Having graduated from the Film Academy, Roy participated in the filming of a few documentaries and feature films, in the latter case even once getting the position of a second assistant director. The salary was honestly meager. Nick was born by that time and, to help his family, Roy got a job at Mandarin Hotel operating the security surveillance system during the night shift.

The film was still in progress, but another “jump off the cliff” wasn’t far off. Roy suddenly quit this job. “They don’t understand a damn thing in movies! I want to shoot it myself as I see fit. I have an interesting idea for my future film and I will definitely make it a reality. For now, I will work more shifts as a security operator in the hotel. I hope that some jobs in commercials will come along as well.” He explained his actions to Michelle and also his plan for the future.

Michelle, who had not so long before dreamed of ascending alongside the heights of her husband’s fame, began to vaguely surmise that she had better prepare for “jumping off cliffs.” She noticed instead a certain strangeness in him that she previously took to be a sign of genius. Her faith in her husband’s talent was noticeably shaken, and Michelle began to believe that she’d married a good but unfortunate man.

***

What upset Michelle most of all was her husband’s indifference to their son. Yes, he spent time with Nick, but in her opinion it was just to check off the box saying he’d fulfilled his fatherly duties, and he’d constantly have his eye on his watch when he was with his son. He sometimes even forgot Nick’s birthday! And if he shoots videos or photographs of Nicholas, he cares exclusively from the aesthetic point of view.

Their son often asked, “Mom, where’s dad? When is he coming home?” and Michelle would have to answer, a smile on her face, “Dad’s at work; he is busy. He loves you very much.”

***

Dad promises that when Nicholas grows up he’ll take him to the pirate ship. That’s why Nicholas is in a hurry to grow up. He does whatever he can to make this happen as quickly as possible: he jumps off the couch, pees directly into the toilet (lifting the lid first), and sometimes puts all his monsters neatly back in the toy box at night.