Bobby

Special thanks to the Estación Sudamerica Hostel in Taganga, Colombia where I got the inspiration for this story.

“What do you think of the new house?”, she asks me, “Isn’t it so cool? It’s so big. I’m so happy we finally moved here.” She turns over, kisses me on my cheek and then runs up the stairs. She giggles while running up the stairs. That’s how happy she is. But that’s Karen, always in a good mood and always a smile on her face. We’ve been together for 4 years now and married for two. Nice little ceremony in the mountains. And in all this time I’ve never seen her mad or upset. That’s why I fell in love with her in the first place. “Have you seen the chimney?”, I hear her yelling. I have no idea where she is. This house is way too big for me. Why did we move here? I liked the flat uptown more and as we’re not having any kids, such a big house seems unnecessary.”It’s only 100 K more”, she said, “You will regret it when you’re old.” We will see, my dear, we will see.

“Hey Jimmy, what do you think?” She walks up to me and takes my hand, her bright eyes are shining: “The movers won’t be here until 5 pm. Do you want to meet our neighbors?”

“Sure”, I say.

“Get a man who knows how to shut up my mum told me”, she laughs while she says that and drags me out of the front door.

This grass is so green. I think to myself. It seems so fake. I look around, to the other houses, and they all have such green fields.

Brrrt.

“That’s a weird bell ring. I bet they are dickheads.”

Puff. She hits me with her elbow in the stomach. It hurts. “Don’t say that, idiot. Be nice for once”, she scolds me.

We’re waiting. One minute. Two minutes. But nothing happens.

“Seems like nobody’s home”, Karen says. I turn around and see the car in the driveway. “But…” I bite back what I’m thinking. I turn back and see the curtains in the window waving.

Dickheads!

We leave again and walk up to the next house. On the porch sits an older man, about 80 maybe. He sits in a rocking chair, holds his beer in the hand and keeps staring at us while we walk up his yard.

“Hello, sir. We’re the Flickermans. We just moved here. I’m Karen and this is my lovely husband, Jimmy.”

“Emma!”, he yells into the house. “Emma, we got new neighbors.” His voice sounds rough. As if he were chain smoking and drinking all his life. He has a scar on his neck and a panther tattoo on his left forearm. He seems freshly shaved though. When I retire I’ll stop shaving and let it all grow. Enjoy the freedom.

The door opens and an old lady is standing opposite of us. She’s wearing a blue headscarf and a bright green dress. It does not fit at all. Together it seems as if she were blind and took whatever was in the closet. Probably because of her age. She seems a lot younger than him. Her voice sounds cracked yet nice. However, she looks like her good times are gone already. It takes two full minutes for her to walk down those three little steps to the front porch.

“How are you, kids?” She has an Eastern European accent. “Do you want to come inside? I just brewed a coffee.”

“We’d love to”, Karen says promptly.

“I’d rather have one of those beers if that’s ok.”

Karen turns around and gives me her ‘mad look’. It’s always funny when she does this as she can’t. Her eyes always smile. I look over to the old man, avoiding Karen’s look, asking him without saying anything. We’re both men, we don’t need words.

He looks back at me, not saying anything. Then he looks over to his wife, then he surveys Karen and finally turns back to me.

Then he just says: “Sure, boy. Sit down.”

His voice suddenly sounds nicer. It doesn’t sound as grumpy as it did earlier. It still sounds like a chain smoker but now it has that nice, melodic undertone which makes him seem … friendly.

Karen and Emma walk inside, the door falls into the lock and I sit down on a bench next to the old man. He grabs into his cooling box and hands me over a beer. Star. I’ve never heard of that brand before. I open the can with a loud zish and take a large sip.

Aaah. That’s good.

“So, James,” he says and looks straight at me “you let your wife do the talking?”

“No, not always but she’s nicer and therefore better with people.”

“I see. Oh, where are my manners. I’m Robert Wilson. You met my lovely wife Emma and this is our house.” He raises his arms while he’s saying this. Another tattoo gets visible on his biceps. I can’t determine what exactly it is but I’d say it’s an eagle.

“So. What brings you to this little town?”

“It was about time to move to a quieter place. The real estate market is flourishing so we decided to do the jump. And this home is significantly bigger than our old house.”

“A bun in the oven, eh?”

“Huh? No. We’re not having any kids.”

“But you will, right?”

“No. We decided against children.”

“Oh my god, son. You’re missing out on something. Having kids is pretty much the best thing that could have happened to me and the Mrs. I wouldn’t treat any of them.”

“How many do you have?”

“Four. Four beautiful and healthy children. And already three grandchildren. Bobby, the youngest, just came half a year ago.”

“Bobby?”

“Yes, they named him after me which is the best present a son can give you.”

He takes a large sip of his beer before he puts the can out of his hand, reaches for the cooler and takes out another one. Zish.

“Let me tell you one thing, James. Having kids is not to teach them about life but to grow together. Every time they are about to ask you something it’s a new challenge as you don’t know what’s coming towards you. It might be something easy like ‘Daddy, when is my birthday?’ or something you’ve never thought about like ‘Why does the water seem blue when it’s see through?’ Or sometimes they make you think about your own life. I remember when Philip, our oldest, asked me why he has to share his room with his brother but can’t share it with his sister. I tell you this, son. The innocent vision of a little child is the greatest experience you will make. If we didn’t lose that while growing up life would be so much better.”

He takes a deep breath.

“The best moment of being a father is when the doctor hands you for the very first time your own child. You look down to that beautiful, tiny human being and it fills all your body with this incredible feeling. It’s indescribable. It’s … it’s this … it’s joy, James. It’s pride. Luck. Love. It’s everything. And just because you did something right for the first time in your life. You walk over to your wife, who looks more beautiful than ever. Even more than on the day you met her. You give her a kiss and celebrate the little family you just founded. I thank God everyday that he made this possible and that he praised me three more times with this experience.”

“Isn’t only the first time really exciting?”

“Oh God no! It gets better and better. Especially when you can take your firstborn with into the hospital and share this experience. It’s all about sharing, James. I hope you know that.”

We keep on talking or better said he keeps on telling. He tells me about his children. How different boys from girls are.

“Girls are harder to raise, especially for me as a man, but they reward you with more love in the end.”

He tells me that his first son moved to Canada with his family and that they used to fish together. His son Philip loves nature and every holiday was a nightmare as he wanted to go camping all the time. His second and his third son opened together a garage downtown and his daughter moved to New York City. She now works as a lawyer. “I was so proud of my little girl.”

