Of Mike and Men

Whatever it was that made Mike and Gerry feel so close to one another only days after they’d met, it was certainly something special. Maybe they’d both reached a crossroads in their lives?
Mike, having just turned sixty, had been feeling low as he questioned what life was all about and whether he’d really achieved anything worthwhile. And Gerry, at thirty three, was still recovering from the effects of a breakdown, and he too wondered where his life was taking him and if he’d ever find the happiness he’d always sought.
Their first meeting had been on a flight to Barcelona when, as brief as it was, they’d both managed to help each other out. They had an instant liking for one another but, as they went their own ways at the end of the flight, they regretted not having even exchanged names. It seemed most unlikely that they’d ever see each other again.
But they hadn’t reckoned on the intervention of the hand of Fate, as their acquaintance was renewed in Portugal only two months later. It had been Mike’s partner, James, who’d arranged for a volunteer worker to stay in their house to help them with various tasks. And when the helper turned out to be Gerry, the look of surprise and joy on both men’s faces as they met again said it all.
Within a week they’d become almost inseparable as their friendship quickly changed into a deep affection for one another. But was the bond that developed so quickly between them based solely on a physical attraction? Or was it more that Gerry felt to Mike like the son he never had, and Mike felt to Gerry like the parent he’d always wished for?
Whatever it was, nothing was said until the early hours of the New Year, when an emotional Mike tried to explain to Gerry just how much he meant to him. It was a clumsy attempt, though it still had the desired effect, since Gerry’s reaction was far more positive than Mike could ever have hoped for. But it certainly wasn’t quite what he’d expected. So how could things have gone so wrong the following day?
By bringing things out into the open, Mike’s revelations now felt like a disastrous mistake. Gerry immediately went into denial, running away and refusing to discuss anything. He wanted nothing more to do with Mike.
For both men, 2010 was an Annus horribilis. Gerry fought against another breakdown as the hated voices in his head once again returned to haunt him. And in the weeks following Gerry’s departure from Portugal, Mike’s depression became so severe that he made a failed attempt to end it all.
Gerry’s way of dealing with what had occurred was to try his utmost to push it to the back of his mind and pretend it had never happened. But deep down, he knew that doing this was no solution. Acting this way was a bit like trying to hold a cork under water – eventually it woulod come to the surface, and then what?
After his cry for help, Mike began to deal with what had happened in the opposite way to Gerry. Feeling that it was best if it was all out in the open, he wrote a story, hoping that if he could get Gerry to read it then his friend might feel differently.
Whilst the book’s appearance had the desired effect, it did more than just re-unite Mike and Gerry. But it also left Gerry at another crossroads. Should he take the straight road ahead through life, or was there another path he should choose?