Thursday 8 November 2012

"I wondered how long it would take before you'd show your face round here again."

"Hello Avi."

 "Not that it's ever the same face of course. Old habits die hard, huh."

 "How long did it take you to recognise me?"

 "Oh, don't flatter yourself. That mole underneath your chin; the immaculateness of your hair - you always kept it that way whoever you were; the studied vacancy of your expression...yeah. You can never hide from me. What are you doing here?"

 "I'm catching a bus, Avi, same as you. What else would I be doing?"

 "Seriously? You're seriously going to try this with me? Don't you think you've lied enough?"

 "Not everything has to be a play. I've moved on. We've moved on. I'm just riding the bus. Really."

 "Sure. Ya know I think I'll walk from here, I've not got far to go. Real nice bumping into you Dan, a real treat, but time's a wasting, see ya round."

 "He's sick, Avi."

 "...What?"

 "He's sick. Please don't pretend not to know what I'm talking about."

 "Well it's true, I don't. I don't! Fuck you. What are you talking about? What's wrong with him...how long does he have?"

 "Two months, if things remain as they are."

 "...Why are you telling me this?"

 "Avi, the three of us will never really be separate. Despite what you may think, Aryeh and I-"

 "Daniel, SHUT UP."

 "Okay. But listen Avi. I remember how we were all those years ago just like it was yesterday. I know that everything we did is burned into your mind just as it is with mine. You love him, still. Please don't look at me like that Avi - I know you, okay? In any case, Aryeh is not somebody that people like you or I could ever cast out of our minds."

 "And what the fuck made you think I would help out, exactly? We haven't exchanged a word in 5 years. My life is different - better. Less childish and self-absorbed. You and Aryeh left me in a gutter, and I climbed out. I'm never coming back to you - even if he is sick."

 "I'm not going to try to convince you. You'll help."

 "Christ, Dan, that arrogance never left you did it? ...What the hell do you think we could do anyway, supposing I didn't despise the pair of you? Let me guess. There's a doctor who can help, but he charges the sun and the moon. We do one last play, raise the cash to save him. You make me feel included as long as I'm needed for the play, and then you slam the door as soon as you sign off for the bill. Well it's a stupid plan, even from your warped perspective. His condition is not treatable. You'd be postponing the inevitable, and not by much. We always knew this would happen. I'm not risking everything for that. No way."

 "There is no Doctor, Avi."

 "Then why are you here?"

"After you left, we packed it all in, almost. We hustled to get by, but no big runs anymore. This was at my insistence. The way things finished with the three of us... it proved to me that we were not gods, that we could fail.  I wanted Aryeh to myself for as long as God would grant, which meant no more plays. After a while I went into teaching - an old back up, a dullard's everyman dream which would pay the bills. Aryeh, though... you know how he is. I don't think he ever let go of the thrill of it all, that daring spirit in him was irrepressible. I should've seen it coming. It is, after all, why you and I love him. For my sake he held it down. The past 5 years have been incredible, in their way, but in truth something has been missing. Perhaps something is always missing, perhaps no two people can solve the riddle entirely - but that is how it has been. Now that death is coming for him, I have no further basis or desire to hold him back. We - the three of us - will perform our final play, a perfect play, before he dies. We owe it to our lives and to each other. That's all I ask from you."

 "Hah! Listen to yourself. We're conmen, Daniel. Not artists."

 "Any task carried out with sufficient skill becomes art. This is my bus. When you are ready, call me."