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Chapter 41
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Matthew turned out to be his support in this difficult time, whom he brought to the editorial office the next day after visiting Nicolas. It turned out that Williams, as usual, was right.
He wrote quite well. He is a disciplined, well-organized young man, who in no way resembles a disobedient, constantly disturbing student, sitting at the very end of the room on the last bench.
Despite the huge age difference, they found a common language almost immediately. On Matthew’s first day of work, he voluntarily stayed with him until midnight to catch up.
In fact, it was Michael who was catching up, and Matthew kept him awake over the keyboard, searched for information whenever possible, followed agency services, and looked at public relations materials.
Michael was grateful to him for his presence and help, because if it weren't for him, he would probably have fallen asleep in his armchair, tired and so would have been found by dawn.
Besides, it was
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Anemones Chapter 42
The next day, Michael got up earlier than usual. As he opened the windows, he saw that it was just dawning. Heavy, dark clouds hung just above the ground. The gloomy, rainy weather made no impression on him.‘It's going to rain like hell in a moment.’ He thought, not too saddened.The bedroom was in chaos, a total mess. In the corner on the floor, there was a large pile of dirty clothes along with a stack of newspaper and magazines. Next to the bed, lay a few trays full of dirty glasses, cups, an unfinished pancake covered with a thick layer of mold on a plate. Then there were a few pairs of shoes in disarray behind the door, and on the bedside table were a dozen letters whose appearance indicated that he shouldn’t ever read them or open them at all.‘Creative atmosphere, cosmic dimension. Yes. Tasteful disorder and sophisticated metaphysics saturate my bedroom, maybe I should write about it?’ He thought, laughing.He l
Anemones Chapter 43
Michael went back to the kitchen. He finished the rest of the biscuits and emptied the cup of his almost cold coffee. He turned on the radio and tuned into his favorite station. He didn’t mind the macabre, sacrilegious act of violence and media he was hearing about.The world is beautiful even with all the omnipresent evil, rascals, tragedies, wars and death. Life is wonderful as long as we can see it's good sides, not just the negative. ‘I live! I woke up! A new day is ahead of me! This is the most important thing!’He got into the car in a good mood. He drove calmly, like he wasn’t bothered by the traffic jam, the rain or the driver who stopped at the orange light just in front of him, instead of stepping on the gas pedal and crossing the intersection as fast as possible.Yes, he felt like sounding the horn, but stopped himself. Anyway, he arrived at work much earlier than usual. He parked the car in the empty parking lot at this time.
Anemones Chapter 44
In the end, Alex couldn't stand the unknown situation and asked them what was really going on. However, he didn’t hear an unequivocal answer. Seeing that Jack, the biggest editorial office lurking in the corridor, he didn’t seek the truth immediately.He decided to wait for more favorable circumstances.“Gentleman, why don't we meet for lunch?” Michael suggested.“Are you cooking or taking us to a good restaurant?”“Details later. Now, let’s get back to work.” He said, once again seeing Jack sneaking past the kitchen door."Mmm… why don't we just slack a little more? Is there any food left? One fragrant, hot coffee please if not.” Matthew began to moan loudly, noticing him as well. “Doesn't that jerk have an upbringing?” He whispered, signaling to Alex that they had uninvited company.Alex smiled knowingly.“Gentlemen, let’s go to work.”
