. Now unless you want anything else then…”

“Sorry to interrupt you Ted.” Caroline pokes her head in. “But I have Klaus Reinhard, President of Libierwize Pharmaceuticals on line 1 for you.”

Vance goes pale and a sheen of sweat coats his head. “Well excuse me Mr Vance I have to take this call. We can have a coffee waiting for you if you let us know when you are coming tomorrow.”

He glares at me and storms out. “Caroline, that was very naughty...funny but naughty.”

“No seriously he’s on line 1!”

“Fuck!”

THE CORK VIEW FACTORY LOFTS - FRIDAY LUNCHTIME

VERI AND RUPERT’S LOFT

RAYMOND

This is a very nice place, very nice indeed.

“...Raymond are you listening?” Veri demands and I fight not to sneer at her.

“Of course I am. I won’t ruin anything for grandfather. But who is the person he’s taken up with?”

“That’s for him to tell you if he wishes. Now unpack your things you must be tired after such a long trip.”

“Wait…you mean I’m sharing with you?” I must have looked horrified as she is smirking.

“Oh yes, we have absolutely no intention of letting you out of our sight.” Dad declares as he pockets my passport.