Petar said they kept getting stuck in the same place because nobody listened calmly enough. He suggested talking with a man who helped people resolve disagreements. He did not call him a therapist, only a neutral mediator found through an acquaintance. Maja agreed. For months they had been trying to decide whether to move into his parents' house or continue paying for their own apartment.
The man was called Goran and arrived carrying a small notebook. They met in a quiet part of a café. First he asked each of them what they wanted, then carefully summarized their answers. Maja felt relieved to hear her fear of living under constant observation expressed without mockery. She thought perhaps they could finally talk without making her the woman who hated somebody else's parents.
Then the questions became oddly directed. Goran asked whether gratitude could sometimes take the form of a concession. He praised Petar for thinking about family property and asked Maja to reconsider her need for complete independence. He did not ask what conditions the parents were imposing. When she mentioned that they already wanted her to report her arrival time every day, he said older people often expressed concern awkwardly.
Maja went to the bathroom. On her return, she heard Goran tell Petar, "Your mother always did that when we were at university, too." Petar looked up and saw her. The notebook remained open on the table, holding the fears she had honestly voiced. She sat and asked how long they had known each other. Goran closed the notebook before replying.
They had been friends for almost twenty years. Petar had asked him to help because Maja no longer believed anything Petar said. Goran claimed friendship did not prevent him from being fair. Maja asked why, then, they had needed to hide it. Both fell silent. Little remained of the neutral man when he had to answer a question he had not prepared.
Maja took her coat and paid for her drink. Petar followed, explaining that he only wanted them to stay together. She said a shared life could not be decided by a vote of two against one. The following week she renewed the apartment lease in her name alone, while Petar returned to his parents. Goran helped move his belongings. Maja watched from the doorway as they carried the table and, for the first time, felt no need to convince anyone where it should stand.