The Conflict Algorithm, Chapter 9
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Sara walked into the kitchen after putting Edwin Jr. to sleep. Abuela had microwaved dinner and made sure Leo had a plate. He sat at Sara’s table, dug into the pernil and rice and beans and tried to think. Old boleros were playing on the oversized stereo in the adjoining room.
Leo looked up from his plate, following his own train of thought, “I sent you some money. What phone plan are you on?”
Sara was still prepping her plate, buzzing around him. “You want me to get you a phone?”
“Yeah, so they can’t trace my stuff. I’ll pay for the plan.”
“Next thing you’ll be asking me to marry you.”
Leo looked at her, not sure if he should laugh or not. “Um…”
“I’m just messing with you. We can do it tomorrow.”
Leo rubbed his eyes, one side of his face still smarting, “I have to find out what’s going on. I think I should work with these people.”
Sara came over, put a hand on his neck as she sat down, “Ya, todo sale bien.”
Leo’s Spanish wasn’t that great. He changed the subject. “This is really good.” Leo said to Sara, piling up his fork.
“The way to a man’s heart is through his belly,” Sara joked, adjusting her plastic-covered Caribbean beach placemat. Her leg pressed against his comfortably.
“I really like you, you know that?” he said.
“I don’t think you really know me.”
“Well, help me to know you.” Leo smiled at his own dorkishness, “That sounds weird.”
“Shut up.” Sara leaned toward him. He leaned toward her. They held a gentle kiss for a few stretched seconds. Leo tried to keep his full fork balanced unconsciously.
After they’d eaten, Leo took the initiative with the dishes. Sara took his hand and led him to the bedroom.
The rhythms of conflict show up in the bedroom too. The push and pull. The tease and the fulfillment, pain and pleasure. Leo wasn’t an expert, but he was good at paying attention.
He realized he’d never gotten to dance with her. He remembered that night. It seemed like a million years ago. Over the rumpled sheets, he pulled her into an almost desperate embrace.
ON FAST FORWARD (because life does that sometimes): Secure the phone, take the deal, work remote, convince Chickie to let you live with him. Give him money, Sara money, get money from Advantech. Convince Advantech to find out who the goons are. Assume they’ll take care of it. Write in a back-door. Ignore emails from Beth.
Get disciplined. Wake up every day and meditate. Do pushups, situps, squats. Spar with Chickie. Spar with other guys. Really learn the rhythms of violence and nonviolence.
Buy a Tesla, cash. Tint the windows. Get stopped by cops. Twice.
Celebrate Sara’s win over Edwin Sr. Take Sara and Edwin out to Dave and Buster’s. Have a blast. Wonder if life could get any better while looking over your shoulder. Consider moving to Long Island. Wonder who hired the goons. Ignore emails from Beth.
Have lots of sex with Sara. Tell her she is the most beautiful woman you have ever seen. Tell her that her c-section scar is like a smiley-face. Tell her you love her.
Answer her questions about your family. Deal with her followup questions. Drive her and Edwin Jr. up to Dutchess County. Show them the commune entrance. Stop at a store so Edwin Jr. can pee. See Jenny behind the counter. Feel your stomach drop. Listen as Jenny tells Sara that you were in love with her as a kid. Watch Sara not give a shit.
Listen to Jenny tell you that your mom is probably not doing well since the pastor died and the son died and now the grandson, Theo has taken over the cult.
Ask Jenny how she knows all this crap, and listen as she says she still fucks Theo even though he’s married and has like 7 kids and fucks everyone.
Get an email from Advantech on Christmas that says the algorithm stopped working. Investigate and realize that your speech bot is having a repetitive flame war with another bot, your first bot. It’s Beth, and she’s trying to screw you. Realize you’ve made almost 100 grand doing nothing. Email Beth, tell her you want to meet.
Leo dropped off Sara at work and started the drive into the city. His life looked very different than a few months ago. He did the whole slushy-winter New York stop-and-go traffic thing, realized how much he hated the press and madness of Manhattan, parked the car at a garage, and headed to the spot where he’d eaten lunch with Beth and the team for a year.
Uncle Sal’s was a non-descript place. Technically it was Harlem, but now they called it ‘Morningside Heights’. Uncle Sal’s checkerboard floor hearkened back to pre-gentrified days. Just being in there brought back memories of celebrations with his team.
He remembered actually having a little crush on Beth. He’d known better than to act on it. But there had been plenty of tension. She’d usually tease him mercilessly and his go-to response was to play it cool. It wasn’t until the ‘slap’ that he got the idea that his behavior might have been really annoying.
He’d never thought of what Beth was experiencing. Part of him was really excited to see her, and the rest was thoroughly terrified. It was almost a new year, a new set of circumstances, and yet Beth knew how to get to him better than anyone.
It seemed she was running late. He shot her an email. ‘We still on?’
He decided to relax and ordered an appetizer. He knew she liked the mozzarella sticks, and pictured her diving right in when she got here.
More waiting. He went to zap her another email and his phone buzzed as he pulled it out his pocket. ‘Here!’ Beth’s message said. He heard the door open.
He looked up and saw Beth. Behind her was a burly man who looked remarkably familiar. Leo felt a sinking feeling of betrayal.
