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71. Uncertainty
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Nick left in an even worse mood than he was in the morning when he realized what kind of shit Jo was in. After what he had witnessed during the day in the clinic, he wondered what psychological shit he was also in. He had to deal with it as quickly as possible in order to be able to help others, as that was a part of his work.
After spending the day with Jo and Mike, he was sure that both of them failed to deal with their breakup trauma. He was certain that there were still unresolved issues between them and needed help.
They swore they were friends, but at times they acted like they were the worst enemies. Despite the time lapse, they still have some grudges against each other.
He had to admit genuinely that he admired both of them. He wouldn't be able to talk to his ex calmly, like they did; he hated her so
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The Bet 72. Setback
“Hi, man! You look like a piece of shit!” Nick greeted Matthew at the front door. He passed to him a few big carton boxes with the familiar French café logo. It looked like Claude remembered about them.“Good to see you too, Nick.” Matthew was happy seeing the boxes. He could smell the freshly baked quiche and pastries. He ran with the heavy boxes to the kitchen.It meant that he would have a break from his daily duties. Not that he minded cooking, but he was tired of constantly tugging on two sharks who had so many wishes all the time as they could eat, almost constantly. He hardly left the kitchen these days.Enjoying the wonderful scent of the fresh pastries, he remembered the set of miniature sized raspberry tarts, chocolate soufflé and crème brûlée, deco
The Bet 73. Tension
Jo was ready in less than ten minutes. She entered the kitchen, where the guys were eating and chatting, in a fighting mood. She decided that whoever will get in her way today, would be put into the ‘right’ place. That meant the end of her tolerance for dense jokes.She was dressed up in a pair of dark grey sports sweatpants and a blue hooded sweatshirt with a zipper over a black T-shirt. Her hair was casually tied in a loose ponytail, and she didn't even have a speck of makeup.The guys were surprised by her sloppy, careless appearance. She usually looked perfectly elegant at this time of day. They knew she had a problem dressing with an injured hand and didn’t want to ask for help. That was her character; she always wanted to be self-sufficient in everything she did.“Why didn’t you d
The Bet 74. Forced examination of conscience
Jo slowly walked Mike to the living room. He was so happy when he finally sat on the sofa.“Damn! My head is spinning. I should sleep for 2-3 hours, then I will go with you to the training in the evening.”She examined him from head to toe, and he looked terrible. She supposed that he felt even worse than he looked, and was only pretending to be tough as usual.“You're barely on your feet and you want to go to training with me?” She stared at him incredulously.“Someone has to hold your camera.”“Really?”“You won't be able to take pictures with only your left hand
The Bet 75. Madeline Ashton
Elen arrived at Jo’s place just after 5 pm. Straight from the front door, she headed for the kitchen. Matthew had to bring her back to reality and remind her to wash hands because she wouldn't get any food.“I'm sorry, I'm starving. I didn't have time to go out for lunch. First, I wanted to see if you have any meals ready.” She withdrew from the kitchen knowing she had just committed tactlessness.“We have a lot of food here. You won't leave hungry, I promise.” Matthew assured her with a bright smile on his face. He had obviously experienced the same in the past and knew it too well. Often, Mike visiting him, took his first steps towards the kitchen.“I hope so.” She said disappearing into the corridor and the guest toilet.&ldqu
The Bet 76. Taming the shrew
“Hi, Elen. Did you finish your dinner?” Jo appeared at the door from the corridor.It looked like she was ready for the photo session. She was dressed comfortably in black leggings, a loose white T-shirt and a big beige hoodie.“How are you, Jo? I am done, but it’s still too early to go to the sports club.” Elen tried to convince her. She wouldn’t mind having another portion of Matthew’s chocolate cake with ice cream; she just kindly waited for an offer of an extra piece.“I need to be there as soon as possible.”“As far as I know, there is kickboxing training and some defence courses before the kendo one. We won’t be able to go inside.” Elen explained.
The Bet 77. Kendo
They entered the gym before one's time, but some people were already dressed. They chatted happily and waited for the rest to arrive.After quickly greeting everyone and presenting guests, Nick went with Jo to the corner where he set her tripod. Soon another guy joined them with a camera also.Elen was happy that she could watch the show and didn’t have to assist Jo. Being by her side, when she was taking photos was a nightmare. If she could skip it, that meant a real stroke of luck.Mike sat in the corner on the bench and made himself comfortable. That was a good spot because he could observe both duels and Jo.As soon as Matthew saw the distinctive kendogu used in kendo fencing, he got very emotional.
