Crap, hard to disagree with that, Pete thought. ‘Yes, I guess I should.’
Liz quickly moved to finish flipping Pete. ‘Good, there’s an advanced yoga class early Saturday mornings I want to start going to. So, I want you to start looking after Bobby on Saturday mornings instead of me,’ Liz proposed. ‘The class is at eight am, so I’ll be heading off around seven-thirty. You’ll need to be up by then.’
Pete flinched at the thought of waking up so early on a Saturday morning. ‘What?! Wait a minute,’ he said, beginning to backtrack. ‘It wasn’t supposed to work this way. I was supposed to flip you. Not you flip me.’
‘Flip? What are you talking about?’ Liz said, feigning ignorance.
‘Never mind,’ Pete grumbled. No wonder I’ve been losing all our arguments. I’ve been sparring with a bloody black belt all along, he thought to himself.
‘I also need you to start taking better care of yourself,’ Liz said, deciding to push her advantage further.
‘I already do. I run a few times a week and I’m in good shape,’ Pete replied defensively.
‘Your makeshift diet of counter food and sugar doesn’t help with your depression,’ Liz countered.
‘What have they got to do with my depression? I’ve already said I’m in pretty good shape,’ Pete complained.
‘Well I’ve been doing some reading on potential dietary causes of depression,’ Liz said.
Pete looked at her sceptically. ‘Is this part of your sports science course or are you getting this from some quacks on the internet?’
‘A bit from my course and a bit from the internet,’ Liz admitted.
Pete’s scepticism grew, so Liz moved quickly to explain her reasoning. ‘Lately we’ve be learning about nutrition and how people absorb nutrients into their bodies. The health of a person’s gut influences how well they digest their food. So I dug deeper into gut health on the internet.’
‘OK, so what does the internet say?’ Pete asked still sceptical.
‘Some credible sources talk about how a high-carb diet, especially one high in sugars, can cause what is called Leaky Gut Syndrome.’
‘What the hell is that!?’ Pete said, placing his hands on his belly.
‘LGS is inflammation of your gut and can be linked to mood disorders such as anxiety—,’
‘Yeah, it’s called having butterflies in your stomach,’ Pete interrupted.
Liz shook her head. ‘I’m not talking about your stomach, I’m talking about your intestines, as that’s where most of the nutrients from your food are absorbed into your body. LGS is when the junctions in the wall that lines your intestines loosen up enough to let partially-digested food through and into your body, which creates an immune response and inflammation. Also, if you have an unhealthy gut, you won’t absorb all the nutrients from your food, which can make your brain and body unhealthy. You run only a few times a week, but you look way too gaunt.’
‘I have a stressful job, so naturally I’m going to look a little haggard,’ Pete countered.
‘But why add to that stress and make it more difficult for you body by giving yourself a sick gut?’ Liz asked.
Pete could sense that Liz was building a case for something big and asked hesitantly, ‘So what do you suggest I do?’
‘For a while try not eating eating dairy, soy, sugar and...’ Liz winced while adding, ‘...gluten.’
Pete sighed. ‘And there’s the bomb,’ he said, annoyed. ‘I don’t have much of an issue cutting down on dairy, sugar and soy, but gluten? Do you know what my family does for a living? We grow wheat. And, we’ve being doing it for several generations. Dad would have a fit if I joined the hippie gluten-free sect.’
Liz put her hand on Pete’s thigh to try and cajole him. ‘Pete, I know that this is hard for you given that wheat is such an integral part of your family. But I really think we should try this as a family.’
Pete was shocked. ‘Wait a minute? So, you and Bobby would join in this madness? Great, the next generation is going to be turned against wheat as well. Dad will think we’re going to start growing cannabis as soon as he’s gone.’
‘Pete, there are loads of options for gluten-free eaters these days—’
‘Yeah, they’re called vegetables,’ Pete interrupted.
Liz took her hand off Pete’s thigh. ‘Well, I managed to fill two grocery bags with gluten-free options for you to take to work,’ Liz said, challenging Pete.
‘Really? What’s in them? Nuts, roots and berries?’ Pete mocked.
‘Let me show you,’ Liz said and marched confidently to the kitchen. She soon returned with the shopping bags and started placing their contents on the coffee table one by one.
