Covid-19 and the Late Night Call....

Jordan Berman liked to go to sleep at ten o'clock. It had become a habit since Covid-19 started destroying the world. He liked to get up at five-thirty and have a shower and after that, he tried to stay as productive as possible. The biggest problem Jordan had was with his girlfriend Sherry.

Sherry Singer was a very successful lawyer with a specialty in banking law. She was making tons of money and lived in a gorgeous Penthouse in a condo building in downtown Toronto.

Jordan was involved in property development. He would buy one or two houses a year and flip them. He made between fifty and sixty thousand dollars per house. This was peanuts compared to the million five hundred thousand that Sherry was earning. She also had an impressive stock portfolio.

The only argument that they ever had was when Sherry would insist that he find another profession that would pay more money. Jordan tried to explain that he absolutely loved what he did, but that didn't seem to matter to Sherry.

The biggest disagreement they ever had was when Sherry invited another couple to join them for dinner at Ruth Chris Steak House. It turned out the woman was Sherry's stockbroker and she spent the evening telling Jordan how much money he could make selling stocks. ''Jordan, my company will help put you through the Securities and Exchange Course. We will then give you a basic salary. After six months, you'll start earning commissions. The sky is the limit. Sherry told us you were thinking about a change of business, so think about it. You can start whenever you're ready.'' When Jordan looked over at Sherry she looked in a different direction. She didn't want to see the hurt in his eyes.

That night when he dropped Sherry off at her Condo, he decided not to go up. ''That was some kind of night, it was a pleasure meeting Carla and Ron. So nice that they wanted to help me with a new career. Thanks for setting everything up. It was so considerate of you. I loved the way we discussed my choices in life before we got to the restaurant. I hope you have sweet dreams.'' Sherry was not impressed. ''Stop with all your sarcastic crap. You can make more money in the investment house training program than you are right now. Why don't you give it a try? Use your brains instead of your brawn. I know your ultimate goal is to buy a nice farm, but Fuck, get in the game now. Make big money and do it that way, not from flipping two houses a year, it will take you ten years before you have the down payment for the fucking mortgage.'' Jordan remained quiet. Sherry got out of the car. ''Yeah, about getting together on the weekend. I've got a couple of things to look after for work. Let's talk during the week, and seriously Jordan, think about the Fucking Investment firm As she walked through the front doors of her Condo building, Jordan thought it was telling that she never looked back. He knew their relationship was on life support.

That had all happened four months before Covid-19 and lockdowns. When Covid-19 started becoming a serious issue, Jordan asked Sherry if she wanted to move into his place or vice versa and she took a hard pass. She said that she didn't think the timing was right. Jordan knew they were done. That's why he was surprised when his phone was ringing at four am with Sherry's number on the display.

''Sherry are you okay?'' There was a pregnant pause before she meekly answered ''No'' and then there was more silence. Jordan woke up in a hurry, in fact he started to get nervous. ''Sherry, what's going on? What can I do for you? Why are you calling so early in the morning? Sherry, Sherry, Do you need me to call the Police?'' The line went dead. Before Jordan could dial 911, Sherry was trying to reach him via FaceTime. He answered hesitantly, and there was Sherry with red eyes and tears. She was sniveling.

''You're a Happy person right?'' Jordan nodded, it was a strange question at a strange time. ''So who am I to try and change you?'' My friend Thomas Shulman who works with me suggested I attend a webinar about self fulfilment. I was skeptical but when it was over, I was completely emotional and lost. Fuck Jordan, I don't know who I am. One of the stories Heather Fornbush the webinar leader shared was about an artist who lived in a small village beside the ocean. A guy from Hollywood was on vacation and saw the artist's work. He bought a couple of pieces and took them back to LA. Before he knew it, all his friends wanted art from the same artist so Hollywood flew back to the village. He visited the guy and bought every piece of art he had. He then said to the guy ''You need to move to Los Angeles.'' The guy looked at Mr. Hollywood like he was crazy. ''Why would I move?'' LA said ''You'll make more money than you could ever dream about. You will become extremely wealthy.'' The artist looked dumbfounded. ''So what?'' Mr. Hollywood was in shock, what was the matter with the artist. ''You'll be able to live anywhere you want and do anything you want.'' The artist smiled at him and said ''You don't get it, I would move to Los Angeles to make enough money to move to a village by the ocean, where I would paint all day. I'm already doing that and I'm happy, so why should I change. By the way, I won't be selling you any more art, cause you don't understand how it works. I don't paint to sell my work to people, I paint because it makes me happy and satisfied. If you are satisfied with your life, you can't get better or be wealthier. You don't need to move, you embrace where you are.'' Fuck Jordan, you're the artist and I've been Hollywood. I've been trying to change you and you are Happy.