I don’t know for how long we’ve been talking, maybe an hour, until Karen comes out with Emma trampling behind her.

“You have a really beautiful house, Bobby”, Karen says.

“Thank you, darling.”

Then we say goodbye to each other, go back to our house.

The movers came so we start to unpack. Karen tells me the story of how Robert and Emma met but I’m barely listening. I’m still thinking about Robert’s stories with their children. Shall we get kids as well? I bet Karen would be a great mother but … I can’t.

After about three hours later we decide to call it a day and stop for now. We both take a shower and go to bed which is pretty much the only thing we managed to assemble.

I give Karen a kiss on her forehead to wish her a good night like every day and lay myself next to her. Tonight I have a weird dream about puppies.

One Day Later

It’s past midday already. Karen and I are putting all our furniture in our new home. She thinks it’s better to finish one room after another.

“Bullshit. It’s much better and faster to put in the big parts first and then the smaller parts.”

It turns into a huge argument which I don’t really understand why. It doesn’t really matter how you take in your stuff. In the end it will be the same. After about 20 minutes we both go to another rooms and do it our way. Luckily this house is so big our paths don’t cross.

I want to put the shelf on the wall when I realize I forgot the drill at my father’s last week. It takes too long to drive there now. Maybe Robert has one. I’m considering whether I shall tell Karen or not. But she’s upstairs and I don’t want to yell. So I just leave.

The car of the dickheads is still where it was yesterday. I walk past their house and straight to Robert’s. Again he sits in his rocker on the porch. And again with a beer in his hand which he raises to greet me.

“Are you still sitting here or again?”, I ask him and walk up the steps. He smiles and shakes his head.

“Hey, new guy. Are you done moving already?”

“No, not yet. That’s why I’m here actually. Do you have a drill that I could borrow?”

“Yes, of course.”

He puts down his beer and starts pushing himself out of the chair. It looks exhausting the way he does it. With a lot of moaning and breathing he eventually makes it out of his throne. He seems taller now that he’s standing in front of me. How tall might he be? 5’8″ maybe? Then he nearly runs around the house into his shed. I sit down on the bench and watch the street. A young girl, around twelve, is walking a dog. She’s walking on the other side of the street. She stops, turns over and then smiles and starts waving her full arm. I wave back at her and she continues walking.

Robert comes back with the drill and sits back down into his chair. Before he hands me the drilling machine he reaches for his beer which he almost spills.

He hands it to me and I thank him.

“Are you alright, son?”, he asks me.

“Yes. It’s just … me and Karen had a little row. That’s everything.”

“That’s everything? And you’re here and not talking to her? Apologizing?”

“But I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“That’s not the point, son. Let me tell you something. Here, be my guest.” He points on the cooler with the beer inside.

“How long have you been together?”

“About 4 years and 2 years married.”

“Quite a bit then. Me and the Mrs have been married for 50 years now.”

“50 years?”

“Oh yes. That’s a lot of time. A lot of time to talk about everything. A lot of time to argue but also a lot of time to learn and love each other. What I learned is that women don’t want an apology for what you did or said or even how you said it. Even when you were right. They know. Trust me, the know that you were right and they were wrong. But that’s not the point. What they want is an apology that you let it come to an argument.”

“What?” I have no idea what the old man is trying to tell me.

“Ok. So this is my theory, son. Women are more emotional, are more sensitive. They feel in a different way than we men do. They have more feelings and emotions than we do. They have emotions you don’t even know existed. But that’s a good thing. Otherwise we men wouldn’t care about what we care about. We wouldn’t have windshield wipers as one woman thought it was too dangerous to drive while it’s raining. We men probably would not have minded. And that’s good, James. And because of those feelings and emotions they are upset after an argument because it hurts them. It hurts that they got into an argument with someone they love. It may be you, a friend or a family member. Heck, even a pet. We men just get angry as it was an ‘unpleasant moment’. An un-nice feeling if you will. And that’s why they want an apology. Because you had an argument. No matter what it was about or how it ended but because you let it happen. They get in an emotional state during an argument and sometimes don’t even know what’s happening so they need you to keep a calm mind. To keep the situation under control.”

“I never thought about it that way.”

“Sometimes it helps to look at things in a different way, James.”

I only grunt. Not saying anything at all.

“How did you meet?”, he asks me after a few seconds.

I take a sip of my beer and start telling.

“We were at a party of a coworker of mine. He then introduced me to her. We went outside on the balcony, it was uptown where you could see the lights of the city and that’s when I first kissed her. A week later we went out together and this is how it started.”

He looks at me for a moment.

“I’m really sorry, James, but this story is awful.”

“What do you mean?”

“This is how you tell people how you met the love of your life?”

“Yes. I mean that’s how it was.”

“Fair enough. But what did you think? What did you feel? That’s what makes a good story. Do you want to hear how I met the Mrs?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“OK. It was after WWII. I was deployed in Germany and every Friday night me and my squad went out. It was great fun. One night we went into that one place I forgot the name. Something German. I never was a fan of it as they played really bad music usually. Anyhow, we took it in turns to buy beers. My friend Billy started. I remember because he told me there was a beautiful red haired waitress that night. Back then I had a favor for red-headed girls. Then it was my turn and of course I wanted to see that waitress. But what Billy didn’t tell me was that there was another girl. And that was her.”

He points into the house.

“That was my beautiful Emma. She had that long, curly, hazelnut colored hair. Every time she turned around her hair flew through the air. She was wearing a bright green dress which made her eyes shine brighter than any of the stars. I asked the red-haired girl to send over Emma. She asked me in German what I wanted and even though I couldn’t understand her, her voice sounded like a melody out of heaven. The voice of an angel. It was a busy night so we couldn’t talk a lot. I spent all my money in that club as I paid all the rounds that night just to see her and talk to her for a bit at least. But nothing happened. The weekend after that we went there again but Emma wasn’t there. I asked the red-haired girl who then told me that she had quit and works in another place. Unfortunately she didn’t know which one. So we went from club to club to see her again but without any luck. You have no idea how many shitty clubs I was in in Germany. I already lost hope. Eight months later, it was shortly before I was sent home, we went into the same place again. And believe it or not, there she was. I was so happy my heart really skipped a beat. This time she was not working there so we could actually talk to each other, shared a few drinks and danced together. Could you imagine me dancing? I couldn’t and still can’t. Look what this woman made me do even though I just met her. Though it was the best night I ever had, James. We then saw each other on a regular basis until we were a couple. Then 3 months later I had to go back. We were sending letters, lots of letters, to keep in touch. It was hard. For both of us. One year later, she finished college and came over. She moved in with me and another year later we married. And this is us ever since.”

