The next day, Thursday, Theo spent at home. He told his parents he was searching for a new job and also researching the possibility of enrolling into a community college to boost his resume. In truth he could not focus much on his career. He spent a good amount time browsing the internet and reading up on the various drugs he was selling: marijuana, cocaine, oxycontin, fentanyl, molly. He was looking up their street prices, uses, effects and side-effects, legal status.

Theo had been depressed throughout the summer. The terrible job and its terrible boss really did him in. He was depressed before, but this summer, if he wasn’t working, he wouldn’t be able to get out of bed. He had self-medicated with marijuana, and he began reading the Bible. It helped. A few weeks back someone brought a kid to Twinnie’s who had had a schizophrenic breakdown - he had beaten a college classmate to a pulp for talking behind his back, except that no one was talking behind his back. Theo was high on weed when he met the kid, and he had a terribly bad trip looking at him. The kid was heavily medicated, to the point that he had no emotions, he would laugh at any of the jokes with delay, a fake laughter he did only to try to fit in. But what terrified Theo was the most was that, when he looked that kid in the eye that night in that parking lot, and the kid looked back at him, he felt that they were on the same page. It seemed that they had connected with a mutual understanding. From that day on, Theo took it much lighter on the weed, smoking it only when he was pressured into it among bad company, and he only continued the Bible therapy for his depression.

as he was constantly checking his phone for messages. Over the course of that day, he got a series of updates regarding tomorrow’s trip to the McCracken cottage.

First came the good news that Laura and Nikki confirmed their attendance. It took some convincing - Theo had to call Lisa to get the details on the accommodation. The girls were promised their own room with two separate beds and a bathroom. Once the girls accepted, Paulie and Lennon immediately accepted as well. The three friends expressed their excitement in a group chat riddled with Wolf of the Wall Street and hip-hop memes. 

Marvin, however, texted saying that he is out – he doesn’t have a date and doesn’t want to be a fifth – or seventh – wheel. He exited himself from the chat and the others quickly forgot about him.

Lisa would not go with Theo but with Tammy and Neil, but she was looking forward to seeing him at the place. 

The next day, people took a half day off work so that they could take off as early as three pm. They would arrive to the mansion before seven and stay there until Monday. It was the Labour Day weekend. They decided to all five take the Range Rover. Theo drove and Lennon, who was tall, sat in the front, while Paulie sat in the back with Laura in the middle and Nikki to the back of the driver’s seat. After everyone was picked up from their home, Theo set the GPS to destination and they set off on the highway.  

They listened to radio and chattered. Theo told everyone about the McCrackens. He explained that Neil heads an investment fund that won big betting on rare earth metals. Later, he began investing in sexier industries, like tourism and entertainment. He was constructing a ski resort up north, and he was making inroads in Hollywood in an attempt to start a production company. Conversation turned from Neil to finance in general. Nikki told them about a guy she dated; he worked on Wall Street, where he embezzled a large sum of money and then fled to Cyprus.

The anticipation built in the car as they exited the high road and entered a picturesque town center. It was beautifully set in the midst of gently sloping hills, its elegant stone buildings and church spires piercing the vast expanse of nature with warmth and easy bustle of an idyllic country town. There was an isolation and cleanliness to the place that already made the friends feel as though they are now on vacation, but that feeling took on a whole other level as the GPS led them away from the center and into winding country lanes that featured one beautiful mansion after another, spaced comfortably from each other by vast lawns. They drove past groves and fields, and every now and then they saw a glistening blue of the big lake behind some of the mansions.  

Finally, they drove through an open metal gate and down a narrow path of white asphalt. It curved repeatedly through a serene grove, between rows of slender cedars. The view then cleared and they saw the mansion, two buildings in brown stone and wood tiled roofs with prominent chimneys. The main building had three levels, the lowest of which was below ground in the front, but the ground sloped down towards the back, where this level open up to a patio and then a yard that ended in a small lake beach. There was a long wooden wharf on the side that docked a pretty little yacht. 

The second, smaller building was the guest house. Its lowest level was a garage. When the five guests pulled over, Lisa and Tammy came out to greet them. They had them drive over to the guest house, where Tammy opened a garage for them and gave them the remote control for it; she then took them to their two rooms – one for the girls and one for Paulie and Lennon.

Theo went to his and Lisa’s room alone and settled in. The room was furnished like a five-star suite, with a large bed and a TV. A fridge was fully stocked with alcohol, juice, and water. There was a private terrace decked in wood looking onto the lake from the far corner of the guest room. In the middle of it was a large jacuzzi filled with water. Theo found the controls and turned it on; the water began to whir with luxurious power. He turned it off and went back into to room to freshened up.

