4 - Jonah
4
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Jonah
On Saturday, Martin dragged me to an art exhibition. To my surprise, my parents held a deep appreciation for art, which led to my early visits to a museum or two during childhood. But this was my first time attending an exhibition opening in a gallery, and I felt completely out of place. Everyone appeared so sophisticated as if they had an innate comprehension of art. I felt like a hillbilly trying not to attract attention. Even from a distance, it was obvious that I didn’t fit in. I was astonished by how effortlessly Martin integrated with the crowd, casually interacting and engaging in small talk with ease. I, on the other hand, walked through the white rooms in awe, admiring the works of the various artists.
One painting—measuring nearly seven feet in width and height—caught my attention. I stopped and frowned at the bizarre artwork. It depicted a strange world filled with sprawling plants around a ruin in a gloomy forest clearing. I could see monsters hiding in every corner with cat-like eyes and lizard-like tails. It was a captivating picture you could look at for a long time—there was always something new to discover. Intrigued, I leaned forward and read the name tag.
Lucien Gilliéron: The Hiding Place Of The Demons ; acrylic on canvas
I hadn’t expected that. Impressed, I took a few steps back and viewed the painting again with a fresh perspective.
“Do you like it?” Lucien suddenly asked as he stood next to me.
“What is it?”
“You’ve never been into art, have you?”
“I … uh … well … I don’t know,” I stammered, my uncertainty palpable in my voice. “And you painted this?”
“Come on. I’ll show you another one of my works.”
I followed him into the next room and found myself in front of another wall-sized painting. “Good God.”
It was a collection of monstrous figures which, despite their grotesque appearances, reminded me of Titania’s Awakening by Johann Heinrich Füssli. Lucien’s painting was full of cruelty, yet I was fascinated by it. My eyes fell on a small red dot affixed to the nameplate.
Sold?
“Can you make a living from it?”
Lucien looked at me as if my question had been presumptuous, but then a gentle smile crossed his face. In the four days we’d known each other, this was the first time I hadn’t felt like I’d done something wrong. My presence alone sometimes seemed to agitate him so much that he could only ignore me. But maybe he was just in a great mood. Out of nowhere, he draped his arm around my shoulder and dragged me along.
“Come on, now the party’s getting started. Martin! Are you ready?”
His fragrance wafted toward me, catching me off guard. I had expected him to reek of cigarette smoke, but he smelled like he’d just showered and hadn’t smoked a single cigarette in the last few hours. I liked the smell and clumsily followed alongside him.
“Don’t worry. It’ll be fun,” he assured me as he let go of me and picked up his coat from the cloakroom.
“Where are we going?”
“To Langstrasse.”
“And what’s there?”
“Alcohol.”
My two roommates dragged me to Zurich’s nightlife district, where we hit one bar after another. After what Lucien called a boring glass of water, I tried beer again. Although it was the same brand as the one we had in the shared apartment, I didn’t find the taste quite as bitter as the first time. I even had to admit to myself that I was starting to like it. Still, I was grateful that Martin and Lucien didn’t expect me to keep up with them. Their thirst seemed unquenchable, and I wondered when Martin became so fond of partying.
As we squeezed past people in an Irish pub toward the bar, someone called Martin’s name from the other end of the room. Lucien hesitated and made a move to turn around and leave the bar, but Martin tugged on his sleeve and led us through the crowd, straight toward a slim blonde. She greeted him with a kiss on the cheek and a hug.
“Jessi!” Martin said, looking around. “Are you alone?”
“No, my brother and his buddy Steven should be here any minute.” She gracefully flicked her blonde hair over her shoulder and arched a brow upon catching sight of me. “And who’s that?”
“Jonah, my cousin,” Martin replied. “Jonah, this is Jessica.”
I stood there in awe, staring at her red lips. Her black top was about to burst at the seams, and she towered over me in her high heels by a few inches. I didn’t know if I was into her or if I just thought she was awful. She offered me a friendly smile, though it was evident she wasn’t interested. As soon as she spotted Lucien, she squeezed past me and threw herself around his neck.
“Lu! It’s been a long time!” she squealed with joy and pressed herself against him.