“That is a nice story, Robert.”

“Thank you, son. It’s been great 50 years and I wish everyone to be as lucky as I was.”

“That would be nice”, I mumble and stare at my beer.

“Son?” I look up to Robert. “You should go back to your wife and apologize and tell her what you feel for her.” He points towards my house. My look follows his arm, goes back to my beer and back to our house. “You’re right” I say and stand up.

“Thank you, Robert.”

He just smiles and nods. I go back home. I open the door and hear her upstairs. So I walk up the stairs to find her in our bedroom.

“Where have you been?”, she asks me with sad eyes. I walk right up to her and take her hand.

“What?”, she asks.

“I love you Karen. I’m sorry we argued but you are the love of my life and I want you to know that. I love you more than the day we married.”

Before she can answer I kiss her. Passionately.

I lay my arm around her and we stroll towards the bed where we made love to each other.

One Week Later

It’s Saturday. Robert asked me to watch the game together and I said yes. The game starts in about 30 minutes so I’m leaving. We’re almost done unpacking, a couple of stuff weren’t delivered until yesterday so Karen still hangs some pictures or puts some flowers or other small things women do around the house.

“Have fun, honey. I’m trying to get done as much as possible until after the game. Oh and say hi to Emma and Robert from me.”

While I’m crossing the living room I remember how much I was against the olive curtains but now where I see them hanging I have to admit they do look nice.

I close the door and walk over to Robert’s. It’s the first time I see Mr Dickhead. He just left his car and spotted me. It seems as if he was walking faster now. I raise my hand and waive him. “Hello!” But he acts as if he didn’t hear me. What a dick.

Robert, as always, sits in his rocker on his porch. Next to him a second rocker. This one’s new..

“Hey Robert, how are you? What’s up with the second chair? Is one not enough for you anymore?” He laughs.

“I’m good thanks.” He reaches into his cooling box and throws over a beer. “This is for you my friend. I wanted you to sit comfortably.”

“Well, thank you but what for? The game starts in a couple of minutes.”

“Yes, that’s why I brought the second chair. I bought them for me and the Mrs but she doesn’t like to sit outside and so we put it on the attic. But you can have it.”

“But what about the game? Shouldn’t we go inside to watch it?” I’m clearly confused.

“Why should we? It’s a beautiful day. So we stay outside.” While he says that he pets a little orange-brown box next to him. I take a closer look, it’s a radio.

A little bit disappointed I sit down in the chair next to Robert.

“I thought we were watching the game.”

“Oh no. You know, James, my eyes are not the best anymore so we didn’t buy a new TV after the last one broke. We saved the money. But trust me this is at least as fun as with a TV.”

I have to laugh. My laughter couldn’t be more sarcastic.

A couple of minutes into the game the mail man comes which is quite late for the mail especially on a Saturday. He stops right in front of us. A little, chubby man gets out and walks toward us with some letters in his hands. He walks in a funny way as if he were wearing fins.

He’s about 30 feet away when he starts speaking with a very high pitch. His voice sounds as it never broke.

“Hello, Mishter Wilshon.”

“Hello, Jeremy. How are you today?”

“Good, shir. How are you?”

“I’m fine thanks. What do you have for me today?”

Jeremy sits down on the bench where I sat the last few times. He opens the first letter and starts reading it.

“Dear Mishter Wilshon. We are glad to inform you that we exstended our bushinesh and therefore can offer you a better shervice…”

“Traash”, interrupts him Robert.

Jeremy opens the next letter.

“Hello Daddy, I jusht wanted to shent you a picture of little Bobby’sh firsht shtep. I will call you Shaturday after the game to shee how you are doing. Love Philip. It’sh a cute picsture of your grandshon Mishter Wilshon.”

“Oh that’s nice. Isn’t that nice, James? Jeremy, hand it to the Mrs, would you? What else you got, son?”

“That wash it Mishter Wilshon. Not a lot today. There wash a broshure of a new clothing boutique but you don’t want the Mishesh to shee thish, right. Huehuehue.”

He laughs. He laughs in a really weird way. As if he had inhaled some helium right before. It hurts my ears.

“Oh by the way, Jeremy. This is James. He moved into 1244.”

“Oh Mishter Flickerman, right?” He reaches over with his hand for me to shake it. “It’sh a pleasure to meet you.” His cologne hardly covers his sweat smell.

“Jeremy, how was your week? Do you want to join us for the rest of the game?”

Oh please not.

“I’d really like to Mishter Wilshon but I can’t. I have to go home. I have a hot date tonight.”

What?! How can this guy have a date?

“Have fun, son. Tell me about it next week.”

“Will do Mishter Wilshon. Goodbye Mishter Flickermann, it wash nice to meet you.”

He gives me his hand one more time. I take it but don’t say anything. I try to smile but it feels fake.

Jeremy tramples back to his car, hops in and drives off.

“Hey James, don’t be so rude please.”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t give Jeremy such a hard time. He had some troubles in the past but he’s a good guy.”

I just nod and try to focus on the game again to change the subject. It’s way harder to do that with a radio than a TV.

“The thing is that another friend of mine, Juan, is coming over later as well. I want you to meet him.”

“Juan”, I mumble.

“Yes”, Robert says, “He’s from Mexico.”

Mexico. Again I’m mute. Robert also stops speaking. I can feel how he still looks at me. It’s gotten awkwardly silent and the only thing we hear is the commentator in the radio. Luckily a minute later our team scores and we are back in the game but I still feel bad a bit.

The game is over. Our team lost. Usually I wouldn’t mind as I’m not that big of a fan but today I feel sad. Robert pushes himself out of the chair. He goes into the house and yells for Emma. His chair is still swinging slowly.

While Robert is inside a young latino boy is walking up the yard. He’s about 14 years old, wearing a button-down shirt and red-green cap that says ‘Viva México’. He walks straight up to me and says “Buenos días, señor.” I don’t speak Spanish, boy.

“You are Juan?”

“Sí, señor.”

“You speak English?”

