Bradley was never liked as a child, though he tried to get the kids to call him Brad, everyone would tease him for the Windsor ties and the stuffed suit he was made to go to school in every day while the other kids could wear shorts and cool shirts.

Bradley wanted to be cool, but he didn’t know how.

In high school, Bradley bounced from group to group, never finding a home, and just blended into the background.

He had money but women just stared at his 6 ‘ 2″ stringy body and passed on for yet another member of the football team. He tried to throw a party for everyone and yet nobody showed up. Well if you don’t count the crew team who came, took the bottles of booze that Bradley had laid out and left as Bradley’s mouth hung open.

Then there was his friend Chris.

Chris was worse off than him with Cerebral Palsy and a wooden leg that replaced the leg he lost in the boating accident when he was 7.

Both of them enjoyed hiding in the one place that they didn’t have to care anymore.

It was an island off the shore of the Long Island that Bradley discovered with his mum when he was young. No phones, no televisions, just acres and acres of isolation. The main house had an ocean view and 15000 square feet of isolation.

Years later, when Bradley had made his billions he bought the island and whenever he felt blue, he would call Chris and drag him to his Fortress of Solitude.

“Brad, why is it every time you feel low we head here,” Chris said as he picked up his bag of medicine and carried it inside the house?

“Because even though its my fortress of solitude, it isn’t the same without you Chris,” Bradley said as he turned on the lights.

“What happened to Denise?”

“Nothing more than a gold digger working on her Mrs. ,”Bradley opened the main bedroom and laughed, “even though we were here last month there isn’t a sprinkle of dust anywhere.”

“Well, that’s not a surprise, your staff comes in right after we leave and right before we get here to make sure we have what we need for whatever adventure you want to do,” Chris looked at Bradley and stared.

“Can I help you?”

“Brad why are we up here? I thought since you were over Denise, we wouldn’t have to come up here until the next disaster in your life.”

“Can’t I invite my best friend of high school and college up for a week of relaxing?”

“No!”

Bradley paused and turned to Chris with a look of sadness in his eye.

“I worked my entire life to get friends and yet all the ones I have, less you, are interested in my money and less in who I am. You’ve been my friend even though I had money,” Bradley sobbed.

“I saw who you were on the inside, someone who like me has been and still is in pain.”

“That’s why I’m going to give you everything you want and nothing that you have wanted.”

“I don’t understand.”

Bradley poured two glasses of whiskey and handed one to his friend.

“Tomorrow you will.”