Jordan was watching Sherry as she was getting more emotional. ''My whole life has been about status and trying to impress people. I have been all about achievement, I have wanted to be at the top of the pyramid. I've worked to smash the glass ceiling, I have wanted to own anything I desire. It has always been about proving my worth. Do you know when we went to a couple of corporate events, I actually embellished what you do. I don't know why. I feel ashamed. You are a decent, loving, kind, and good person and that wasn't enough for me. I couldn't understand why you weren't Alpha male. Instead of flipping a couple of houses a year, I kept asking myself why you didn't flip at least six houses a month. I had it all figured out, you'd make about four million clear if you did that kind of volume. I envisioned you doing even more than six houses a month, than I'd ask you about it and you didn't seem that ambitious. You seemed happy with two houses a year. I kept asking myself, what is the problem with Jordan Berman? I thought if I am after empire building and social climbing why weren't you? It infuriated me, it ate at me. In fact it was ending our relationship. I thought, I can't handle being with a guy stuck in second gear. I have been feeling that way for a while, and then Covid hit. At first I thought, oh well, I'll just have to readjust my schedule. My social life will be on hold. I'll attend company events on Zoom, I can still network, it will just be in a different form. I was okay for the first month, but after that I had way too much time on my hands. I started going on webinars about life and self and I realized that the grass isn't always greener on the other side. That you don't take possessions with you when you leave the earth. You can drive an exotic car, you can live in a mansion, you can have millions, but does that all equal who you are and happiness? I really believe you were the only guy who didn't date me for my money or position. Just before Covid, I went on a date with a guy who has a private jet. All he wanted to do was humble brag and name drop. He kept asking about who I knew and was more interested in me being impressed with him than vice versa. He had it all, and he had nothing.''

Jordan was mesmerized. It was the first time since he had known Sherry that she had done self reflection and besides it being on the unnerving side, it made him feel sad. Sherry without any bravado was a different person.

He tried to comfort her and she stopped him. ''When I met you, one of the things I found endearing was you were happy. You had a great demeanour and didn't let the small shit bother you. I remember when we went to that Italian restaurant ''Tutto Tutto'' and the waitress spilled wine on your shirt. You didn't even raise your voice, you were so cool and I was livid. You told me that accident happens and you didn't want to get her fired. Stuff like that, yet I kept looking for the imperfections, and never gave you credit for being a mensch. I'm sorry Jordan, I have been a demanding bitch to someone who has shown me nothing but respect. You treated me like a lady every time we went out. I remember when we were at my office party celebrating a hundred million dollar deal, and everybody was getting drunk and rowdy, and you just sat back and chilled. When we left I told you my CEO asked why you weren't partying and you said it wasn't your deal and you didn't want to take the spotlight away from me. I'm sitting here and I realize how unfair I've been to you.''

Jordan was staring at his phone and watched as Sherry started crying again. ''Sherry, we're in lockdown, I can't even come over and comfort you. Please don't worry about the past, I have always thought the world of you and I've been very proud to be with you. Your accomplishments should never be downplayed. You deserve all the credit in the world. If you want, when we are both vaccinated and we can live semi-normally again, we'll make up for lost time. Maybe you're right, maybe I should be taking on more houses, it's just that I always wanted to do a quality job and I have always tried to renovate in a way that my work is in demand. I want to spend time with you, and we will work everything out, but please, please, don't beat yourself up about the past and don't ever denigrate yourself.''

Sherry smiled into the phone, ''Dude it's four fifteen in the morning, what are you doing up?'' She then laughed. ''Uh, there's one last thing, I have to ask for a favour.'' Jordan wondered what it could be. ''Could we talk everyday from now on, I don't care what we talk about, I just want to spend a few minutes with you.'' Jordan couldn't have been happier and told her that would be more than fine. She pursed her lips in a kiss as she looked at the phone. ''Good Morning Jordan, talk to you in a few hours.'' She signed off and the screen went black.

As Jordan lowered himself back on to his pillow, he started thinking about every word that Sherry had spoken. Covid-19 sucked, home isolation was not fun, but in strange ways it allowed people to think about their lives. As he fell back asleep he started dreaming about a little village by the ocean where he could spend all of his time painting.