Bull by the Horns

Marcus stood at the edge of the apartment complex's swimming pool at midnight, watching the water reflect the moon like a shattered mirror. His thousand-dollar suit was soaked through, sweat pooling at the small of his back. Three hours ago, he'd been the golden boy of Merrill Lynch, riding the bull market to heights that made his hands shake. Now, he was just a man who'd bet everything on a merger that dissolved like sugar in hot tea.

His phone buzzed again—Sarah, probably. Or maybe the firm's compliance officer. Marcus didn't check. Instead, he pulled at the loose coaxial cable dangling from the exterior wall, exposing its copper heart like a raw nerve. The apartment complex's cable had been out for weeks, another detail in the long catalogue of his neglect.

"You look like hell," a voice said from the darkness.

Marcus didn't turn. "Elena. I figured you'd be the one to find me."

She stepped into the pool's blue glow, wearing the same waitress uniform she'd had since college. "We were supposed to be friends, Marcus. That usually involves returning calls."

"I know."

"Sarah's worried sick. Your mother called me, for chrissakes."

"Everyone wants something," Marcus said bitterly. "That's the problem."

"Nobody wants your money, you idiot. We want you to show up." Elena sat on the concrete edge, feet dangling above the water. "Remember when we were kids, and you fell off that bull at the county fair? You got right back on."

"That was bravery. This is stupidity."

"Bullshit." Elena's voice softened. "You lost money, Marcus. You didn't lose your wife, your health, or whatever dignity you had left. Unless you let yourself."

The cable crackled in Marcus's hand, a tiny spark of connection. He looked at the water, at Elena, at the suit that cost more than his father made in a year.

"The cable guy comes tomorrow," he said finally. "Maybe I'll be here to let him in."

Elena smiled, and something in Marcus's chest loosened for the first time in months. "Maybe. Or you could come inside, have some real coffee, and call your wife."

Marcus dropped the cable. It swung against the wall like a pendulum marking time he hadn't wasted yet. "Okay," he said. "Okay."

The pool water rippled in the breeze, and for the first time that day, Marcus saw his reflection clearly.