“Sí, señor.” He says that and has that evil smile as if he were making fun of me. I hate him already. Because of Robert I try to be nice. I try.

“So where are you from, kid?”

“Mexico-City, sir.”

“Mexico-City, huh. Quite far.”

“Sí señor. But my family moved here when I was two. So I grew up here, sir.”

“Hmm”.

We’re looking at each other without any words. This is not a nice silence like it was with Robert the first time I met him. This is an awkward silence where both can feel that at least one of them clearly doesn’t want to be here.

“Do you know if Robert is here, sir?”

“Inside.”

And the second I say that Robert comes back outside again, carrying two six packs. I wonder how he can carry them in his age.

“Let me help you, sir”, the kid says and jumps up the porch and takes the two six packs. I would have helped him but he seemed to got everything under control.

“You are already here, Juan. That’s nice. Thank you, son.”

Robert falls back into his chair. Juan puts the beer in the cooler, takes one out for Robert and one for me. Then he sits down on the bench.

“Juan, I see you already met my new friend James. He goes by Jimmy.”

Why did he say that? Yes, people call me Jimmy but I don’t want the kid to call me like that.

“Yes sir, we had a nice talk.” Lie!

“James, Juan once wrote an essay about WWII and came by to ask me some things about it. Tell him what you got, son?”

“An A, sir.”

“An A. Did you hear that? Now Juan helps me with some work around the house. You know James with my eyes and my back I’m not as flexible as I used to be. Thank you again, Juan.”

“You’re welcome, sir. I have to thank you for helping me with my essay.”

“Tell me son”, Robert continues, “How is school?”

Then they talk about school and how the system has changed when Robert was in school, me and now Juan. They talk about what Juan wants to be after school. A journalist. He liked interviewing Robert and now does this with other interesting people in the city. As if there were any.

“You should interview James”, Robert says jokingly. I smile but I’d rather not to and I think Juan also doesn’t want to.

“Oh, I’m not really interesting I fear.” That’s everything I say while I’m shaking with my hands.

The two keep talking about this and that and anything and everything. It feels more like a dialogue as I’m silent again. I’m not even listening anymore for what I feel miserable. I look at my watch. It’s only 4.40 pm. I finish my beer, put it down and stand up. Both of them look at me.

“Robert, I got to go. Karen needs some help with the dinner. Juan, it was nice to meet you.”

“Ok”, says Robert.

“It was nice to meet you, sir”, says Juan.

Then I walk down the porch and back home. I know that Robert knows that I lied but … but I had to go. Because? Because … I don’t even know why. That makes me feel even more miserable.

After a delicious dinner Karen made for us we’re watching TV. The news reporter is telling that three black kids were shot by a white officer and that he acted in self-defense. I don’t know how many times I heard this story before and so far it never bothered me but today, today it somehow is different. I can’t put my finger on it. Yet. I’m lost in my thoughts about Juan and Robert and that weird mailman. I already forgot his name. I can barely follow the plot of the movie we’re watching. Luckily Karen is not one of those girls that keeps asking questions all the time. I’m thinking how a homework from school turned out in a friendship between a teenager and a pensioner. Or with your mail man. You don’t have friendships with that kind of people.

Am I friends with Robert? I … don’t know. We are neighbors. We help each other out which doesn’t automatically makes us friends. I’m using this commercial break to go to bed. I kiss Karen on the forehead and go to bed.

But I can’t fall asleep. My thoughts are keeping me awake. The movie is over and I hear Karen coming into the bedroom.

“Are you ok, Jim? You never go to bed before me.”

But I pretend to be asleep. I love her and I know I can tell her everything. But I don’t want to right now.

“Jim?”, she asks one more time. “Ok, good night, honey.”

She turns off the light on her stand and goes sleeping. She falls asleep very quickly tonight. It maybe just feels like that as I can’t sleep at all.

It’s 2 am already and I still struggle to sleep.

Eventually I make it and sleep for only a couple of hours. Tonight I don’t dream anything.

One Month Later

It’s Thursday. Our boss gave us a half day so I’m already on my way home. Karen is still in the office. They got a new client who takes all their time. She’s been doing overtime the whole week. To surprise her I want to cook something. My specialty “the cheese surprise”. This is what I cooked for her on one of our first dates. She loved it.

I’m on my way to the superstore. The sun is shining bright today and the radio is playing the Hippy Hippy Shake which boosts my mood incredibly. I sing along even though I don’t know the lyrics.

While I’m striving through the aisles I come across a display with foreign beers. I can’t believe it but there it is. Star. The brand Robert always drinks. I didn’t even know it’s imported. I’m buying two six packs for him to say thanks for all the beers we had on his porch recently.

I’m driving home. Karen still isn’t there. I’m putting all the stuff in the fridge. I don’t want to cook it now and then she has to reheat it when she comes home. I send her a message to see when she’ll be home.

Until she answers I’m going over to Robert’s. As always he’s on his porch.

“Hey Robert. Look what I got for you.”

“Oh, thank god. I just had the last one. Hurry. Put them here so they stay cool.

“I just saw them on a display for foreign beer. I didn’t know it’s from abroad. Did you know that?”

“I did indeed my friend.”

“Do you know where it’s from?”

“Belgium.”

“Belgium?”

“Yes. That’s in Europe.”

“I know where Belgium is but why do you drink Belgian beer?”

“It’s a good beer. Don’t you like it?”

“Oh no I do. It’s good. It just doesn’t sound Belgian. Star. I mean that’s English.”

“Actually, Jimmy, that’s French.”

“What does it mean?”

“Oh, it’s the same word in French and English. So it means star.” He laughs. It’s a weird laugh. As if a kid makes his first successful prank.

We keep on talking a bit about Europe, how Robert enjoyed his time while he was in Germany. “One day I want to go to Rome. I never made it. One of my big wishes is to see the Colosseum.” We keep on talking about a lot of things, the weather, sports, cooking and somehow end up talking about Karen’s job and the new client they have.

“It bugs me Robert. She’s been doing overtime every day for the past 3 weeks now. She worked even last weekend. She needs a break.”

“This is a big opportunity for her. Imagine what that means to her and her career when she manages it.”

“I get this but still she’s working too much. I don’t think she can handle all this stress.”

“Hmm”. Robert doesn’t say anything. Maybe he also realizes that there is not a lot we can do for her right now.

