Lawyer Levi

Influx Libertine

I was wondering who it was and it was no one else other than Percy, in the midst of the steamy crowd, wearing the same usual goofy smile and the unusual expensive dinner jacket.

Momentarily, he was the happiest thing in my life that existed in the current days since the smelly, obsessive careerist that accompanied me on my journey from the airport to the edge of Manhattan, was a lot of things to be honest but all of them made me want to throw up in the violent revolting manner.

The happiness to see Percy whom had become my best friend without announcing it informally, did not display on my sullen and coarse emotionless face as the travelling annoyance began from the countryside and ended on New York left me in quite a hateful, reclusive state of mind. I did not want to throw the disturbance on his face as a beginning but at the same time, I did not want to hide it.

" How was it? " He started without a great and leaned forward to grab my " adventurous rucksack " as it lingered uselessly on my hand. Along with everything else, I was dissatisfied and unnervingly angry at the bag too since half of the problems were the children of it when I lost it on some nameless bar near the village.

" Awful. The worst. " I exclaimed and lobbed it on his lap without care as we continued our walk towards the exit of the subway.

Percy was as intelligent as any man, maybe more than the average male of mid 30 as he still proves to be. He was working as the defense of a rugby squad, walking headlong at the swarming crowd while I limply follow him, like the sad hue of dusk on the body of the sky.

" That bad? " He requested a footlong description, that I knew before he whistled like a bird to attract a yellow cab that coughed to a stop, on our feet. Not like a Griffin, more like another materialistic disappointment of my world.

He rapped an address, I did not quite recognize and since for the tired ghost of myself, did not care to notice. Then he carried on with the paused conversation.

" I thought Seneca was supposed to be a heaven. Wine, frustrated housewives, open meadows. Not to mention the lake. "

" Well, Jordan sure knows how to pick 'em. It was awful'er than any other place she told me to go. "

I sighed largely and loudly and through the sigh realized what an ill mannered image of a man I was casting in that certain hour of my short lived life. Percy gave birth to an uncanny silence even though I knew he was thinking of another hippy thing to say. But no less importance to the matter. The matter of my being lost.

Jordan was the name of Percy's wife who had become a best friend and confidence through out a specific period of my life. Nonetheless, when that timeline became a thing in the past, she continued to keep in touch through her unsolicited invites to dinner, weekend getaways with Percy and his work gang; was a nature to compliment of. Despite of my manner, which I like to think as presentable, I did not provide anything special rather than the words of gratitude which everyone said to everyone without cause.

To be honest, Percy's wife had a beautiful name which she did not like to be declared as. The reason was juvenile since it made no sense for a woman to be not called as Amelia Parson rather than the boyish name of Jordan.

I forgot what the cause of such hiding but it did not matter.

" But you did not go to any other places . . . um. . . the Hudson? Huguenot? That Bear. . .what was that. . . the Bear Mountain . . . thingy? " He teased me with a weak imitation of Jordan's lovely tone when she showed me the multicolored brochures.

" Not, I did not. " I ranted with my teeth gritted hard.

" Then how would you not? Would you? " He pinched again with his words and the physical bump to annoy me even more threw me off the edge as I shrieked to one side, snarling like a primal ferocious animal.

" If I did, which from now on. . . I would not, I'm pretty sure they would suck as bad as that . . . winery. "

The cab's radio spiked out a few headline news with an urgent tone and I noticed the cab driver's interest in our conversation since after a few minutes, he tuned it down to a slow, low mummer.

I did not blame his curiosity since when he reaches home or to his significant other, he would tell her all about his day, including the hilarious story of a man and a week unshaved bearded lawyer who were rumbling relentlessly in the back seat.

Of those two, I am the bearded cenobite hugging the window frame and desperately trying not to whine to Percy.

" Come on, you have been gone for like 2 weeks. Tell me something. You must. " He sheepishly fumed then waited a minute for me to answer whilst he coaxed his jacket.

I wondered why the heavy dress was singed on his body since the edge of a Saturday night mainly called for a night out with other " happily married " couples or preferably the same crowd.

I let another minute slide by before I rejoined with a sarcastic recall.

" 2 weeks, 3 days and 4 god forsaken night. To be exact. "

He breathed out a stumped laughter and poked me in the shoulder for the accurate count of the depressive, annoying days.

Fairly, Seneca would be a heaven, a piece of attractive land near the Big Apple. But under different circumstances. It was not the holiday season so Jordan's trip was a steal for its low price. The hut in the open field and it's keys were dangling on my pocket and I was as alone as a tree on the lakeside.

There were a few souls scattered near the Winery and like me, they too had taken the chance to reap a vacation on this ungodly month of the year.

But I did not believe it when I read it even though it's very true.

" No one likes a company who suffered from loneliness, thinking they would pick the habit up themselves. "

It was true since I pondered the lakeside in my own disappointed presence, wasting the days which couples like Percy and Jordan would kill to have.

" I missed you too, buddy O'. " Percy prodded my for the last time and I must admit the fact that, he had become the only person in my life who was simply not annoyed and even if disturbed, kept it hidden and treated me like a friend. Like one would treat a brother they always knew and loved.

I felt a snicker of happiness popping on my face when I shoveled the smile down and turned away to the glass with my last words.

" Whatever, Percy. Just get me home. Before I end up . . . in . . .  somewhere. "

I submitted the last stressful verses before the tiring conquests on and under the bustling, sleepless light of NY, I drifted away whilst concentrating to the low hum of the radio.

" In a few hours. Or so . . . "

I could not care a bit for what Percy said if I knew what was on his mind then . . .