Pete’s eyes gravitated towards a cereal box that looked familiar but had something different about it. He picked it up. ‘Gluten-free Weet-Bix!? They already taste like cardboard. Now they’re making them out of it?’ he asked incredulously.
‘Sorghum actually,’ Liz replied calmly.
‘I guess Sorghum Bix doesn’t have the same ring to it,’ Pete said cynically and then moved onto another box. ‘OK, this cereal looks more promising.’ He picked it up and started listing the contents out loud. ‘Nuts, berries, apples...’ Pete’s eyebrows flicked up, ‘...amaranth and pepitas? I don’t even know what those are. One sounds like a Sith Lord and the other like a Mexican restaurant.’
Liz chuckled. ‘Amaranth is an ancient grain that was eaten by the Aztecs and pepitas are just pumpkin seeds.’
‘Then why couldn’t they’ve just called them pumpkin seeds? And weren’t the Aztecs wiped out by disease? That’s hardly a ringing endorsement of...,’ Pete looked back at the box, ‘...amaranth.’
‘Just give it a try smart guy,’ Liz said, smiling.
Pete looked at the price tag on the box. ‘Thirteen bucks for a small box of cereal. Now I know why they just don’t say pumpkin seeds. The fancy name makes them think they can jack up the price.’
‘I would like you to use that cereal sparingly and not because of the price. It’s pretty high in sugar because of the dried fruit. So, I think you should mix it with the Sorghum Bix,’ Liz said, smiling mischievously.
‘So, what do I pour over these cereals?’ Pete picked up a carton of what looked like milk. ‘Rice milk? How the hell do you milk rice?’ he asked.
‘Add water, boil and strain,’ Liz explained.
‘Sound’s delicious,’ Pete said cynically.
‘Leave it long enough and it will become sake,’ Liz quipped.
The quip, however, caused Pete’s anxiety levels to spike. ‘Wait a minute. What about barley?’ he asked.
Liz grimaced and answered, ‘Barley’s got loads of gluten.’
Pete rolled his eyes and let out a long sigh. ‘Great, so no beer either then?’
‘I’m afraid not. Just switch to drinking wine, but don’t get carried away because you should be cutting back on your drinking anyway.’
‘Yeah, Gabriel’s receptionist warned me that antidepressants would reduce my tolerance to alcohol,’ Pete acknowledged dolefully. He then had a thought. ‘Hey, wait a minute, what about Holy Communion? If gluten’s good enough for the son of God, why not me?’
It was Liz’s turn to sound cynical. ‘Seriously, the refuge of religion?’
‘Well, answer the question,’ Pete insisted.
‘The Israelites ate unleavened bread or sourdough and its long fermentation process helps breaks down the gluten so that it’s pre-digested,’ Liz answered with just a smidge of smugness. ‘So, the good news is that you can still have sourdough sandwiches for lunch.’
‘Wow, so you’ve not only got me back at church, you’ve also got me eating and drinking like I’m attending the Last Supper,’ Pete complained.
‘I know it’ll be hard, but it’s not as if I’m asking you to become a vegan,’ Liz said.
Pete was still resistant. He turned his attention to the plastic jars on the coffee table, ‘And what’s all this about?’
&
nbsp; ‘They’re your supplements,’ Liz explained.
Pete picked up one of the containers. ‘Vitamin D? We live on the equator. I think I get plenty of sunlight,’ he reasoned.
‘When was the last time you went for a run outside in daylight? You live in air conditioning,’ Liz said.
‘Fair enough, but what about this other stuff?’ Pete said nodding towards the numerous other jars.
‘There’s a probiotic to help with your gut health and B12 vitamins. I’ve read that lacks of B12 and folate are linked to depression. So, we’re going to start eating a lot more green-leafy vegetables to also help get your folate levels up; expect a lot more spinach and brussel sprouts on your plate,’ Liz warned Pete.
‘So Bobby was right. I do need to eat my spinach to be healthy,’ Pete said smirking. He then noticed the loving expression on Liz’s face, which was something he hadn’t seen directed at him for a long time. She was just trying to protect and care for him, like he was supposed to protect and care for her. His resistance faded. ‘I guess seeing as you’ve already spent so much money buying this stuff, I can give it a try.’
‘Thanks,’ Liz replied while continuing to look lovingly at Pete.
