“Hello?” The girly voice on the other side of the phone brought some easiness to his heart.

“Carla? It’s me, Teo,” he spoke with a steady voice.

“Teo darling! I thought you wouldn’t call me after your little fit back at your house.”

“Yeah, well. I’m not going through the best times, Carla,” he said with a sigh. A long pause followed. Teo glanced to his computer’s screen and then rolled his chair a bit further from his desk. “Listen, my parents called.” A gasp echoed from her side and the young man nodded in perfect agreement. “Tell me about it,” he whispered and rubbed his eyes, pulling, afterward, his hair away from his face.

“Why? I mean, they didn’t even bother coming to our wedding. As far as I can remember, your mother sent us a postcard from Bali with congratulations on it and signed only by her. Your father-”

“I know, Carla. I was there when we received it. I know.” Teo chuckled awkwardly. 

His relationship with his parents was like this forever. He was, after all, the unwanted second child. His older brother was everything they were dreaming of; successful, with a company of his, goals that matched the family name’s prestige, and a bright future ahead of him. In a few words; Devon was the spitting image of their father. As for Teo, well, they allowed him to take whichever path he desired. He was free of their restrictions and their affection, hence their absence in one of the most important events of his life.

“Teo? Are you there?”

“Yes, I’m sorry. Took a small trip down memory lane.”

“So? What did they want?”

“That’s the funny thing! They are coming to Australia. I mean, they spent the past eleven years traveling around the world; they refused to come to our wedding and even pay a visit to our house, and now they want to come. Now!” His tone was raised in a very furious manner. Teo stood up, shut the door of his office, and leaned against his desk.

“Calm down, now. Ok? They must have their reasons,” she tried to put out the fire that was burning him, but somehow she managed to anger him.

“What a wonderful idea, honey! I will calm down, alright. My parents are coming to visit and probably see how I am doing with my life, and do you know what they will come across with?”

“What exactly?”

“Nothing! Absolute failures! A divorce and a job that is hanging on the tiniest and thinnest rope in existence.” His heart was pounding painfully. “I can’t...I can’t face them, not now, Carla,” he spoke defeated by fear and disappointment.

“Well, don’t! Come up with a lie and convince them to visit some other time.” His cheery voice was slowly driving him over the edge. To her, everything was so easy and possible. There was a solution everywhere for this woman. He was dying sick? Vitamins! Was his hard drive burnt? Get a new one! Was their marriage falling? Grab a new lover! Easy. When it came down to Carla, everything was easy.

“Carla, I’m going to be blunt so...Come back to our house, pretend that we are back together and you are free to go when they leave.” He heard himself and a part of him wanted to cry so badly while another wanted to fall down laughing.

“Teo, darling, I want to help I do. But I’m not in Perth right now. Jonas and I are at a resort in Ahipara.”

“Wait,” he chuckled, “you are – where exactly?” he asked in disbelief and continued, “Ahipara, as in Ahipara in New Zealand? Y-You are in New Zealand? Why? How? When?” So many questions were filling his head and even though he needn’t know the answer, he was curious enough.

“Remember when I told you that Jonas-”

“Jonas the guy from the app?”

“Mhm, that one. I told you that he is a surfer, right? Well, I wanted to see him in action and one thing led to another and here I am! I will send you some pictures later! The place is gorgeous! We should have thought of coming here on our honeymoon. I mean…” All the while Carla was blubbering about the new joy in her life, Teo couldn’t stop thinking of alternatives; he could easily call them and tell them that he’d have to go on an unexpected business trip. Then again, what business trip a computer programmer would go to? A convention maybe? Nuh, not good. They’d probably ask him which so they could accompany him. An illness, perhaps? That would keep his mother away but not his dad. If they couldn’t meet him then they’d love to see their daughter-in-law. ”Teo? Are you listening to me?” Tell them the truth. How hard could that be, since he’s been nothing but a constant disappointment? Of course, that would also mean that he lied in the phone call.

“God damn it, Carla, you’ve got to help me!” And so it came to this; begging.

“Sorry, as I said. I can’t. Give lots of kisses and hugs to my... ex-in-laws. Is that even a thing? Hahaha.”

“Yeah. Got that. Thank you for nothing.” And just like that he hanged up.

Not even a minute later, a knock on the door echoed in the room.

“Is this a good time, Theodore?”

“Mr. Yaro,” Teo exclaimed and returned to his seat. “What can I do for you?”

“Well, James made sure to fill me in before he leaves-”

“James, left? Why?”

“Oh, nothing serious. He had to take some time off, I guess. All this work and the poor boy wouldn’t rest.”

Poor boy, my arse, Teo nearly laughed at those words, but he maintained his professional image. “And what can I do?”

“Well, apparently James was very worried about you. He did tell me- Oh, do you mind if I sit?” The old man pulled the only chair across Teo and sat down without waiting for an answer. But of course, he was the boss and he could do as he pleased, whenever he felt like it. “As I was saying,” he crossed his legs and rested his hands on the knees, “James asked me to keep an eye on you. He knows how important this project is to you and he’d hate if anything happened due to your exhaustion. I mean, I took a look at your extra hours, and this month alone, well, we might as well say that your paycheck will be doubled.” Mr. Yaro chuckled and for a second, to Teo’s eyes, he looked like those little, chubby, old men in anime and cartoons; innocent, full of silly humor, and in dire need freaking terrifying.

“I’m ok. Yes, I did have to work harder than before and that was due to some unfortunate events. But I do rest as much as I need.”

“I’m happy to hear that. You don’t want to end up like me; old and with crackling bones, stuck behind a desk and checking files all day!” He laughed, again. This time a little louder cause he knew. Oh, the old man knew that Teo would wish to be in his place. And not for the crackling bones or the years. No. But to be paid thrice his regular paycheck and do nothing but spend a few hours in the office and then leave before noon to catch up with his favorite soap opera.

“Anything else, you want me for, sir?”

“Nothing. Just checking in. Make sure that you are ok!” Mr. Yaro stood up, straightened his suit, and coughed a little. “Oh, and another thing. Tomorrow we will have a meeting with a new client. They want to meet our head programmer and discuss a few matters.”

“But what about my project? ”

“Dawn of Scare-”

“Crows, yes. The reason why I’ve been doing so much overtime. The main project that I’ve been working on for two years now.”

“I take it you have been informed that the files of the concept art were lost today.” He spoke sharply.

“Yes, I’ve been told. A virus caused the hard drive to almost burning.”

“It was incredibly fortunate that it got restrained and didn’t mess with the entire system”

“As well as the fact that a few days back the game’s code was faulty?”

Mr. Yaro smirked and turned his back with a deep inhale. “Ah, Theodore. I suggest you take some time off,” he turned his head just to look at him, “If someone was to hear you, they’d say you are implying that your work has been...sabotaged?”

Teo gulped. A threatening aura surrounded him. The odds were not in his favor at all. He relaxed and lowered his head. “Of course not. I’m just saying.”

“Don’t say anything and try to rest a bit more,” he had turned back to that innocent little old man, with his dark blue blazer, gray pants, and shiny black shoes, “go home or even go out to search for a nice sweet honey for your self!” In the end, he left while laughing.

“A nice sweet honey, huh? Right…” and with that, he returned to work.

There was no intention of staying longer than he was supposed to. He had a bunch of things to do after that like; going grocery shopping for his parents’ visit and taking a look at the hardware shop for some brand new equipment. And, at the end of the day grab a beer and sit in front of his laptop, searching the web for a way to save himself from his own family.