The Bet 78. Sparring
Mike was silent about the insult. He was no compulsive gambler, but he believed in his friend's skills.Elen watched the training but had no clue what was going on. She was bored, and was waiting for the end of it, checking her watch every now and then.All she could see was a bunch of disguised figures hitting each other with bamboo sticks.“Do you know what it is all about, Mike?” She asked just to fill the boredom, not from curiosity.“The goal of the fight is to hit the opponent in one of the places provided for by the regulations.” Mike explained, looking seriously at her.He wondered if she was interested in the martial art or was just looking for any conversation.
The Bet 79. John Kelly
Jo knew that there would be a real storm in a few minutes. This time she wasn’t counting on any miracle. She was blown away, and it was only a matter of time.“Good evening, kids. Sorry for being late.” A familiar voice broke her out of her thoughts.When she looked in the direction from which that voice came, she was exceedingly happy. She was saved, she thought.At the entrance of the gym, appeared a very tall, well built man. He had a storm of grey hair on his head. Despite his old age, he looked very handsome; there was no wrinkle on his face. The only thing that could tell about his date of birth were his grey hair.The visitor was wearing dark green pants and a khaki shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows revealing the beautifully carved m
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The Bet 133. Under control
“We already had dinner; Martin took care of our meals today.” Jack informed them.“Good guy! He also brought food for us.” Patrick realized that they had such a good time that he didn't even call and thank them for the catering. “I should call and at least say thank you.”“I already did that. We will have the catering all week.”“Sounds good, but I wish I could make use of the kitchen here too.” Patrick had some plans.“Why don't you spend your holidays far away from the kitchen? There are so many beautiful places to visit around. Besides, I'll take care of Mike.” Jack really wished that they would have a good time.“We cannot burden you with caring for him. We have to get a nurse tomorrow. And you should travel with us.”Jack was glad to hear that he wouldn't have to babysit Mike even though that one didn’t cause him any problems throughout the day. He had a great time with the bunch of big kids, and he wanted to spend some time traveling around too.Besides, his boss had clearly mar
The Bet 132. Boring day
Jo was extremely happy to see the hammock outside in the beautiful surroundings. She immediately started walking towards it.Behind her were Patrick and Matthew. When they made sure that she was comfortable, they started to unpack and unfold the garden furniture.In the next half an hour, they had dealt with most of the setting up. The patio immediately changed its face to an elegant and, above all, a comfortable place to relax. A few wooden deck chairs with a low table and umbrellas were placed near the swimming pool.The guys also put a long wooden table with eight chairs under an electric marquise, parallel to the glass wall of the villa and of course near the kitchen and dining room doors.“The table looks so good!” Jo commented from the hammock.“I feel like I am on a boat.” Matthew joked.“The owner loves sailing, so you are right. Only the wooden steering wheel is missing.” Jo laughed. She also noticed so many things related to marine life.“A wooden steering wheel sounds good.
