Page 32 of Status Undefined
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Instagram had been irritating me all morning. There were a thousand notifications inviting me to follow Michal Mizrahi. Why the app thought I would be interested in her after she treated me like an annoying mosquito all the way through high school was a mystery to me. She was only in my contacts because everyone was. That way, if someone called and I didn’t have a clue who I was talking to, I wouldn’t embarrass myself. I know, I know. Paranoid. But sometimes I don’t recognize even my close friends on the phone, and they get offended – or pretend to.
So I turned off all notifications from Instagram. Daniel had said he was satisfied with me having an account and that I didn’t need to ever look at it.
I thought about the day we’d set up my Instagram account. I’d had a weird feeling about Daniel – call it intuition. His tears had seemed odd. Sure, it was exciting to tell the whole world about being in a relationship, if that’s what it was, but Daniel wasn’t the crying type. I felt like I’d know him for years, even though we’d just met a month ago. Like we’d known each other in the past and that guy fromMen in Blackhad erased our memories. Surely he hadn’t cried because of all the followers who would ditch him because of that photo. This was something else. I wasn’t going to bug him about it though. We already had so little time. I couldn’t afford to let myself fall in love with him, and he probably wasn’t letting himself be completely open. The ticking clock restricted how much we could open up. We were trying to minimize the pain that was coming. Inevitably.
New Year’s Eve arrived and Daniel, along with the rest of Thailand, took the occasion seriously. We planned that he would come over and we would go to a nearby party with Keren andSean. I was at the Arielis when he knocked on the door. Naama opened it and they hugged. I loved that about her, my adopted mom. She was an awesome hugger. Daniel’s blue eyes glinted in amusement when he saw Keren and me sitting on the sofa, dressed for the party – that is, wearing our normal clothes. He, on the other hand…
“Why are you dressed like a tourist?” Daniel was wearing a blue and white shirt that looked like a child had scribbled all over it. They were for sale everywhere in Phuket.
“It’s not touristy. It’s in honor of Phuket. I love this place, and I want to show it. Here, I brought you one too – medium right? I got a large because the sizes here are ridiculous.”
Keren cracked up when she saw my expression.
“Gee, Amit. You’d better put it on. It’s so cute that you’ll be dressed alike!”
“Thanks, but I’ll pass. I’ve got other ways to honor Phuket.”
“Let’s take a vote. Who says Amit should wear the shirt?” Daniel wasn’t giving up.
Keren and Daniel raised their hands. Naama gave me a look that was half amusement and half pity, but she raised her hand.
“Naama!”
“I think it’s really cute. Eli and I once went to a music festival wearing matching outfits. He didn’t want to at first, but later he said he was glad we’d done it. Pity he’s still at work. He’d tell you himself.”
“I’ll ask him when you’re not around. We’ll see what he says then.”
“Well, even if he arrives and takes your side, you’re still in the minority. I think it’s been decided.” Daniel seemed gratified.
Just then Keren got a text and ran to the door to greet Sean.
I’d been talking to Keren about him before Daniel arrived. I wanted to make sure she was being smart about the guy. But he really was pretty cute, dressed in a turquoise button down shirt.
“Sean, this is my mom, Naama. You already know Daniel and Amit.”
Naama smiled and shook Sean’s hand. I interrupted their greeting because I had something important to say.
“Sean, I have to ask you something, as a fresh perspective in this room. Certain people present think Daniel and I should both wear this shirt tonight.” I pointed at the shirt, which I was sure he’d recognize, being a resident of Phuket.
“Oh, cool. We should do that!” He said to Keren, and she nodded.
“Careful, Amit. Better close your mouth before a mosquito flies into it.” Daniel was beside himself with happiness.
Vanquished, I took off the perfectly decent shirt I had on.
“Toss it here,” I told Daniel.
“Never mind. On second thought, you should go like that.” He pointed at my half-naked self. Sean and Keren laughed.
“If you don’t give me that shirt right now, I’m going in the one I was wearing before.”
So he tossed me the shirt and it was, unfortunately, a perfect fit.
“Have a good time, kiddos,” said Naama. “I’m going to celebrate with a bottle of white wine and wait for Eli. Maybe I’ll be able to hear the music from here.”
“Come with us!” Daniel invited her.
