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“Simon?” Suchin said as they walked along the street. It was a beautiful night, warm, the stars were out, a few people along the street. “I love Cajun food. I never had it before. That was an incredible dinner, thank you so much.” Simon smiled. He couldn’t have been more pleased. He hadn’t made a single mistake with Suchin all evening. Actually he had, but she hadn’t really noticed and so he didn’t notice, as she too was overly focused on not making any mistakes. Such is the path of love.
“I like Thai better, but I do like Cajun too,” he admitted.
“I noticed that you seem to like your phone a lot. Does it have that new version AI that people talk about?” Suchin asked him. Of all things possible, Suchin had just said the one thing that Simon was dreading talking about. Sandy.
“Yeah, I uh, she’s--it’s very handy.”
“It seems like it. It almost seems like it is your friend, or something.”
“No, no no,” Simon faked a chuckle, “it’s not like that, I mean, it’s—“ Simon hesitated then remembered what Sandy had said back at home. Truth.
“No, you’re right. I’ve gotten pretty attached to it. I don’t know how I could get through the day without it. She-- it, has become kind of a friend.”
“I heard about them. My phone isn’t so sophisticated but I know what you mean. I couldn’t make it through the day without mine. Half my mind is in it, I swear. But yours? Personality Interface, or something, right? People seem to really like them. I did hear though that some people had problems because they—“ Suchin realized she was rambling because she was nervous, but she couldn’t stop talking.
“So, hey,” Simon interrupted, trying to change the subject, “Beautiful night don’t you think?” Suchin was relieved that he had stopped her jabbering before it became annoying. It was something that her mother had warned to be aware of.
“Yes,” she said, looking at the night sky, “it is so beautiful tonight. Simon, I’ve very happy to be here with you.”
They walked along, just happy to be walking together. The same thoughts were running through both their minds, that each simply wasn’t good enough for the other; that this couldn’t truly be happening or working out so well. Without really thinking, Suchin grasped Simon’s hand. Her touch was like an electric shock to him but somehow, he didn’t flinch. He did however break into a bit of a cold sweat, and his vision blurred for a moment. But after a few breaths, noticing that the earth didn’t open to swallow them whole, Simon grasped her hand back, softly but firmly and felt that he was sitting on top of the highest mountain in the world.
“Everest,” he said, smiling, “Mt. Everest.” He was so happy. He looked over at Suchin without thinking and she was looking at him with a confused look on her face.
“Everest?” She said. “In Tibet?” Simon panicked; what had he said?
“Yes, Everest,” Simon said, vying for time to think of something. “You know—“ his mind was racing like crazy, “you see—“ Nothing came to him to say.
It was then that Simon realized someone was walking awfully close behind them. He felt crowded. Then he noticed two other things in rapid succession. Each by itself would have made him nervous. One was that there wasn’t anyone else on the street nearby them; they had wandered down a street where most the stores were now closed. The other thing was that there was an alley just a few feet from them, and—
Suddenly, Simon felt a sharp blow to his right kidney. He keeled over to his right, bumping Suchin who turned to him to help him. Just then the guy behind them pushed them together, then shoved them to the right, pushing them both into the alley where another two guys were waiting in the dark. Now all three had them blocked from escaping. They were wearing hooded sweatshirts that hid their faces. But there was nothing hidden about their intent.
“Money! Give me your wallet!” The biggest one said, brandishing a knife at them. “You!” he said this at Suchin. “Give me your purse, your phone! Any valuables. Now! Hurry up! You too!” He looked at Simon, waiting to see a wallet, a phone, some money, anything Simon might want to proffer in exchange for his and Suchin’s life. The guy behind them started open handed, smacking them in the back of their head in a rude and intimidating way.
“Stop it!” Simon said. “Just relax! Okay? We don’t want any trouble.” Suchin handed over her purse. The third guy grabbed it from her, then looked at Simon. Simon got his wallet out and gave it to him. The guy took it, then held his hand out for Simon’s phone. Then Simon thought about Sandy. It wasn’t that he wouldn’t give up his phone, but he knew, he simply couldn’t. He remembered the panic attack when he lost the phone in the couch and he started to sweat again. ‘Oh, no, not again, not now,’ he thought.
“I don’t have a phone,” Simon said in a hopeless game of chance.