We keep on talking a bit when suddenly a car comes along and turns in the driveway next to us. It’s the Dickheads. This, I think, is the first time that I see Mrs Dickhead. She has long, blond hair and glasses. She is wearing high heels and a tight, red dress. From over here she looks too beautiful for Mr Dickhead.

“Hey Robert, do you know what’s up with them?”

“With whom?”

“The neighbors between the two of us.”

“The Folgners?”

“Is that their name? Karen and I wanted to introduce ourselves but they didn’t open the door and whenever I say ‘hello’ they run away.”

“Oh, that’s not nice. I do not know much about him but she works for a fashion magazine. Don’t ask me what exactly she’s doing. They are really, really quiet. They’ve been living here for ten years and I never heard anything from over there. The more I’m happy that you moved here.”

“Why?”

“Now I got someone to talk to.”

“What about your wife?”

“Like I already told you. We’ve been married for so long, we told each story already 10 times, discussed every possible event and even talked about our dreams and fears. And now we’re too old to plan anything new.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. I like our talks.”

“Don’t be, James. I like them, too. Oh look who’s coming.”

I look over and it’s Karen. I look at my phone. One new message. It’s from her. Dang!

Now 🙂 She sent it 20 minutes ago.

“I’m sorry, honey, I completely forgot…”

“Don’t worry. It’s fine. When I got home and saw you weren’t there I already thought you were here. Hey Bobby, how are you?”

“I’m good, sweety, thanks. How about you?”

“Look Karen, I bought some food and wanted to surprise you. I can cook it now if you want.”

“Oh no, it’s ok. I had a quick dinner before driving home. I needed that. It was another rough day. And now I just want to take a long, hot bath to relax but you can order a pizza for yourself and we do the ‘cheese surprise’ tomorrow.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I know you, Jim.”

She squeezes my cheeks and kisses me on the fish mouth she just created.

“Take your time. It was good to see you, Bobby.”

And then she’s gone again.

“Jimmy”, Robert says while staring after her, “you really hit the jackpot with this woman.”

“She’s an angel, isn’t she?”

“She is. That’s why I don’t understand why you don’t want any kids with her.”

“Please not again. I told you I’ve got my reasons for this.”

“I know and I won’t force you to do so but let me ask you something. Do you have any siblings?”

“Yes, one brother.”

“Older or younger?”

“Younger. Why?”

“How much younger?”

“Almost six years. What are you up to?”

“So didn’t you like it when you taught him things? When you helped him with his homework? When you played with him?”

“Yes, I guess.”

“What if I told you it’s a million times better with a child?”

“Stop telling me this. I told you we can’t have kids.”

“You can’t? What do you mean?”

“I mean that I can’t. I don’t want to talk about it.”

“So you can’t. Does that mean that you are …” He points on his groin while saying that and lifts his eyebrows.

“Hm”. I just nod. Almost invisibly.

“I’m sorry, James. I really am. If I had known I would have never …”

“It’s ok. Don’t blame yourself you couldn’t know.

“Does she know?”

“Karen? Yes, she does. We talked about it and she’s ok with it.”

“I’m glad to hear that. How long do you have this … condition?”

“Around ten years. So before I even met Karen. It’s a rare disease which ends in being infertile.”

My head goes down and I stare at my empty beer can. Not saying anything. Robert also became silent. It’s nice he’s not saying anything right now. Not asking any stupid question. He knows I don’t feel comfortable talking about this. However, it is nice to tell this someone.

“Do you feel less manly now?”

“What?!”

“You heard me.”

I turn my head back to my can and try to process this odd question.

“So?”

“I mean, yeah. That’s what men are for.”

“Oh bullshit. It takes more to be a man than giving your wife an offspring.”

“Yeah sure. That’s easy for you to say.”

“Hey, don’t be like that. I know you’re upset but that doesn’t mean you can hate me for this.”

“I don’t hate you…”

“I know what you’re feeling, Jimmy, but let me tell you that your anger is just because you’re unsatisfied with your own life.”

I’m silent for a moment and keep on drinking my beer. I don’t want to respond to that.

“I take your silence as a confirmation of what I just said”, he breaks the silence.

“I mean, ok, what else is there that makes you a man. You get a good job to pay for a beautiful house for you and your wife to give her a happy life, right?”

“Not true. Do you really think living in a big house makes you happy? Only if you want to run away and hide from everyone and everything. And you should know this does not make you a happy man.”

“Why does every conversation with you ends up in a life lesson?”

“Listen, and I’m speaking generally now, how you treat your wife and the people around you is how they treat you.”

“I know that. I’m not a little kid anymore.”

“Then stop acting like you are one, James.” My voice suddenly gets angrier. Angrier that I wanted.

I can’t believe what he just said.

“You think only because your body let you down years ago and because you didn’t succeed to surprise your wife with a dinner tonight, everything is going down but it’s not. She loves you. And right now she has a lot of trouble to go through in her job which takes up all her time. Instead of sitting here complaining and moaning you should be over there and show her that you support her. It’s important to her which you apparently can’t see. Or don’t want to.”

“Of course I do.”

“No, you don’t. You think she’s too weak to stay through this but she’s not. You think she has a lot of stress and yes she has it but not because of her job but because of you. When was the last time you took any risk to benefit afterwards?”

“I don’t know.”

“Exactly, Jimmy. Do you really think if it were the other way around Karen wouldn’t help you?”

I remain silent again. Why is he angry with me all of sudden?

“No? Not saying anything? That’s what I thought.”

What? Ok. That’s too much old man.

“You know what? I’m old enough to not having to sit hear and listen to this. Goodbye.”

Now he doesn’t say anything. I walk down the steps and over the grass as a shortcut to my house. I’m halfway through the yard when I hear him yelling: “And thank you for the beer, pal.”

I decide not to react to this.

I close the door behind me and hear music coming out of the bathroom which tells me Karen is still taking a bath. I sit down on the couch and turn on the TV to distract myself from that heat full conversation we just had.

I hear Karen singing along to the music. I put the TV on mute to hear her better. She doesn’t seem stressed out or anything. She sounds happy. Which surprises me honestly.

Even though she had dinner doesn’t mean I can’t surprise her with her favorite ice cream afterwards.

Karen loved the ice cream and the bath. She’s telling me about her day, how much progress they made this week and that her boss praised her for the good job she’s doing. She seems incredibly happy about it. She’s been telling me about it everyday but it wasn’t till today that I realized how much she loves doing this. Working overtime, working on weekends, be on call 24/7.

