At 2pm the men returned to the Freud room.
“Any news about Greg?” I asked David.
“Nothing,” David said. “He never officially checked out. I asked for housekeeping to check his room. They reported he’d removed his clothes; the only thing he forgot were some items in the medicine cabinet.”
“Like what?”
“They mentioned his razor and a bottle of Valium.”
“Strange.” I shook my head.
“We’ll continue going around the circle” David said. “Starting with Theo. Speak for as long as you want with, I hope, particular emphasis on what help you need.”
Theo stood up. “I’m more relaxed. Feeling better.” He turned to me and Otto. “It helps being able to talk to my new friends.” He looked at David. “I’ve decided to leave oncology and become a GP; we need more people in family medicine and it’s the easiest transition. I’m going to continue in therapy and strengthen my mediation practice.” Theo looked around the group. “Like my friends, I had a dream I want to share.”
“Go ahead,” David said.
For the next half an hour, Theo explored his dream with the help of David and the other male participants. Not surprisingly, the dream had to do with Theo getting out from under his father’s dominant spirit. David handed it expertly and at the end of the session, Theo was laughing.
When Theo was done, David asked, “What other help do you need?”
“Nothing for now. Thanks.” Theo sat down.
David turned to Lucky. “How are you doing?”
Lucky jumped to his feet. “I’m like Theo. I’m doing better. The work I’m doing has helped me make new friends.”
“Are you using?” David asked.
“No. There are drugs here, so I’ve thought about it. But I’ve been able to stop myself.”
“Good. How can we help you?”
“I’m impressed by the risks everyone is taking,” Lucky said. “I want to do a role play, where I talk to my father.” Lucky looked around the group.
Otto and I looked at each other, as though one of us would volunteer; then Paul raised his hand. “I’ll do it.” Paul stood up and walked next to Lucky.
“Okay, Lucky,” David said. “Tell us about your father.”
Lucky took a deep breath. “His name is Paulo Moretti. He and my mom live on Long Island, near Stony Brook.” He shook his body. “Since I came out, he’s never accepted me. He says it’s because he’s a Catholic, but he’s not observant. The only time he talks to me is when I call home to talk to my mother.”
“What’s the set up?” David asked.
“I call home to talk to him about Mom. She’s been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s. Dad’s in denial, but mom has been having more ‘episodes’ and needs special care.”
“Do you have siblings?” David asked.
“I have a younger brother, Leonardo. Leo. But he’s an addict and we don’t know where he is.”
“Okay,” David said. “Paul, have you got enough information?”
“I think so.” Paul moved in front of Lucky.
Lucky made a motion like he was talking on the phone. “Dad, I’m glad you picked up. I want to talk to you about Mom.”
“Just a second, I’ll get her,” Paul said, lowering his voice and affecting an Italian accent.
“No. Don’t put the phone down,” Lucky said. “We need to talk about her.”
“You don’t need to worry. I’ve got the situation under control. She’ll be fine, she’s just getting old.”
“It’s more than that, Dad. Donna said that when she arrived the other day, Mom was still in bed and didn’t know who Donna was.”
“Who is Donna?” Paul asked.
“She’s the housekeeper. She used to come twice a week; now she comes every day.”
“What do you want me to do?” Paul asked, as Lucky’s father. “I’m doing the best I can.”
“Mom needs to have a helper every day.”
“I don’t think I can afford that.”
“Of course, you can, Dad. You have insurance and, besides that, you have lots of money.” Lucky turned to David and the rest of the group. “My father owns a hardware store in Stony Brook.”
“Well, I’m not sure,” Paul said, deepening his voice.
“Go talk to the Gerontologist, Dr. Walker,” Lucky said.
“I don’t like her as much as the previous Gerontologist.”
“Dr. Ricardo retired. You don’t like Dr. Walker because she’s a woman.”
“Well, I don’t know.”
“I’ll come over and go with you,” Lucky said.
“You know I don’t want you here,” Paul said, as Lucky’s father.
“I hear that, but we must put that aside for now. I need to help you with Mom.”
“I’ll never understand why you chose your lifestyle. You were such a popular boy in high school.”
“Papa, we’ve been over that a hundred times,” Lucky said. “I didn’t choose to be who I am; it’s my nature.”
“I just don’t understand. But you’re right, we need to talk about this.” Paul paused. “When do you want to come over?”
“I can come over tomorrow,” Lucky spoke with a slight quiver. “Thank you, Papa.”
Paul moved closer to Lucky and spoke in an even deeper Italian voice, “You know, Luciano. I’ve been talking to my friends at the club. One of them knows a therapist who can talk to you about your lifestyle. Maybe when you’re here you could talk to this therapist; maybe you could explore converting.”
Lucky’s face got beet red, and he clenched his fists. He moved closer to Paul.
For a few seconds, Paul showed no expression. Then he cracked a smile, “Got you, didn’t I?” he chortled.
“You tricked me,” Lucky laughed. “Oh my God. Paul the priest tricked me.”
All the men laughed.
“When’s the last time you played a trick on someone?” Lucky asked Paul.
“Oh. Maybe ten years ago.”
They hugged and exploded in laughter.
“Good work,” David said with a smile. “Lucky, what more do you need from this group?”
“Nothing right now,” Lucky shook his head and beamed at Paul.
“What about you, Paul?” David asked.
Paul remained standing. “Obviously, I’ve begun to have more fun. With my new friends.” He nodded to Lucky, Theo, Otto, and me. “Over the last twenty-four hours I have had an epiphany of sorts. I realized that I can be spiritual without being part of the church. Jesus once said: ‘Be in the world; not of it.’ I realized that I could live a spiritual life outside of organized religion.”
“What does that mean to you?” David asked.
“I’m not sure. It occurred to me that I could work here for a while, take some counseling courses, and help folks. That’s all the further I’ve gotten.”
“That’s a good start,” David said. “Do you want to take any questions?”
“Sure.”
Lucky raised his hand. “This seems like a wise move, Paul. It would also be a wise move to be more social. You don’t have to isolate yourself from the other members of the group.
“Thank you, Lucky.”
I raised my hand, “I agree with Lucky. Several times I have seen you sitting by yourself in the dining area, Paul. I have wanted to invite you to eat with me and the other men, but I felt hesitant to do so. Now I want to formally invite you to join us.”
“Thanks, Tom. I will join you.” Paul sat down.
“Okay, then,” David said. “We’re done for today. Normally I would suggest that we reconvene with the women at 8, but from what Cheryl told me, I think the women are doing a process that will last until 10. So, I will see you tomorrow.”
It was after 4PM. Lucky stood up, “Since we don’t have to do anything tonight, why don’t we all go out to dinner together.”
I looked around and everyone nodded. “Sounds like a good idea,” I said. “Where shall we go?”
“Why don’t we go to the Big Sur Café,” Theo said. “They have good food, and we shouldn’t have to wait for a table.”
We all agreed.
“Let me go tell Kate that I’m not going to have dinner with her,” I said. I walked to the new conference room but stopped before I entered because I heard the women chanting inside. I wrote Kate a note and left it on the table near the main door.
As I walked by the dining room, I ran into David Sanders. “I’ve been thinking about Greg Tanaka,” I said. “Could you have someone on the Satori staff check to see if his car is still around?”
“Good idea,” David answered. “I’m worried about Greg, too.”