Five Idiots You Meet in Heaven

It’s the mid-1970’s, and Joe squats on the floor trying to fix his mom’s television. Meredith and Michael, in town for Joe’s dad’s funeral, sit on the couch sharing a glass of white wine. Joe’s mom bobs four-year-old Celine on her knee. The subject of Joe’s divorce has awkwardly come up.

“I’m just saying,” Meredith is saying, “couple’s counseling can be really helpful and it’s totally normal these days. Michael and I went to a retreat in the Swiss Alps that was so rewarding.”

Joe removes one of the dials and points a flashlight at the hole it has left.

“Relationships are all about trust,” continues Meredith. “we did this trust exercise that was so revealing. You just let yourself fall backwards and trust your partner to catch you. And you know what? None of the men could do it except for Michael. He just went completely limp! And I’m so little I almost couldn’t support his weight. He nearly hit the floor! Well, the instructor was just flabbergasted. She said in all her years counseling couples she had never seen trust like Michael’s. Isn’t that extraordinary?”

Suddenly, the smoke alarm in the kitchen goes off. Joe’s mother, unable to read her recipes any longer, is burning a tray of cookies. Meredith scurries into the kitchen, and Lucille follows her after depositing Celine in Michael’s lap.

Joe sets down his screwdriver to find Michael looking at him.

“Want to know the secret, Joe?” he says and smiles vaguely towards the kitchen.

Joe shrugs, not sure what Michael’s talking about.

“An exercise like that doesn’t test trust,” Michael says. “It tests whether or not you care if you fall.”