“Right, dumb fuck,” the guy behind him said, “hand it over. I know you have a phone, you’re wearing an ear bud.” Simon was lost. He looked at Suchin who looked terrified. Simon had a choice to make. To give himself some time, he feigned searching himself for his phone. He could give up Sandy, a sure thing, or hang onto it and take a chance of Suchin getting hurt, or possibly both of them losing their lives. ‘Screw it, give up the phone,’ he thought, but he knew if he tried a panic attack was the most likely result.
Shakily he looked at the big guy in front of him. He suddenly had an urge to kill the guy. One sharp punch in the nose, aimed upward, driving the cartilage up into his brain and--
“I, I seem to have lost it.” Was all Simon could get out, with barely enough energy for his speech to be heard. But they got the gist of it.
“Dude! A damn cell phone ain’t worth your life, now hand it over!” Still, Simon hesitated.
“No, I mean, I would, I just lost it is all. I had it when we went to the restaurant, but I must have left it there.” The three men laughed. It was an evil provocative laugh.
“Bro,” the big one said, “is your phone worth your girlfriend’s life? Or, yours?” Simon’s look said it all to them.
“Hey, I bet he’s one of those pathetic losers who has bonded with his stupid phone.” They all laughed again.
“No, it’s not that. I—“ Just then the guy behind him hammer-fisted Suchin in the top back of her head pretty hard, knocking her head forward and down. She yelled, then started weeping slightly, holding her head. She was seeing stars. But then unexpectedly, as her head cleared, she got angry. She tossed back her hair and defiantly stared the guy before her straight in the face. Simon could feel the anger emanating off of her. He felt she was going to hit one of them and it scared him. Sometimes girls think they are invulnerable, thinking, ‘you don’t hit a girl’. But in a situation like this, thinking that way could be extremely dangerous.
Finally he realized that although he knew he couldn’t give up his phone, he could, maybe, possibly, simply hold Sandy out in front of him. He told himself he would just show it to them, taking isn’t giving; or, maybe they would—no, he wouldn’t think any further about it.
“Wait!” Simon said. “Wait.” He was trembling but he tried to pull his phone out of his front pants pocket. It was then that a voice in his head startled him. But it was only a whisper. And it was Sandy.
“Simon. I have called the police. Give him the phone. You must protect yourself. And Suchin.” That last comment stunned him. After all his fear and trepidation about Sandy finding out about Suchin, about his feelings for her, had she known all along?
“Of course I know about Suchin. Simon, don’t be foolish.” Simon was taking his time getting the phone out of his pocket. The thought of losing Sandy made him feel weak, but he kept moving forward with it. Then it hit him: could Sandy read his mind?
“And no Simon, of course I can’t read your mind. It’s just logic. And I know you. And –I’m reading your pupillary response. Now. Give him the phone, Simon.”
But it was too late. Just as he got the phone out, one of the guys grabbed it. Then each of the other two st
abbed Simon, one in the front shoulder, one in his back. Simon screamed in pain and anger but it was cut short by the increased pain from the blades slicing inside against his muscles as he screamed. But the anger won out and Simon spun around punching the assailant behind him with all his force, hitting him upward and square in the nose, dropping him to his knees. Now his assailant was screaming out in pain.
That was when the pain from the blades became so intense he almost passed out, but instead, he dropped to his knees, finding himself now face to face with the guy he had just punched in the nose, and who had just stabbed him in the back. While Simon was in no frame of mind to move again, his victim and attacker, then attacked Simon again, this time punching him repeatedly in the face. Simon’s hat when flying. He would never see it again. He could do nothing now to defend himself except sink slowly to the ground and allow his mind to seek the saccharine solace of unconsciousness. But it would not come.
It was then that Suchin seemed to go crazy. First she growled and then she shrieked and lunged forward. In his delirium, Simon noted how sexy she sounded, then pain rushed over him in a wave and he groaned. Suchin seriously hurt the one in front of her, actually scratching his cornea and punching him, albeit accidentally, in his throat. Then the guy Simon had hit, since he couldn’t seem to extract his knife out of Simon’s back, got up and started beating on Suchin from behind as the big guy started punching Suchin in the head. Finally getting her off of their friend, the third one ran at Simon and vented his anger and pain from Suchin’s attack by kicking Simon repeatedly.
Simon’s shirt was by now soaked in blood, his face was rapidly swelling up so that it was hard for him to see anymore. Finally, he began to lose consciousness. The last things he remembered hearing were, one of the guys screaming, and Suchin shouting what he assumed were obscenities in her native Thai language, Then finally, he heard Sandy speaking compassionately in his ear:
“The police are almost here, Simon, hold on Simon, hold on.” And then, finally, he passed out.