The Bet 131. Unexpected inconvenience
”Are you worrying about Mike?” Patrick asked, seeing consternation and some kind of sadness on Jo’s face.“No, I am not worried about that asshole. He deserved it.”“Nobody deserves anything like this, badass.”“That’s not what I meant.”Patrick looked at her expecting some more explanations.“He shouldn't have gone out with you the previous day. He knew it perfectly well, so it was one hundred percent his fault. So, in that sense, he deserves it.”“I agree, but still, he is a man. You don’t understand male pride, badass.”“I understand him more than you can imagine. It’s just his fucking character.”“All of us, we have ‘interesting’ personalities, badass. For most of the people around us, we are assholes.”“I am not questioning it, Pat.” She hesitated for a moment. “But this fucking macho is one of his kind...”Patrick was speechless. He couldn’t argue with that. While he had a lot of understanding of the people around him, Mike was still a special case to him. But still he tolerated
The Bet 130. A blow
Right after breakfast, Jack took Mike to the clinic. The atmosphere instantly relaxed inside the villa. They were still sitting at the kitchen table with tea and French pastries and discussing how to teach their dear friend a lesson.“You are a poor teacher, Matt.” Jo said, very disappointed with her friend. “These pancakes are awful.” She winced as she ate, wondering where Mike went wrong with that very simple task.“Am I really a poor teacher?” Matthew mocked in a slurping voice. “Or maybe our friend is a bad student? Did you consider that?”“Could we leave aside his cooking skills, guys?” Patrick exclaimed. “The main thing is that the guy can cook, so he will not die of hunger. That’s what matters!”“Really? Did you try that?” Jo pointed at the pancake.“No, and I'm not going to. I watched the anguish when Jack was consuming it. In general, he is not very picky about food so it must be eatable.”“Well, you have to try it.” Jo wanted to force him and put a piece of pancake on a fork
The Bet 129. A bitter morning
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The Bet 128. Existential meditation
Mike felt much better after a nutritious lunch. There was no sign of a hangover; the only thing that bothered him, even after strong painkillers, was the ache in his ankle.He was changing the ice packs, and putting on more anti-inflammatory creams, but it didn’t help much. As soon as he was trying to put his foot flat on the floor, he saw ‘all the stars in the sky’ from pain.He didn't know if he would trigger the alarm again by opening the bedroom door, and he didn't feel like testing it.He went out onto the terrace a few times, but it was too hot to stay there.‘Why do I have to sit alone, in a deserted place like that?’ He thought. ‘I didn't have to travel so many kilometers to be accompanied only by empty walls. Did I?’ He wondered looking around the empty room.‘It is no different from my everyday life. Should holidays be like that? Do I deserve it?’ Hundreds of thoughts swirled in his head.Despite his exhaustion, he couldn’t sleep. There was no TV in the room, and watching mo
The Bet 127. Redemption
Mike was lying on his stomach with his head covered with a pillow, asking the heavens for silence. He had never imagined in his life that he would ask for such trivial things. He didn't know for how long he prayed, but he was at the end of his tether. Even if he wanted to leave the house to relocate somewhere in the garden or on the terrace, to not hear the alarm, he was not able to move that far jumping only on his uninjured leg.‘I know it's my fault, but why doesn't Jo have any pity on me? I always thought that she was an angel with a golden heart, but why is she heartless now?’ He made assumptions. ‘She knows I have a goddamn hangover. Plus, I smashed my ankle. Isn't it enough punishment for me to be here, in the middle of nowhere, alone?’Mike thought about so many things looking for a solution and he was really desperate. Finally, some clue appeared in his sore brain. He recalled that when Jo was taking a shower, there was absolutely no noise outside, so there must have been g
The Bet 126. Painful lesson
Mike was really pissed off. He screwed up his vacation, but there was nothing he could do about it. He had to accept and bear with it. As soon as he heard that the car drove away, he got up and jumped on one leg to his suitcase, and pulled out clothes which would be less obstructive in his general movements like, a loose T-shirt and short cotton shorts. He hung his ironed clothes on the armchair standing next to the bed. He returned to the bed and unwrapped the bandage. His ankle didn't look the best. The hematoma was visible on the entire surface of his ankle, despite the already quite large swelling. Considering the state of his injury, he was sure that the best solution after all was to stay at home. He lied down, tipping from side to side impatiently for a while, but couldn't fall asleep. Too many thoughts swirled in his aching head. He got up and decided to change the atmosphere of the semi-dark room a bit. ‘Damnit! It's so dark here!' He muttered under his breath and opene
The Bet 125. Apriopriate treatment
As soon as Jo realized what had happened, she lost her good mood. ‘It was predictable! Will this asshole ever grow up?’ She cursed under her breath. She felt guilty about letting him come out of the house in such a bad shape at all. She blew into Mike's bedroom, without even knocking the door beforehand, like a hurricane with a destructive force. She was ready to deal properly with her rebellious, bullish friend and all his faults, who tried to disguise from her the fact that he had sprained his leg. The image she saw right after opening the door made her feel sick, as she predicted. She was truly disgusted. Mike's hair was still wet after the shower, and his face was perfectly shaved. He was dressed in a white polo shirt, perfectly ironed, and baggy khaki cargo pants. He was sitting on the bed with his left leg propped up on the bed. His pants were rolled up as he was bandaging his ankle. On the bed, she also noticed a tube of very strong painkiller ointment. “What a fucking as