Looking for help, Lucien turned his head to the side to avoid the welcoming kiss. Upon spotting two vacant stools at the bar, he disengaged from Jessica, grabbed my arm, and pulled me along. “Sit down!” he hissed. He made it clear that he didn’t want Jessica around him at that moment.
“Is she a friend of yours?” I asked as I sat down on a bar stool.
“I wouldn’t call it like that. Her brother Marco is a friend of Martin’s,” Lucien replied, his tone tinged with boredom, as he ordered two beers. “I’d rather hang out with Steven.”
“Is she a model?”
“She certainly pretends to be. Are you into her? You can have her.”
“What? No! To her, I’m just air anyway.”
The subject of women made me uncomfortable because I had no experience, but before I could change the subject, Lucien scrutinized me from head to toe.
“She’s blind if she can’t see what she’s missing.”
I was taken aback. I hadn’t expected a comment like that. “I … am just a normal person. Nothing special at all.”
Lucien furrowed his brow and observed me closely. “You’re handsome. You have a nice face. And a good figure too.”
My face flushed with heat. I’d never received such compliments before, especially not from a man. Well, coming from a painter, one can assume he perceives the world differently. Whatever that means. I changed the subject and tried to find out more about my new roommate. “How did you get to know Martin?”
“He was a year above me in medical school.”
“Oh, you studied medicine?” I asked in surprise.
Lucien put the money on the counter and stared at the coins. “I dropped out and went to art school.”
“Was it too stressful?”
“No,” he replied. He turned to me and wrapped his arm over my shoulder. “And you, Mr. Agricultural Scientist? Do you want to save the world from starvation?”
“That sounds honorable, but it probably won’t happen.”
“Why?”
“My parents expect me to take over the farm at some point. You have no idea how long I had to work on them to be allowed to come here in the first place. It was and is a liberation, even if only for a limited period of time.”
“Uh… hello, you’re an adult. And in a few years, you’ll have one of the best degrees in the world in your pocket,” Lucien said, taking his arm off my shoulder. “Then you can do whatever you want.”
“I was raised a strict Catholic.”
“What’s that got to do with it?”
“My greatest achievement so far is that I was able to convince them to start studying science. It sounds like they’re letting me out into the wide world for a while, like the Amish, with the expectation that I’ll come back afterward.”
“You don’t have to.”
“No, I don’t have to.” I forced a smile out of politeness. “But you don’t know my parents.”
“Hm… how depressing,” Lucien mumbled and drank from his beer.
“Basically, it’s not a problem.” I didn’t know whether I was serious or just trying to make myself feel better. “I’m doing well. I’ve even met a fellow student who attends church with me on Sundays.”
“That’s good,” Lu replied into his glass, even more disinterested than before.
“You’re welcome to come with me.”
“Where to?”
“To church.”
“Uh … no, thanks.”
“Hey, guys!” a sudden voice called out from behind us. “Lu! Long time no see!” A giant who was into weightlifting patted Lucien on the shoulder and raised his eyebrows at me. “And you must be …” he drew quotation marks in the air, “ the cousin . Hello, I’m Marco. And this is Steven.”
A guy stood behind Marco with a sleepy look on his face and raised his hand in greeting. Jessica pushed past me and snuggled up to Lucien. “Lu! Why didn’t you tell me it was the opening day? I would have loved to come too.”
Lucien mumbled something and looked around for help. But the two—or was it three?—beers I’d already had paralyzed my tongue. Add to that the crowd, the booming music, and the stifling atmosphere—suddenly, everything was too much for me. I slid off the bar stool and felt dizzy. I have to get out of here. I also felt a bit sick, so I slipped on my jacket.
“Where are you going?” Lucien asked in surprise, with Jessica still hanging on his neck.
“Home.”
“What, it’s Saturday. The evening has only just begun.”
“Yes, but I have to be up early tomorrow.”
“Oh. You were serious about church?”
“Yes.” Did he not believe me?
His expression softened. “Are you all right? Are you feeling sick?”
I wondered at his sudden concern for me, but as I watched him try to break free from Jessica’s hold, I realized he was just looking for an excuse to shake her off. But that wasn’t my problem. “Don’t worry about it. Everything’s fine,” I replied. “Have fun, everyone.”
“Do you know your way back home?” Martin asked behind me.
I just nodded and staggered out of the bar.