He was ready before his friends and he and went alone to find Lisa in the big house. He noticed a small party of guests cavorting on the patio, but Lisa wasn’t there, so he walked to the front entrance of the house. Lisa opened after he rang, telling him he should have just walked in, and led him through a short hallway into a large and high living room. The right side of it was laid out with broad sofas and a massive square coffee table, while the left was rather a dining space. Lisa and Tammy were in the midst of preparing a dinner for the guests, unpacking what seemed to a massive food delivery.

Neil put down the newspapers he was reading on the sofa and walked to a large inset fridge to retrieve two beers for the two of them. He inquired about Theo’s trip and his room; it was all great. Conversation dwindled, and Theo began to fumble with an attractive statuette of a bull. 

- That’s an Irizaro – Neil said – a Spanish artist. We collect his works; let me show you. 

Neil walked Theo over to a wall painting featuring a beautiful palette of crimson, yellow, black, and cyan. It showed a golden-robed matador in pink stockings stiff above a raging and bloodied black bull, holding a pink cape in front of the bull’s head and holding a slender sword in his other hand. The cyan was spread all across the bull’s back and buttocks, indicating the glow of fine, humid fur.

- That’s really beautiful – commented Theo.

-  I was always a big fan of Hemingway – said Neil – you know Hemingway? Anyways, I ended up going to watch bullfighting in Pamplona, and this is where I discovered this artist. We have four of his paintings and several sculptures, but he sells all over the world. 

Theo’s phone buzzed, and he got Paulie and Lennon to show up in the big living room. Neil got them beers too. Paulie knew about Irizaro, He put his thumb under his chin and analyzed the painting intently for several moments.  

- It’s brilliant – he said – the color scheme is stunning. I love the cyan glow on the bull; it balances the warm and hot colors perfectly. Have you seen his most recent work? He has switched now to painting marine life. 

- That’s right! – said Neil – I have his “Great Marlin” painting in my office downtown.  

He took his tablet computer and passed it around to show everyone the picture of the marlin painting.

- Great choice – said Paulie – Irizaro is getting really popular, and these paintings will be worth a fortune one day. 

Lisa came out of the kitchen and asked everyone to help carry the food to the patio. Tammy had gone to receive some more guests. Five of them took about two turns to carry out platters of cheese and cold cuts, various tapas, and buckets of champagne out to the patio. There, a few men were busy over a barbeque. It was the centerpiece of entire outdoor kitchen, covered by a wooden roof and endowed, besides a massive gas grill, with two granite slabs serving as kitchen tops. Happy Motown music was playing on outdoor speakers hung up on several corners. 

Laura and Nikki had already joined the party and had flutes of champagne in hands. Most women wore summer dresses, and most men unbuttoned shirts and shorts and slippers. The sunset was turning crimson, and most guests had their sunglasses up on their heads or down to thang on their shirt buttons. It was a happy crowd of about thirty people, people of all ages and all backgrounds. There was even a man in his thirties with one arm and one leg; he would later explain that he was a refugee whose asylum was graciously sponsored by the McCrackens.  

- These are my friends and my coworkers – said Neil – You will get to know each other soon, I’m sure, they are great people.

The party thus got going. Theo introduced Lisa to his four friends from Twinnie’s. They took up a circular set of cushions with a stone table in the middle. It perched over three rows of boulders, arranged in rows to form three large and rough steps separating the patio from a small, yellow-sand beach. They had a clear view of a finger-shaped bay that protruded from the vast main body of the lake. On the opposite shore, some four hundred meters away, they could see a couple of elegant cottages tucked in a lush cover of woods that sloped gently up and away from the water.

- We really love your place – said Laura to Lisa.

- Thanks, but it’s not mine. I’m only a friend of Tammy and Neil. You ladies look gorgeous!

- You too, I love your dress! – said Nikki.

- So, how did you two meet? – Laura asked Lisa – Theo told us a bit about it, but he’s being all secretive! – She a mischievous smile that women put on when they ask this sort of question. It made Theo feel uncomfortable. 

- Oh, it was one incredible night – Lisa began, and she hugged Theo and looked in his eyes – We met in the city and Theo came with Marvin to our pool party, and he was so handsome, and a little… mysterious, he he! I really like mysterious men. 

- Mysterious, eh? – Lennon and Paulie laughed – Sorry, it’s just that we’ve known him since middle school. Theo is a hell of a guy, though.

- Guys, I’m going to go over get another drink – Theo excused himself and left the table.