‘You really did a lot of work on this stuff, didn’t you?’ he said quietly.
Liz blushed a little. ‘It’s my job,’ she responded.
‘Thanks, I really appreciate it,’ Pete said sincerely and leaned over so they could share a warm kiss. Pete drew Liz closer, but she gently pushed him away. ‘Hold that thought till later in the week, when I’m ovulating.’
Pete fell back onto the couch and let out an exasperated gasp. ‘Yeah, I forgot, these days we have to wait for the ding of an ear thermometer before you’re ready to have a bun put in your oven.’
13
Back to work
Pete was spooning gluten-free cereal into his mouth when Nick came over to his desk. ‘Hi Pete, welcome back,’ he said.
Pete swivelled in his chair to face Nick, but was too busy chewing to reply so just nodded and waved hello.
Nick peered over Pete’s shoulder, ‘What is that?’ he asked, crinkling his nose.
Pete took a few more seconds to swallow his mouthful. ‘Gluten-free Weet-Bix and muesli.’
‘What do they make the Weet-Bix out of then? Wheat-free wheat?’ Nick asked sceptically.
‘Nope, sorghum,’ Pete replied.
Nick grimaced. ‘Sounds about as appetising as tofu bacon.’
Pete chuckled. ‘Thankfully Liz hasn’t forced me down that route yet.’
‘And what brought this on?’ Nick asked.
‘You sent me home for being a bad boy last week and Liz decided to punish me,’ Pete replied, to make light of the situation.
Nick let out a laugh. ‘Well, I’ve got to hand it to Liz, she knows how to dish out her punishments,’ Nick said.
Pete groaned. ‘It’s not half bad actually, once you grind the flavour out of it,’ Pete said, chewing hard.
‘Guess that gives you more time to savour it,’ Nick said, then quickly changed tack. ‘Well as good as that looks, you’ll have to put it off. We have a meeting.’
‘With who?’ Pete asked with trepidation.
‘Neil and Derek,’ Nick answered darkly, ‘so, c’mon, let’s get it over with.’ He walked off the trading floor.
Pete fell into step with Nick. He knew this meeting was coming, but was dreading it all the same. Pete tried to calm his nerves by focusing on his breathing.
‘Pete, this meeting is about mending bridges. I don’t expect you to bow and scrape to them, just show some kind of remorse. And most of all, don’t let them bait you into blowing up again.’ Nick stopped just short of the meeting room and put a hand on Pete’s shoulder to stop him and get his attention. ‘Pete, did you hear me? Don’t let them rile you.’
Pete’s attention snapped to Nick. ‘Got it, they won’t.’
‘Err…OK,’ Nick said, unconvinced. ‘Just let me do all the talking, and say sorry when I give you the cue.’
Pete nodded, and Nick led him into the meeting room. Neil and Derek were already sitting at the table facing the door. Pete noticed that Derek was sporting a black eye and felt secretly gratified.
‘Good morning, gentlemen,’ Nick said, sitting down.
‘Hi Nick,’ Neil replied, then looked at Pete. ‘Welcome back, Pete. Enjoy your time out?’ he asked, lighting a flame under Pete’s determinedly calm thoughts.
‘It was fine, Neil. Thank you for asking,’ he replied with excessive politeness, taking a seat next to Nick. Pete turned to Derek. While he was tempted to draw attention to Derek’s black eye, he thought better of it. ‘Hi, Derek. I trust that you’re well rested too?’
Derek was leaning back in his chair picking at his fingernails. He didn’t even look up as he said, ‘Yeah, had a good weekend, thanks, Pete.’
The flame beneath Pete’s cool composure was suddenly turned up. What!? No suspension? Why did he get treated differently from me? Pete took a breath and let it out slowly to release some of the steam building up in his simmering pot of anger. ‘Good to hear,’ he replied.
Nick noticed that Neil and Derek were already subtly trying to bait Pete, so he interjected, ‘Good to see that the swelling around your eye has come down a little Derek. How many days has it been?’
‘Four,’ Derek replied curtly.
‘Wow, must’ve been some king hit,’ Nick added.
‘Yeah, it was,’ Derek said, sinking lower in his seat. Pete felt his temper cool a little.
