I look expectantly at the Vet to see if he finally tells me what’s the problem with Marv and how we can solve it but he seems lost in his annotations and doesn’t pay any attention to me.

I head over to Marv and sit by his side on the table and he just puts his big head on my lap. I can’t resist and pet him while I ask the Vet for answers.

- So, doc… did you reach any conclusions?...

- Hmmm…

- Marv is going to be ok, right?...

- Hmmm…

- You know money is not an issue. I’ll do anything for Marv. I just want him to be ok again.

- Well, I hope you remember those words in the future. Let me just finish analysing this data and I’ll talk to you in a second.

- Ok, doc… See Marv, you’re going to be ok, I’m sure of it.

I pet Marv while we wait for the vet to talk to us. Marv is so calm right now, I really don’t know how the doc did that but I wish he’d tell me so that I can replicate it at home when Marv gets restless. Marv hugs me by the waist and I feel like everything is going to be ok, no matter what the Vet might say, we’re gonna get through this.

The Vet does his final check on the data he amassed on Marv’s condition and signals me to join him at his desk.

- Well, Richard, we’ve got bad news and good news, which would you like first.

- Hmm, maybe the bad news.

- Well, Marv is going through belated puberty

- Puberty? What do you mean? Gorillas go through puberty?

- What did you expect, Richard? They’re animals, they’re primates, so they’re fairly similar to us. Females even have periods and go through ovulation. Since Marv is a male, as we can clearly see, he doesn’t go through ovulation but he can sense the signals nature provides him with and acts on those signals. When he’s not allowed to act he becomes restless and that restlessness might originate violence and all the other symptoms he seems to be experiencing. It seems to have come fairly late in this case but I don’t have his entire medical history to confirm that.

- So you mean Marv is going through puberty and now he can detect signals from nature? What signals, what does that mean?

- The signals are usually pheromones. Have you heard of those and know how they work?

- Vaguely.

- Well, pheromones are chemical substances produced by animals and released into the air as a way of attracting a partner. Either someone in your house is giving off these pheromones and Marv is reacting to them or they are reaching Marv from outside of your house, which I find much less plausible.

- So you mean there’s someone in my house giving off mating signals to Marv? But how? How could that be? Who could it be? It’s only Marv and me, it’s only the both of us there.

- That’s why I’d like to run some tests and see if it's you, just to rule out every option.

- What? Are you crazy? That’s impossible.

- Well, I wouldn’t say impossible, just not likely. But since both of you are primates and have been sharing the same space for so long, maybe your bodies have adapted to each other. I see you really love Marv and I can see the way Marv looks at you. I’m sure you’d want what’s best for him and this is the way to find what that could be happening.

- Ok, doc, when can we run the tests?

- How about you swing by tomorrow and we’ll take care of that, it shouldn’t take more than 1 hour and a half.

- Ok, doc. I’ll do that. Anything for Marv.

- Good.

- Now doc, how did you get Marv to be so calm? He seems so peaceful now. I could really use the trick so that I can do that when he becomes restless.

- Well, his restlessness was due to accumulated stamina. I just helped release the pressure for him and now he’s calm.

- How does that translate in practical terms, doc? How do you release stamina from a gorilla

- Well, Marv is very healthy and he has needs, you need to help him with those needs and he’ll be good.

- Needs… like SEXUAL needs?

- Yes, Richard, sexual needs!

- But how do I help with that?