He walked over to the bar and mixed himself a stiff cocktail. He then strolled over to the beach, away from the crowd, and rolled up a joint. It was almost completely dark, but a couple of lamps hung on trees illuminated the yellow sand. He was beginning to feel tense. It was going to be night where his suburban world clashes with whatever he got himself into, and he needed to take the edge off to handle it. Lisa texted him and he told her to come down to the beach.  

-  I’ve been waiting for you to bring some weed and you are smoking all alone? 

-  Here you go, there’s still plenty left for you as well. So, I brought a lot of new stuff. Who’s buying? 

-  I got a whole lot of people. And I’m going to get some too. Let’s sort it out after this. 

They finished the joint. 

-  I’ll bring people to the office in the basement. You know where it is? You bring your stuff.

Theo brought a duffle bag from the trunk of his Range Rover into the office, where Lisa was now talking to Tammy. They closed the door. They each bought a couple of thousand worth of drugs from Theo, mostly cocaine. Coordinated by Lisa’s text messages, others then began to come in and out of the office. In total, Theo sold majority of his goods for a total of almost twenty thousand dollars. As the last buyer, a hyperactive young day trader, was walking out of the office, he bumped into Laura.

- Sorry, I thought this was the washroom.  

She cast a quick glance into the room and then cast it down with embarrassment and walked away. Theo packed whatever is left in his duffle bag and took a line of coke.

- Let’s go have some fun.

Nights were still warm in early September. Outside, the night had fallen completely, and the party had come into full swing, with loud music and loud, indistinguishable chatter. After some lounging Theo stumbled into Lennon. 

- Hey man! I’m hearing that you got some dope, and you are not sharing it with your friends? What the hell?  

- All right, come with me.

The two of them walked back into the office. Theo lined some coke on the table.

-  That’s awesome man, where did you get this stuff?

-  A co-worker has some connections.

- Cool. This is a hell of a party man!

They walked back out to find that the crowd had shifted from the middle of the patio to its edge; they were looking at something on the lake. Theo and Lennon walked over too and saw that there was a large yacht in the middle of the bay, shooting fireworks. As in response, the sparse cottages on the other side of the bay also shot some fireworks of their own. The yacht was blasting its own music and there were visible more than a dozen revelers on its bright docks. Some began to yell and cheer at the yacht, and they heard cheers in return.

- Join our party! – someone shouted to the yacht in a moment of relative silence, when the fireworks ended and music on both ends quieted down.

Neil, who was in a great mood himself, walked down to the wooden wharf, followed by others, and he waved a welcoming gesture at the yacht as it slowly began to approach to dock, opposite of Neil’s own boat. The new arrival was a 44-meter Sanlorenzo, a luxury vessel. As it got closer,  people began to recognize the two men waving at them from the rear deck - they were Abhay and Marvin.

- It’s Marvin! – someone exclaimed.

- What? What are you doing here Abhay? And Marvin? – said Neil. 

- Well, you didn’t invite us to your party, but I got other friends up here. Come on up, I will introduce you. Theo, Lisa, come on up! – Abhay threw a rope around the mooring pole and threw over a boarding ramp. Everyone from the wharf filed onto the yacht.

- Who did you come with? – asked Theo looking in turn at Abhay and Marvin. They only smiled.

They climbed up a set of outdoor stairs and walked into a spacious main cabin, furnished like a luxurious suite. At the main table there were several men dressed in small business casual, playing poker and drinking cognac. Theo was shocked to recognize the whole gangster crew: Larry, Kick, Marco, and Darius, besides two unknown men. They were all dressed business casual. Before Theo could say anything, four girls also stumbled into the cabin from the front, giggling. It was Maya and her friends.

- Maya!? – this time all five yacht visitors were surprised. 

-  Oh, hello guys! – Maya sounded a little drunk. – Sorry to sneak up on you like this! I wasn’t going to come up for the long weekend, I swear, but Abhay hired me to give yoga classes at Larry’s mansion! They pay really well – she said in a mock whisper, and giggled. 

- Well, I cannot believe this! – said Theo. 

- I believe Theo has met a lot of my friends already – said Abhay – for the rest of you, this is Larry, Marco, …

Abhay graciously introduced everyone to everyone. He explained that him and Larry have common interest in some business ventures, and also explained on Theo’s behalf that Theo has previously contracted with Larry’s real estate business.

- Theo, you really know everyone – said Laura. 

Neil and Larry exchanged business cards. Neil knew about Larry’s property company. 

- Have a seat people, please – Larry was gracious – what can I get you? We are drinking cognac, how about that?

Kick fetched glasses and poured the men some very expensive French cognac, giving Theo a dirty look as he was handing him his glass. He served the ladies with champagne. Theo remained stumped, but Neil and Larry were happy to make each other’s acquaintance.