From One Man to Another

"How do you fight with a girl, huh? Tell me, cause it ain't right, you being like that with her. It's different, you know. I wouldn't take it, no way, that's straight up wrong is what that is. You need to shake your head, that's what you need, bro. No way you treat a girl like that. How you think she feels, hmm? You treat your sister that way, defensive and downright mean? Yeah, you're mean, bro. You dismiss her and don't respond. You disengage. That's fine with me- I get it, you know? But to her? No. Passive aggressive and you call her out on it? Pfffft, come on. I mean, I've listened to you go on and on for the last what, 8, 9 months- but this anger, man. You have some spooky anger issues in play and honestly- I love you, man, you know I do- you need to check that because the two of you make each other crazy and she's a good woman, dude. You know that. But you shut her down and check out and then you play with her, always play. Enough with the push pull and just listen and hear with an open heart, bro. I know you can- you're all heart with me, man. So what's going on? It's not good. Not good at all." Manuel is spent. He exhales from the depth of his being and Luke can't bear to meet his eyes. Best friends these two, men of few words except when it comes to music, philosophy, art and yeah, women occasionally. They'd rather talk instruments and process and ideologies than complications of the heart and self destructive behaviour patterns. Spend hours writing or listening or not even speaking, just intuiting. They are guy's guys with sensitive souls. Reluctant extroverted introverts riddled with old wounds; deep fissures filled with past transgressions and the studied, familiar, chosen identities that have come to define them, for better or worse. Lately Luke's gotten mean. He's stuck in a loop with her and every other problem gets mirrored back at him through his connection to her. It's toxic and he's blaming her. She's in freefall. It's awful. Manuel walked in on a terrific showdown of he-said-she-said and threw down the gauntlet. "You care for each other man. I care for you. Both of you. So check yourself. It's not all on her. It's not all on you. But right now, Lu? I don't like you. You can't stand her, and she's struggling. I think you really have a problem with yourself." Luke opens his mouth as if to speak but no words come out. Manuel waits, then starts once more. "Let's get out of here, ok? Just go for a while. Let's get lost. You need to find yourself again. I don't know where you went but give yourself space to resurface cause you're drowning us all, bro."

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