METANOIA

MASHA MESHE

They had barely walked fifty feet from The Dude when they saw Misha stumbling toward them. He was supposed to meet them at the Masha Meshe, so the others were surprised to see him there. "Where the hell are you guys going? I was just coming to The Dude to meet you."

Pete said, "We are on our way to the Masha Meshe lounge."

Misha checked his watch, "Already? Well, I suppose we should. Dude, I swear if Keysha is still there, I am gonna shit myself." They all rolled their eyes.

Keysha was a lung cancer patient who liked to go to the smoke-filled Masha Meshe lounge. She was also a raging nymphomaniac. She was another regular there who used the place like a spider web for her carnal needs. Quality in any form was not her forte.

Going to Masha Meshe was an homage the guys individually had been long awaiting; although, none of them would have admitted this to the rest of the group. Masha Meshe was where everything had begun. It was where they had all met each other, and in many ways, it had once been a magical place. Then, with one quick change of ownership, the Masha Meshe lounge became a shit hole.

In most respects, the Masha Meshe lounge today made The Dude look good. Originally, it was a hookah lounge run by two Palestinian brothers. It was next to a funeral home, which made it seem like purgatory to Silas, but it had a friendly atmosphere and welcomed students. But then, a profit-seeking young entrepreneur bought the lounge and fired some staff members for no other reason than to establish his authority. In response, the entire staff quit within twenty-four hours. Within two years, the place had gone bankrupt, and after the guys had left, the Palestinian brothers bought the place back. Unbeknownst to the group, it had picked up a little.

They were passing by the funeral home when Silas remembered an anecdote. He turned to Lisa, "You remember that time I cleaned my car with you?"

Lisa started laughing, but the rest of the group just stared back at them quizzically.

Silas said, "I should elaborate. Cleaned my car using your entire body?"

Pete raised an eyebrow, "You, 'sir,' have my undivided attention."

Lisa was cracking up at this point. Anda too remembered the incident, and laughed, but Misha, Pete, and Nick had no idea what he was talking about.

Silas explained, "It was during the summer, and I parked in the funeral home parking lot. Lisa and Anda were with me. Lisa was telling me how dirty my car is and kept repeating, 'Silas, why is your car so dirty?' over and over."

Anda said, "I remember that."

Silas continued, "I stood and listened to her patiently for about ten minutes until I snapped. I grabbed her by the back of her neck and her jeans and picked her up. I slammed her back on the side of my car, parallel to the ground, and wiped the side of my car with her entire body."

Misha said, "You picked her up?"

Anda said, "Look at her, she only weighs 100 pounds."

They had reached the lounge now, and as they entered the lounge, they heard a familiar voice. "Hi, boys!"

It was Keysha. Misha and Silas started laughing uproariously. Keysha was the one thing about the lounge that never changed. It was comforting to see her alive.

The thing that stood out the most about Keysha was the giant scar between her breasts from where she'd had a tumor removed. Confident with her cleavage, she never cared to hide it either. She had been in remission twice now. And like a cockroach, she lingered in the venomous air that perpetually poisoned her. That was the reason Silas was so angry with her. She was playing a dangerous game with the very feeble life she had been granted, twice. This was the third time.