‘OK, gentlemen, let’s get down to business. I had a long talk with Pete before his break and another one this morning,’ Nick said, opening with a white lie. ‘From our side, we’re keen to see that the events of last week aren’t repeated. We also want to make sure that there’s no lasting impact on the relationship between Sales and Trading and therefore the franchise. And we certainly don’t want to get HR involved. Do either of you have anything to say?’
Neil spoke up. ‘Well, Nick, Derek thinks Pete doesn’t respect him and that last week was just another example of that lack of respect.’
‘In Pete’s defence, last week wasn’t the first time Derek messed up an order and cost the Trading Desk money,’ Nick countered.
‘Derek brings in more business than his mistakes cost,’ Neil said with an arrogant tilt to his chin.
Nick looked as angry as Pete felt. Both were frustrated by Neil’s belligerent attitude. ‘You know, just so that we’re clear, when I referred to last week’s events,’ Nick said, emphasising the plural, ‘I meant Derek’s mess-up and not just Pete’s blow-up. While Pete’s behaviour was unacceptable, I think that we should be dealing with the root of the problem.’
‘I think we are Nick,’ Neil said in a lofty tone. ‘Derek did not yell at a colleague. Derek did not threaten to take pips on trades. Derek’s not hoping to be promoted to Head of Asia Trading.’
‘Pete’s still learning the delicate job of dealing with Sales,’ Nick conceded. ‘But Derek’s been doing his job for years and still not getting it right.’
‘Derek brings in business,’ Neil repeated. ‘But Pete will cost us that business with his attitude. Let’s face it, Nick, he’s too…’ Neil searched for the right word, ‘brash to be a head trader.’
Pete felt his anger almost boil over, but then he felt something strange happen. It was as if cold air was rushing in to cool it down. That is odd, Pete thought.
Nick’s anger, on the other hand, did boil over. ‘Now see here. When one of your guys messes up an order, it causes stress for my guys. I’ve had complaints about Derek from several of my traders and not just about his bad bookkeeping, but also his on-desk behaviour, which is unprofessional.’
‘Hey, why am I the one being called unprofessional? I’m the one that got yelled at,’ Derek whined.
Neil quelled Derek with a look and turned back to Nick. ‘I can manage my own team, Nick.’
‘Really Neil? How many times have your own staff
complained about Derek…especially the women?’ Nick demanded.
The room fell silent as Nick and Neil both tried to cool down. After a few seconds, however, Derek blundered on. ‘Well, I think that I at least deserve an apology.’
Neil lowered his head into his shaking hands while Nick pushed back his chair.
Pete placed a hand on Nick’s arm and said, ‘Just hold on a minute, guys. May I say something? Derek, you’re right, you do deserve an apology. I should not have lost my temper and I’m sorry.’
Derek smirked, and Neil looked up in surprise. After a couple of seconds Neil said, ‘So you’ve apologised, so what? It doesn’t mean the same won’t happen again in the future.’
‘True, but I’ve done some thinking during my time off and I’ll make an effort to avoid a repeat. The same way I’m sure Derek will try not to repeat his mistake. Isn’t that right, Derek?’ Pete said.
Derek looked at Neil, who nodded his consent. ‘Yeah and I’m sorry for not keeping track of my orders. It won’t happen again,’ Derek said half-heartedly.
Nick decided to wind up the meeting before Derek could say something else to anger him. ‘Well then, gentlemen, I think that settles everything. Let’s get back to work.’
Nick held the door open for Derek and Neil to leave, but he placed a hand on Pete’s shoulder. ‘Could you hang back a minute, Pete?’ Nick said and closed the door.
‘I thought I was the one that we had to worry about?’ Pete said with a grin.
‘Yeah, thanks for jumping in when you did, I was ready to give Derek a matching shiner. What brought that on by the way? It’s a complete turnaround from last week.’
‘Guess it was the gluten-free muesli,’ Pete said, deflecting the question.
Nick chuckled and patted Pete on the stomach. ‘Hey, can I ask you for another favour?’ he said.
‘Yeah sure.’
‘You used to run track in high school and uni, right?’
‘Yeah middle distance. Why?’
‘We’ve entered a team in the Bloomberg Square Mile Relay this year. It’s a winner-take-all race, with ten grand to the winning team’s chosen charity. I think that you should captain it. It’d be good for your profile in the bank and would help with your promotion.’
Learning to Fly: A story about overcoming depression Page 7
