INSOMNIA

Chapter six

The day was Saturday and I'd planned to sleep till the next morning. Amy was still at Mother's and the house still felt desolate and empty.

Over the week, I'd developed a new habit: sleeping in the guest bedroom.

For some reason, I didn't feel too comfortable sleeping in the main bedroom.

Maybe it was because I constantly saw her in my dreams. Dreams that always left me in a dampened mood; something I'd been trying to avoid.

I also didn't venture anywhere else except the kitchen. Not even the living room. If not for the fact that I had to pass through the living room to get to the main door, nothing would have taken me there.

Also, if not for the fact that the restroom was more of a necessity(since I visited the kitchen a lot), I wouldn't have gone there either.

On this Saturday, however, my plan to sleep all day was interrupted by Felix.

It was 8a.m and I was still stuck on bed. This, to me, was good because it meant that I still had many hours to sleep.

At least that was until I heard my phone ring.

It took two rings for me to wake up.

I opened my eyes slowly and reached for my phone.

I squinted at the display as I saw the caller ID: Felix.

I hit silent and flip the phone over.

Snuggling my pillow, I went back to sleep. I was still in that mode when the first try is not enough to spoil the sleep flow.

The second try came soon enough.

I heard the phone ring again. I reached for it, this time not bothering to check the ID, and activate the 'do not disturb' button.

Smiling to myself, I tried to go back to sleep. A task now.

By the third try, there was no need trying to sleep again.

I heard the beeping noise; I groan and check for the source: it's coming from my small Nokia phone. Christ! I'd forgotten about that.

"Hello," I say into the phone, the sleep all gone by now.

"I knew you would ignore my calls on purpose. Good morning, by the way."

I push myself off the bed and stretch my arms.

"If you knew I'd ignore your calls, why bother calling?"

"I'll take that as a rhetorical question," Felix said.

"Why are you calling?" I ask, seriously wondering why he was calling.

"It's Saturday, brother." He says,

"And?"

I heard him hiss, "And it's Saturday. I don't need to add anything else to that."

I can make out some noises over the phone like he was walking.

"Where are you?" I ask, wondering what he was up to.

At that moment, I heard the door bell.

"At your front door; open up."

Unbelievable, I mutter as I got up to my feet and walked towards the living room.

The call is still connected but I'm not listening. I made sure the phone was sitting in my pocket by the time I reach the front door.

I took my time unlocking the door. It hadn't been my intention to be by this door at a few minutes past 8 in the morning.

I opened the door, blinking rapidly as a result of the morning sunlight. Too bright.

"You know, you could have ended the call." He says, taking the phone off his ears and staring at me.

I step aside, "And so could you."

He shrugged and walked into the house.

I noticed that he is dressed in running clothes.

"Were you jogging?" I asked, a bit surprised.

"Jesus, No."

I raise an eyebrow.

"It's Gloria. Apparently, she is one of those Chicks who's obsessed with health and staying in shape or whatever."

"That's really serious." I say with a teasing smile.

"What are you smiling about?"

I shrug, "Nothing. It just seems like you're really serious with this one."

Felix frowned a little, "Maybe, and sincerely it frightens me."

"Why?" I ask as I go in to get my toothbrush. I hear his voice behind me.

"I think– and I'm just saying –but I think that the thought of settling down with one woman makes me scared because I'm–uhm what's the word– a free bird, you know."

I nod and smile, "Promiscuous."

"What?" I hear him say,

"Promiscuous, that's the word you're looking for; by free bird you mean promiscuous."

He laughed, "Shut up, you."

I'm in the bathroom, brushing my teeth and I don't hear a word. I know he's there and I know he's probably thinking about something.

"What are you thinking about?" I gurgled and spat.

"It's Saturday, you know."

I poke my head out and frown, "And?"

He looks away, "I'm just saying, let's go out and you know, mix."

"Mix? I don't understand."

"Come on, man. You know, have some fun and meet some people."

I step out of the bathroom, wiping my hands.

"And is it safe to assume that by 'people' you mean ladies?"

He starts walking back to the living room, "That's not a bad idea, is it?"

"Let me get this straight," I say, "It's been a couple of months since your best friend lost his wife and you advice him to go out and mix?"

Felix scratched his chin, "Yes?"

I nod and walk into the kitchen. I spent the next ten minutes reheating the food Mother dropped by the previous day(It had become a new habit; I don't cook anymore).

I returned to the living room to find Felix flipping through channels on the TV.

"Jesus, there's nothing good on TV this morning."

I place a warm plate on his lap and carry mine to the couch.

"What do you expect? It's Saturday morning. Its either the news or cartoons."

"Yuck!" Felix grimaced.

I look at him, "The news or cartoons?"

"Both."

I nod and start eating. Breakfast today was rice and vegetable stew.

Felix also began to work on his food.

"This is good. Did you cook it?"

"I wish. No, it was Mother."

We ate in silence most of the meal with the TV volume set low. I liked it this way. I wasn't planning to talk about anything. Felix had other ideas.

"So..." He started.

I turned to him, "So?"

"What about Cassidy?"

"Who?"

"Oh, come on. You know who I'm talking about."

"What about her?"

He dropped his plate on the floor beside his chair.

"You know," he said, raising his shoulders.

I looked at him straight,

"Two things: one, the kitchen is that way, you can take your plate there. And two, I don't know."

I watched him as he picked his plate and walked towards the kitchen.

"You are a bad host, you know?" He called out from the kitchen.

"And how is that?" I ask him.

He came out with a bottle of water and pointed at it;

"You gave me food without any water. What if I'd choked?"

"Then you'd die." I say, stretching my plate to him.

He reluctantly took it and shook his head, "I can't die; I'm indestructible."

"Of course you are, buddy."

"On a serious note, tell me about Cassidy."

"She's my colleague and a woman."

"Very funny,Will, very funny."

I smile at him, "I try."

He starts heading for the door.

"Where are you going?"

"My house"

"Why?"

"Because my house is where Gloria is and Gloria is a woman, a deliciously hot woman. I'd rather spend my Saturday morning with her than a whiny best friend who is trying to play mystery but sucks at it."

I stand up from the couch.

"Okay, okay. What do you want from me?"

He smiled, his hand on the door handle.

"Tonight, we loosen up."

I sighed.

He lets go of the handle and walks closer to me,

"Look, Buddy, I'm not trying to get you out there simply because it would be fun. No, look at you–I mean, you haven't shaved in a week– and you're slowly letting yourself go. And its been only two months!"

He placed his hand on his waist, "I'm scared to think of how the next month would be, or the months following that. Dare I say it, you'd be overweight, and probably spotting a 'Jesus beard'."

I laugh at this and he laughs, too.

"Okay. Fine." I say.

"Fantastic! I'll be back here tonight. It will be fun, I promise."

"Yeah. Fun."

I closed the door after He'd gone and just stood there staring at the empty house.