Robert might be right. I should apologize. After all he just tried to help … I guess.

I go back to Robert’s house and to my surprise he’s still sitting on the porch. It’s already dark and got cool a bit.

“Hey Robert”, I say but he stays silent.

“I talked to Karen and thought about what you said.” He still doesn’t say anything. He just keeps drinking his beer and swinging in his rocker.

“Look. I came over because I wanted to apologize.” He keeps staring right next to me.

“I’m sorry, Robert. I should’ve not been angry with you. I had no right to do so.”

He stands up, walks over to me, claps me on my shoulder and says: “Don’t worry buddy. I knew you would apologize.”

“But how? You’ve known me for a couple of weeks only.”

He just smiles, not saying anything. He walks inside, walks into the kitchen where Emma is and kisses her. I watch them through the window for a bit. It’s nice to see they still love each other after so much time.

One Year Later

It’s May. Robert invited us to his birthday party. It’s actually the first time I’m not sitting outside on the porch with him. We joked about holding it outside on the porch but obviously he knows too many people to do this.

“I’d prefer sitting outside, Jim”, he whispers to me.

“Yeah. Let’s kick them all out.” He laughs and greets somebody else who just came in.

Half an hour ago I lost track of how many people are here. Even though he is that old he still has a lot of friends. There are only a bunch of people in my age and most of them are either neighbors or his children as there are pictures on the walls of those people.

I recognize Philip. I never talked to him but Robert showed me a picture of him. It’s incredible that he drove all the way down just for Robert’s birthday. How old is he now? We’ve been neighbors for a year and I still have no idea how old he is. The angels must have heard my thoughts as Robert’s grandchildren walk in with a cake with some candles on it. 80. He’s quite old. Yet he seems mentally and physically healthy. I hope to be in the same condition at this age.

“Come on, Jim, let’s sing the song.” The second a woman, who I have never met before, says that the choir starts singing.

“Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you…”

I’ve never been a fan of that song. Especially when it’s your birthday. You just stand there not knowing what to. I look over to Robert to see how he reacts in that situation. He smiles. He whips in time of the melody. I guess when you did it 80 times you know what to do in that situation.

All in all it’s a nice party. I remember as a kid at my grandparents’ parties they were always boring. There was always delicious food but also strange people that I’ve had never seen before. They all came to me hugging me and telling me how much I had grown since they last time they saw me. I don’t know you lady but thank you.

Here it seems different. People play games. The kids are telling stories where everybody is listening. Emma is sitting on her chair with one of her granddaughters on her lap, combing her hair. Philip is joking with his two younger brothers.

“What are you thinking about, Jim?”

“Oh god, Karen, you scared me.” She smiles and takes my hand.

“Not much to be honest. It’s a great party don’t think?”

“Yes it is. Did you give Robert already your present?”

“No, not yet. After seeing him now, I’m not sure if it was the right idea.”

“Don’t. You already returned it two times. I’m sure he’s happy about it regardless what you give him.”

“But I wanted it to be the right present.”

“I know. Look, he’s at the buffet alone. Now it’s a good time.”

So I walk over to the table to talk to Robert.

“Hey Robert. I just wanted you to thank you for the invitation. It’s a great party.”

“Thank you, Jim. It’s nice to have you here.”

“Here. I got you something.”

I hand him over a small package and watch him opening it.

“It’s a watch. My father used to tell stories and how times change. And even though everything around you may change there is always one thing that will remain the same which is the time itself.”

“Your father is a wise man, Jim.”

“It reminded me of you as you also tell me all these stories and everything. I thought you might like it.”

“It’s a really beautiful watch. Thank you very much. Excuse me, Jim, but I wanted to talk to Philip as he is not around that often anymore. We catch up later, ok?”

“Yes, of course.”

I’m a little bit disappointed because he didn’t talk more with me but he’s right. He should take the chance to talk to Philip while he’s here.

“Great party, right?”

I turn around to look who is talking to me just to see Juan. I haven’t seen him in a while.

“Oh, hey Juan. How are you?”

“I’m good, sir. How about you?”

“Fine. Thanks.”

“Do you like the food?”

“Yes. It’s good. Why?”

“I thought so. I saw you eating the tacos. I made them. Old family recipe. They are great, don’t you think?”

“Yes. They are. Thank you for bringing them.”

“You’re welcome, sir.”

He just looks at me with that annoying smile he always has. It gotten even weirder when he’s not wearing his Mexico cap.

“And?”, I ask him in a slightly angrier tone.

“I’m sorry, sir, I wanted to ask you for a favor.”

“Yes?”

“You are working for Peckers and Sons, right?”

“Yes.”

“Would it be possible to have a look around the office and maybe talk to some of the employees?”

“What? Why?”

“Oh, it’s for a social project I’m helping at.”

“I don’t know if such a thing is possible.”

“You would help us really out, Mr Flickerman.”

I sigh. Trying to avoid his look I look around the room. I spy Robert who is looking at my. He nods.

“Ok. I see what I can do and let you know.”

“Oh, thank you very much, sir.”

He takes my hand with both of his and shakes it. His smile got even brighter. He even bows while shaking my hand and then he goes away.

“You did the right thing.”

“What? Karen? Were you spying on us?”

“No, but he asked me first and I said he should ask you instead.”

“I’m not sure if that’s a good thing. The press? And with a kid. I really don’t know.”

“Do it for Robert then. He’s your friend. And when you still think your present wasn’t good enough now you got another one.”

She is right. As always. At least once I could help someone else out which doesn’t benefit me. And it’s just a small thing.

The party goes on a little longer. People talk, dance, laugh. The buffet gets smaller and smaller and more and more people leave.

It’s past six and everybody left. Karen and I stayed to help cleaning up. Robert tells me again that he really liked the watch that I gave him. It makes me feel a little bit better. I don’t tell him about the thing with Juan. I guess he already knows as they are quite close. He probably asked him first before he even asked Karen.

“How about one beer outside before you go home, Jim?”

“I’ve been waiting for it since I got here.”

“Well, then let’s go.”

I hear Karen and Emma talking while they fill up the dishwasher. Robert moans himself in his rocker. Outside you can barely hear the music that is playing inside. It’s a folk-jazz song. I don’t know it but I’m not a big fan of it anyway.

“Thank you for the invitation, Robert, it was a fun day.”

