Kim Visits

I am settling in for a lazy day on the couch. Oh, I know, there are so many things I could be doing. Sure. What of it? Sam has to work, I can piss about for the day.

My mate Tim Madoff drops in. He’s back from working in Bass Strait and he’s dropped around to say hello.

Okay, sure, he kind of disrupts my plans for doing nothing on the couch for the morning, but it was nice to see him.

I know! what am I like?

He’s got possession of his new house, so he’s moving some stuff into it while he’s in Melbourne. He’s going to live bi-costal, as Peter Allen would say, except it is bi-capital city in this instance, with a house in Hobart and now a house in Melbourne. He’s hired an Uber van which has Jim’s mowing decals all over it.

“What’s with the van?” I ask.

“Oh, I think people just buy these old vans specifically to put them on Uber Car Share, you know, kind of like Air BnB,” says Tim. “They just don’t bother taking the old decals off them.”

Kim calls while I am saying good bye to Tim. I intend to call Kim back as soon as Tim leaves. I’m walking back in from seeing Tim off and Kim texts saying he wants to drop around. He’s in the area, he’ll drop around with morning tea. Did I want a donut?

I’m not even back in the house from one mate dropping in and another is on his way.

Sure, drop around. No, to the donut. 

(Have I told you guys that I am having high blood sugar problems? So, I am pretty sure donuts are now off the diet. I must go and have another blood test.)

Kim arrives with coffee and sushi. 

Bruno humps Kim’s leg, Bruno often does when new people arrive. I think it is a dominance, pack order, thing. Oh yes, I know, great welcome.

Kim laughs. “Oh, don’t stop him, that’s the best offer I have had all year.”

Kim is still his naturally happy self. He slurs a bit. Kim has been a highly functioning drug addict for years. I’m not sure if the slurring is from continuing drug use, or the effect of past drug use. I don’t ask.

Kim says we haven’t seen each other for 7 years, and then it was probably longer than 7 years the time before that. 

At one point in our lives, we spent nearly every day together, all of us when we used to party hard in the 90s when we were all kids.

And of the old crew.

He tells me Dante was down on his arse, with no future to speak of living in housing commission in Frankston (I already knew that, but it was Dandenong) with health issues. 

His parents died and left him nothing. He took it to court and fought the will. He got 1.2 million. He bought a house in Eltham for $650 and in typical Dante style a convertible BMW.

Dante’s financial disasters are legendary. I think he has gone bankrupt 3 times. He’ll blow the money and the BMW eventually. Let’s hope he doesn’t start borrowing against the house, but he probably will. Prediction, he’ll lose the lot, 5 years tops.

“I’m not keen to catch up with him,” said Kim. “You know what Dante is like. He’d laud it over me, as I don’t have a million dollar house.”

Kim has run a successful business ever since I’ve known him. Dante has no reason to laud anything over Kim. I remember why I don’t see Dante any more though, that mean streak. It's all an inferiority complex, sure, we all know that, but it doesn't really make it any better. We were all the good looking, successful friends, and he wasn't either of those things, and Dante developed a thick skin and a mean streak to combat his perceived deficiencies.

“Getting money from parents who didn’t even want to give it to you hardly makes you a success,” I say.

Apparently, Kim thinks Mark is broke and living off his boyfriend, as Kim put it. “What’s his boyfriend’s name again?” That is kind of true, but not really true. Mark did lose his two hotels in Hanoi during covid.

He thought I been left money and was living in the lap of luxury. Nah, no such luck, mate.

He thought Mark’s son, and my stepson, Fen, killed himself with a gun. He seemed to be genuinely upset when I tell him the truth. Fen died of a heart attack, from years of doing illegal steroids with his body building. He was in a halfway house, having just split from his partner and daughter, he was in some other guy’s room, there was a group, I assume they were doing drugs. The other guys there carrying Fen back to his room and dumping him on his bed rather than calling an ambulance.

“Heart attacks are very survivable,” says Kim. “As long as someone calls an Ambulance. That makes me feel very sad. Poor Fen.”

Where do these stories come from? People and gossip, and their need for it.

We laughed and chatted as though no time had passed in our relationship. He told me stories, most of which I remembered. Kim loves to tell stories, I wonder if it made a difference that I was someone who was there for a lot of them.

“And what about all those Italian girls we used to hang with?” he asked as he was heading out.

“Well, Lolli has 20 old kids of her own now and living happily with her husband. Dolly went to Greece and was never seen again. I haven’t seen Adriana in some time. The last time I saw her she had split up from Charlie after all these years.”

Kim had to go back to work, which was close by at present, hence the visit. I walked him out. I showed him the bonnet of my recently vandalised car. He headed off with us making noises about catching up again.

I take Bruno and Otto for a walk.