Anemones Chapter 45
Michael felt guilty that he had criticized the airports’ parking publicly a few years ago, when it was being built. At the time, he believed that such a juggernaut was not needed for such a small airport, and building a terrible-looking structure would destroy the aesthetics of not only this unrepresentative place, but also the immediate vicinity. He tried to remember why he had spoken out on the matter. He wasn’t a competent person, neither was he an architect nor an urban planner. So why did he put his penny in this debate? Well, he couldn't remember the reason anymore. He often meddled with his own affairs. He must have written about something in the pages of ‘Man’. Anyway, who left his car for a few days in the parking lot a few years ago? Certainly not him. Did he make a mistake? Shouldn't he leave his car here? Yes, but what would he do with it? Looking at the scratched walls, he began weighing up the pros and cons of the place. He just hoped that no on
Anemones Chapter 46
The VIP terminal was in the corner of the arrivals hall. As he entered it a smiling girl in a bright red uniform greeted him.“Hello, how can I help you, sir?”“I would like to know if some tickets had been left for me.”“Your name, sir, please.”“Johnson. Michael Jonson.”"Give me a minute, sir.” She stared at the computer screen. “Yes, we have your tickets. Could I have your luggage, please.“ She said, looking at him as she tried hard to associate his face with someone famous, some TV, music, sports star, but to no avail."You have the set." She announced after a moment of hesitation to a nice-looking girl in a navy blue uniform who was standing next to her.“Luggage?” Michael thought about it. “Could you wait a moment, please. My luggage will be in two minutes. Can I get a ticket?”“It is not necessary, sir.” He heard. &ldqu
Anemones Chapter 47
The flight attendant led him to the armchairs just behind the kitchen back room to pick a seat. There was not much choice.He sat down facing the direction of flight in hope that he will be able to observe what is happening in the cockpit. He expected that the crew wouldn't shut the door up in front of him.As soon as the flight attendant left, he immediately reached under the chair. He found a container with a life vest. He looked up nervously for the oxygen mask. There was a sign saying that if the pressure in the cabin changed, the hood would automatically open. Knowing where they were, made him feel a little calmer.Once again, he studied the inscriptions explaining how to behave in different dangerous situations.The jet began to taxi to the runway. Michael had no point left of return now. The plane stopped for a moment. However, he knew that the pilot was waiting for permission from the control tower to take off. The engines grew louder.He s
Anemones Chapter 48
He wondered if his brothers also suffered similar torments when their grandfather gave them their first flying lessons. He knew from his grandmother that they hadn’t missed it either.Besides, his older brother has followed in his grandfather's footsteps; he has a pilot's license no. So far, when he flies, he prefers gliders. However, he inherited his passion for life - biology - from his grandmother.Michael never spoke to them about that early childhood period. The last time they met was at someone's funeral. Apart from a deceased relative, whom they hardly knew, they couldn’t find a common topic to converse.Each of them talked about themselves. The eldest brother spoke about the building of the museum of technology which was just built, but designed by the company he worked for; the younger, a scientist, went into a monologue about his research, and Michael talked about his work, but they didn’t understand each other at all.He decid
Anemones Chapter 49
After passport control, Michael moved to the arrivals hall and looked around for Alice. She was late. It was not her style though. He thought about giving her a call, but maybe she was stuck somewhere in a traffic jam or had trouble parking the car so it would disturb her. Hence, he decided against it.He must have gone foolish, barely stepped off the plane, and already worried that she wasn’t at the airport. Maybe she was waiting for him at the other end of the arrivals hall. From what he remembered, the Nice airport is quite large.He decided to wait but in the distance he noticed a large sign with his name on it, so he walked over. He saw a tall, nice-looking young man who, with his white skin, blue eyes and pale blond hair, didn’t resemble an inhabitant of the Mediterranean coast, but a Scandinavian, or possibly a Slav.Michael came to France, so it was appropriate to speak French, but his mind was completely blank. He hadn't used that language i
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Anemones Chapter 72 (THE END)
Without waiting for Alex to bring clean clothes for Michael, she took him home. As she parked the car in front of the entrance, she wondered if she should go in. Her heart was pounding like crazy, she couldn't control her emotions. It was so hard to keep calm. For the first time in ten years, she found herself in a place with so many memories and not only the good ones. She was surprised to see that Michael didn’t change much in the interior. “Did time stop here?” She asked. “For me it has stopped.” He smiled that she noticed that. “Here, you have always had good taste and an unusual sense of daintiness. That's why I didn’t change anything, apart from the kitchen decor.” “Can I have a look around?” “Sure. After all, it's also your home.” “Not any more. I have a few of my own. That's enough.” “Will you allow yourself to be invited for tea?” Michael timidly suggested. “I will just run to my bedroom to put something on, I will be back in 5 minutes.” “Why not, but only green tea wi
Anemones Chapter 71
"It's been ten years. I don't want to mess with your life, but it's pathetic to watch a great man tumble down. Too painful to look at." “It's my life. You don't want to mess with it? Really?" If she was telling the truth, why did she invade his world again? “You took everything from me. Even the children I fell in love with. Go away!” He drawled through his teeth. “Michael, finish this show.” She knew he was starting to play to make her feel guilty. She knew him too well. In a completely calm tone, she continued: "I didn't take anything from you. I was in an accident in which their parents and my dear friends died. I promised their dying mother that if I survived, I would look after the children. When I picked myself up after the accident, I returned to arrange the adoption.” “What else do you want?” He asked, tr
Anemones Chapter 70
In front of the clinic, taking advantage of Alex's moment of inattention, while talking to his friend, Michael broke free from him and started to run, but he was still too drunk and his legs were not obeying him. He hit the nearest curb and fell down. He felt the pain and for a moment he had black spots in front of his eyes. He couldn't move and he just raised his head up. He felt a wet trickle on his face, and felt its sweetish taste. “I'm not crazy!” He started screaming as Alex caught up with him. “You are not!” Picking up from the ground, Alex calmed him. He took a handkerchief out of his pocket and put it on his friend's forehead. “You'll stay a few days to detox.” “I'm not crazy!” He continued to defend himself. “You must have my permission to lock me here!”