“Oh, I got to thank you for coming and helping with everything.”

“I was talking to Philip, he’s really a good man. He’s really happy to have you as father.”

“Don’t make me bluff, Jim. It’s a shame my little Charlie wasn’t here today. You would have loved her. She’s really funny which you wouldn’t expect from a lawyer, right?”

He laughs. It’s nice to see that every time he starts talking about his kids his voice rises a little bit and he smiles.

“Oh by the way. I heard what you said to Juan. And that’s really nice of you, Jim.”

“Oh, never mind. It’s not a big deal.”

“It is. It is for Juan. Even for you it is as you don’t like him. And I don’t know when it was the last time you helped somebody out.”

“What do you mean? I just helped you with your birthday party.”

“Yes, but we’re friends. It’s always harder to help someone you don’t like. That says about your character and I like to see this change.”

We talk a little bit more about his children and his last big birthday party ten years ago. How much everybody changed since then. That he has gotten three more grandchildren since then and that he has problems sometimes to call them by their name as there are so many now.

He asked me what I wanted to do on my 40th birthday as it’s also coming soon. I had no idea. He was telling me stories what kind of presents he made Emma on her birthdays as an inspiration. Some of those ideas were actually really good and I think I’m going to use them myself.

Right after he ended Karen came out saying we should go home and let the lucky couple rest for a bit. We said goodbye to each other and left. I was watching Robert for a bit. He got out of his chair and it took longer than usual. This was the first time I thought he gotten older. For his 80 years he is in a really good condition. Is it the beer?

Karen and I watch a movie before I eventually fall asleep on the couch. She does not wake me up or anything instead she brings me a blanket but I don’t even realize this anymore.

One Decade Later

“Uff. I’m old, Jim. I can’t do this a lot longer.”

I’m not saying anything. Robert got really old in the last couple of years. It’s a shame when you see somebody’s body giving up. I’m sorry for him. Just seeing him sitting in his rocker how he breathes so heavily. It fills me with pain.

“Don’t say that Robert. You’re doing great.”

“I know you’re trying to cheer me up, James, which I really appreciate but I feel weaker every day. Emma used to help me a lot but her cancer’s gotten worse. She can hardly take care for herself. Now we’re just two old people who can’t even make up for one. Where did all this time go?”

“But you had a good time, didn’t you? I mean I’ve known you for ten years now and rarely saw you upset or anything. You’re still full of live.”

“Thank you old friend. I’m really happy you moved here. Without you the last few years only would have been half as funny.”

He’s just staring into the streets. Not focusing on anything. It’s so sad to see him like this. I wish I could do something for him.

“I went with Karen to Lakersfield last weekend. It is really romantic. Watching the sunset over the see. I felt like a teenager again who takes out his crush to his first date. Thank you for the tip, Rob.”

But he just nods. I realized that he doesn’t talk that much anymore. It differs from day to day, depending on his mood. He never really left his rocker but it feels like he’s gotten even lazier. I wonder how he manages it to go to the toilet.

“Juan did a really good job with the painting. It looks really good I have to admit.”

“Yes. He is a good boy.”

“He is. In the beginning I didn’t like him that much but when I saw him working together with Karen couple of years ago I saw his potential. He actually has the stuff to make it.”

“I told you so. He’s just like us.”

“I wouldn’t go that far but I know what you mean.” I laugh a little bit but it seems like Robert doesn’t respond to that.

Suddenly the conversation became silent. I didn’t know what else to say without sounding stupid and pretty much every topic was covered. The only thing left was current events happening around the world. Robert actually used to be up to date, reading the news every morning. Heck, he even changed my views on politics.

Now he’s almost blind and can’t read anymore. He’s not actually blind but his glasses are so thick he just looks ridiculous. Luckily, Jeremy comes here every Sunday to read the mail to Robert. He stopped working as a mailman and now works at a restaurant. Not really a big update if you ask me but he’s happy and gets a lot of tip to actually pay for his and his girlfriend. I would have never in my life thought a guy like him gets a girlfriend.

Bonk! Robert dropped again his can. I lift it up and put it back in his hand. The beer is already warm. I doubt he even drank any of it. His hands are shaking. He grabs his can with both hands to not make it obvious but it doesn’t even help.

We’re sitting a bit longer on the porch. Watch the cars go by. A little girl walking her cat which already seems odd but what isn’t odd these days? The sun slowly sets. I take out the last beer from the cooler just to realize I drank all of the beers alone. Five out of six and the sixth one is in Robert’s hands.

“Don’t want to drink your life juice today?”

He doesn’t respond. I wait a bit watching him.

“Robert?”

Still nothing.

“Robert!”

He winces as if something just scared him. He turns around and looks at me. He not really looks at me but more into my direction. I can’t really tell what exactly he’s looking at. He looks like someone who is hammered but taking the fact he only drank one beer that doesn’t add up.

“What did you say, Jimmy?”

“Are you ok?”

“Yes, I’m fine. I’m just tired. Could you help me up please?”

I help him getting out of his rocker. It feels as he didn’t do anything. He’s heavy. He gained a little weight which is normal for his age of course but especially the last year maybe two years he really has let himself go.

“Are you sure you are alright, Robert?”

“Yes. I think I just need a bit of sleep.”

He’s standing next to me and taps me on my shoulder almost pushing me back into my chair. He bends over and says: “Goodnight, James.”

It felt super weird when he said that. Especially saying my whole name which he rarely does.

The door falls back in and I hear slow steps cracking over the wooden floor.

I’m stunned somehow. Don’t know what to do or to say. Just staring at the grass, feeling the water running down my beer. It takes me about a full minute until I turn towards the door and yell:

“Thank you, Rob. Sleep well. I see you tomorrow.”

I say the last bit in a way it leaves it open as it was a question or a statement. I don’t even know if it was a question nor a statement.

My head is filled with all kinds of thoughts yet I can’t get a single straight thought. I finish my beer, take all the empty cans and throw them in the trash can.

While I walk down the yard I turn around and see this red building. I never realized it but red really does not suit this house. I’m not losing any more thoughts about this and go home.

Karen sits on the couch reading her favorite novel. I think she read it about 20 times now and when you ask her why she simply replies with “It makes you feel good as it takes you back to a simpler time when everything was still alright.” Never have I given that phrase any thought until now.

I sit down next to her. She puts down her book, gives me a kiss, puts her hand on my thigh and keeps on reading.

In moments like these I know I married the right woman.

One year later Robert dies. It was a natural death because of his old age. In the end he was 91 years old.

We took over the planning with his funeral as Emma couldn’t cope his death. She turned mute. She’s never been much of a talker but now it’s gotten even worse. Robert told me once he wanted a small funeral with only his family, us and some more friends. I tried to contact some of his old colleagues from work or his hunting club but without any success. The priest held a nice speech. I almost cried. It’s a beautiful little church “Westman’s Chapel”. The very same place where Robert and Emma once got married. ‘This is where it started’ the priest said during his speech.

God know’s I’m not religious. Never have been. Now that I’m standing here on the cemetery surrounded by all these people it’s hard, almost impossible, not to think about life and death and what comes afterwards.

We decided to host the funeral feast at Robert’s house in his honor we ordered at his favorite restaurant. The whole dinner is incredibly silent. Nobody says anything. I wish Robert was here, he always knew what to say in such a moment.

For a split second I thought of the game that was on but it was too sad. It reminded me of all the time we listened to it together.

After the dinner people started having conversations again. Probably because of the alcohol that’s served. Me? I’m not drinking anything. I’m not in the mood for this right now.

I spy Philip how he is looking at old pictures of Robert. I go over to him.

“How are you Philip?”

“Well, as good as you can be in such a situation.”

“I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you Jim. And thank you very much for taking care of Mum. She is pretty hit by this.”

“She’ll get over it. She’s a tough one.”

He looks at her as she is just sitting there. Next to her is one of her granddaughters playing with a doll. I haven’t met her yet but she’s too young to realize what is going on. It somehow is nice to see a smile in this depressing moment.

“How are you doing, Jim? Are you able to deal with this?”

“Yes, why shouldn’t I?” It sounded more heartless as I wanted it to be.

“I mean, yes I lost my father. But he was old. Sooner or later it had to happen. But you lost a good friend. Let me tell you that he was really happy to have you as his neighbor. And even more to have you as a friend. He told me this several times. You really made his last years some special ones.”

And then it hit me. Before this moment I didn’t realize how effected I’ve been by Robert’s death. How much of a good friend he was. I lied to myself that I was fine. That I’m not sad. That he was just a neighbor. But now I can’t anymore.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

I run out. I hear Philip saying something but I don’t understand him. I run out of the door and stop on the porch. I hold tight to the fence. The second I see the two rocking chairs I burst into tears. My heart hurts as someone just stabbed me. I turn back around and fall on the fence.

The door behind me opens and I hear someone walking up to me, stops right behind me and hugs me. It’s Karen. It feels good to have her here right now but it’s not enough to stop the pain nor the tears.

“Karen, I can’t … I can’t hold it any longer. I’m sorry.”

She doesn’t say anything. She just hugs me tighter.

We’re just standing there for maybe 15 minutes. Nobody else is coming out. Karen gives me kiss and grabs my hand. She drags me down from the porch and back to our house. I manage to take a shower and eat a small snack but go to bed really quickly after that although it’s still bright outside. It takes a while until I fall asleep. It’s really hard to lie comfortably on a pillow that’s wet from all your tears.

One Lifetime Later

A lot has happened in the past forty years. I’m an old man now. As old as Robert was when I first met him. After he died, we helped Emma as much as possible. We cooked for her and ate with her every day. In the end it was like having a child. Eventually her cancer got worse and she had to go into a hospital. She was strong. She fought for another 2 years before she passed away. We buried her in the grave next to Robert so they can be together in the afterlife.

After Robert’s death Emma couldn’t keep keep their house and as neither Philip in Canada nor Charlotte in New York could need it and Gerald and Donald couldn’t agree on who takes it, Emma more or less was forced to sell it which, I think, made her condition even worse.

Karen and I decided to buy it and let Emma live till her days were gone before we moved all our stuff over there. We just paid off the other house but it somehow was important to me to keep Robert’s spirit alive. I kept a lot of his stuff in the house even though they do not fit at all with the inner settings.

Juan finished his studies and became a journalist. He now works as a freelancer and had several interviews posted in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Guardian. All major newspapers and magazines printed his words. He even interviewed Charlotte after she won a big lawsuit against the New York State mayor. It was big on the news. I enjoyed reading it. It’s a shame Robert couldn’t see this anymore. Juan comes by every now and then but his visits have gotten less and less. I’m glad he managed it and became successful in what he likes. He’s a good kid.

The dickheads moved out a couple of months ago. Only one time in all these years I had a short talk with her. She’s actually a nice woman. I guess Mr Dickhead did not like that so she never talked to me again. They left without any notice. One day Karen and I noticed the “for sale” sign in front of the house but that was when they were gone already. We never saw a movers’ truck or anything. They must have done it systematically and taking out a small box every day. They are really weird. Plain dickheads.

What about me and Karen? Well, I had some struggles with my carrier when I decided to start my own business. It ran well in the end. Karen managed to climb up the career ladder and become a manager of a branch office uptown. It was two years of hard work and I wished Robert was still here to give me a good advice or two. But we managed it. All in all we stuck through everything together and had a really good marriage. I love her more and more each day. I’m the happiest man to wake up every day next to this beautiful woman. We went together to the Louvre in France, the Great Wall of China, the Colosseum in Rome, Taj Mahal in India and even sailed in the Caribbean coast for a while. I thank God everyday for blessing me with this life. And of course Robert for telling me all these stories. For giving me endless advises and filling my life with joy. I now understand the concept of friendship.

“Do you want another beer, honey?”, Karen asks me.

“Oh yes thank you.”

She pushes herself out of her rocking chair and walks inside. We both aged much over the time but still she’s rocking her granny-panties.

I enjoy the nice weather. Even though it’s fall it’s still hot. The radio is playing one of those new pop songs. I have no idea who this girl is as they all sound alike.

The door opens again and Karen comes out and hands me a beer and puts some more in the cooler.

“I’m going inside and watch a little bit of TV.”

“Ok, hon. Have fun.”

As I’m sitting here, on the very same spot where I was sitting with Robert all the time, I have to think of him and how I first met him. How he introduced me to Juan and his children. And the one time my rocker broke. We never laughed harder together.

The sun is about to go down and creates a wonderful red sky. The clouds go by and I can hear some birds chirp a lovely song.

On the other side of the street is a boy with his dog. And silently, almost unnoticeabley, I say to myself:

“Thank you for everything.”