Anemones Chapter 69
Alex was even glad that Michael wasn't home. In a hurry, he picked up everything from the floor and neatly put it on the table. He also put his shoes against the wall so they wouldn't get in the way and headed for the kitchen to search for some food.He was surprised to find an empty whiskey bottle on the kitchen table, and there were no signs of his friend having any guests recently. He didn’t see any dirty dishes or pots around the place.The dishwasher was almost empty too, only a few cups and a plate were inside. To his despair, the refrigerator was practically deserted.There was nothing to eat, no leftovers. Just a few pieces of different kinds of French and Swiss cheeses, which he didn't like because they smelled horrible.There was not much choice, so he pu
Anemones Chapter 68
A few days ago, his older brother's only daughter, Michael’s favorite, turned eighteen years old. On this occasion, as a gift, he sent her a check for a considerable amount, thus wanting to compensate for his absence at the birthday party.Looking at the photo of the party, he had remorse that he didn’t accept the invitation and didn’t fly to them.He checked his email, then agency services, nothing fancy happened. Another coalition has broken up again, the prime minister is threatening to dissolve parliament… The mess has been the same for years.At times like this, he wished he had emigrated like his brothers. Now, he felt too old for any changes.He only dreamed that he would be able to work in relative peace, until he retired and be able to d
Anemones Chapter 67
On Monday, he returned on the same plane with the same bloated, slant-eyed individuals.He was greeted by an ugly, rainy, completely not July weather. He drove straight from the airport to work. However, he found the editorial office to be empty.“Have you visited the solarium?” Alex greeted him unusually.“Solarium?” Totally surprised by his friend's question, he decided to simply ignore it. “Hello, Alex! How are you?”“Hmm… Not too bad. Where did you get so tanned in such weather?”“I was on a trip by the warm sea.”“Sure, probably on a bike?” Alex said with undisguised irony, knowing very well that M
Anemones Chapter 66
“You look very pretty, Alice. What's the occasion?” Michael asked.“As always, I know. Thank you. An occasion?” She thought, confusion crossed her face. “Do you not know anything? I'm hosting a party today for my friend at my home.”“I noticed already.”“I forgot to ask you if you brought any suitable outfit.”“Our tastes are very different. Appropriate, what is that?”“Did you pick up any of your linen suits that you parade around at work?”He wondered. In fact, he was only pretending, because he hadn’t thought about a typical summer linen suit.
Anemones Chapter 65
La Croisette was the most famous promenade of the Côte d'Azur, covered with palm trees, providing shade on a hot day like today. He decided to walk along it.The place was known for the fact that the most famous representatives of show business and the crowds of onlookers looking for their idols were walking around it, if they blended into the crowd somewhere. This was a regular phenomenon and not something that happened only during the film festival.Along the promenade, he met many artists of various kinds, painters who painted portraits of tourists for a dozen or so euros, a caricaturist who wasn’t as good as his editorial artist Simon, acrobats kicking goats, a clown and some quite serious musicians.He paused for a moment next to one of them, a young boy with a storm of blond hair, who looked to be
Anemones Chapter 64
He was driving in the left-hand lane and could not turn into the right, because the cars were on a string. His car was right behind the car ahead and so on, thus it was impossible to squeeze anywhere. With no other option, he began to apply the brake hard. He slowed down with difficulty.He heard the horns of the cars behind them. Somehow, he avoided the bump. His legs trembled with fear at the mere thought of what would have happened if the cars behind him had not kept the proper distance and had not slowed down in time. He breathed a sigh of relief and was silent.He waited to hear Alice saying ‘I told you so’, but she said nothing."I won't be surprised if one day I hear the news that famous Mr. Johnson tragically died in a car accident." She said in a completely calm tone without a trace of anger.Then, with a sneering smile, she added: "And breaking the rules is my private business. I don’t meddle in your affairs and expect the same
