Inside Out

4

A week had passed, and the lady was still nowhere to be seen. He didn’t have any way of contacting or asking about her. He barely talked to enough people, no way could he go about asking his parents about some lady he shouldn't even be talking to. They were already too busy planning their event to be bothered with petty personal issues.

He had to see her again. But how he went about it was no way to go. He scarcely ever left his room. Sometimes he mentally played out a layout of the house, in his head, to be sure he still knew how to get around. Even as he thought of that, he laughed at his exaggeration.

A soft beeping filled the still air. His phone rarely rang, no surprises there, it was a good day for a lot of new things. Locating it, he saw that it was his father. Probably calling to assign him one thing or the other, having heard that he would be attending the event. Would he be picking that? Nah

Knowing his mother, she had already started making a giant big fuss about his perceived return to socializing. Any day now, a tailor would be sent to his room to design the 'cloth for the occasion'. That was no fear, nothing the regular 'no' wouldn't fix anyway but he had to find a way to make that 'no' work against his mother and this party she thinks he would be attending.

An idea popped into his head, slowly but surely, it metamorphosed into something he hadn't done in forever. Joining his parents for a meal. His mother might just faint, he chuckled softly at the thought. But that was a chance he was willing to take. Make her happy so that when he goes back to hibernating, the effects will have been cushioned.

Confirming with the phone still in his hand, it was fast nearing lunchtime. He had missed breakfast deliberately. Most times he had to make the call for a meal, as and when he needed one. The almost-always stocked fridge had seen to his steadily reducing calls.

If he left now, he could still meet them at the table. Breakfast was by 9 am shortly after the due morning tea. It was hard to remember when he last ate with them. This had been a routine for as long as he could remember. It wasn't about to change now.

Looking himself over in the mirror, he answered the second question his parents would ask, was he dressed appropriately, the first being, what he was doing there.

He looked passable, casual tees on grey sweatpants. That should do for now. He wasn't about to go about and beyond. So that would do.

Making his way out of his room, careful not to use the active pathways. The safest was through his father's study. Going through the quiet hallway wasn't the easiest of things, as the walls had pictures of his life when things were much simpler. He couldn't bring himself to look and pinned his eyes to the ground.

The aroma of freshly baked bread confirmed he was nearing the dining room. The emotions were running wild now. He edged on hastily as he was very close to changing his mind. Now at the foot of the door, one could hear the soft clink of the cutlery. His dad might get a heart attack so he thought to make some noise with the door before he made his appearance.

"Damn," he cursed. No way his parents would not recognize the voice of their only child.

Then he went in and the initial shock had not passed.

"Hello everyone"

This was met with silence. No surprises there. Ferdinand looked like he had seen a ghost. Big man, he was. Had a sprinkle of white hair with the face of an aristocrat, very pleasant to look at.

"Richard," he wasn't done. "to what do we owe the pleasure?"

"I was hungry. Naturally, my human instincts wanted food." A servant who was in the process of filling the milk jar also wasn't missed by the wave of shock. To her, he signaled a plate of his own. They were having French toast alongside bacon and eggs.

Roselyn, finding her voice, said "Richy, pay your father no heed. You are more than welcome to join us whenever."

And the eating resumed. With no social intent, he focused on his meal. His plans included making the most of the flavourful eggs and bacon in front of him. Trust Roselyn Harrison to disagree.

Clearing her throat, she spoke "Your father and I wanted to know how you were preparing for the event. It is in a couple of weeks."

He didn't think they'd cut right to the chase and was saved from replying following a noisy scuffle by the door. One of the maids was handing the other a bowl of something she was supposed to have dropped at the table. All at the table could only see the backs of those involved but Richard had seen a side view of the faulting employee and that was enough.

He stopped eating. No thanks to the event that had just taken place. He had a good mind to go after them. But then, it may not be the person he suspected. Nobody else may have noticed how uneasy they both were so she was definitely the one.

"How have you been, son?" Ferdinand asked.

Taken aback by the question, he was tempted to enter a long speech of his woes but decided on a simpler one.

"I have been very well, father," he said. He might as well ask one of his own, "Any plans for the occasion?"

Ferdinand Harrison had been looking for an excuse to join in. Without being told, anyone would see how the untimely entrance of his son affected him. Most times he felt guilty for not trying to reach out. Letting Roselyn do the bulk of the work was his way of healing. So, grateful for the opportunity, he surged on.

"Well, your mum and I were still trying to decide on the final guest list that should have been sent already," he said, throwing a soft scornful look to his wife, who replied with one of her own.

Rolling her eyes, she said "Please don't be such a baby, Fred. This is going to be big. Cutting down my list won't work and you know it."

Ferd looked like he had an even more fun retort for that. And just like that, the conversation was back to flowing back and forth.

The worst was over. All they needed from him was his smiles and a healthy dose of appropriate exclamation. He was too distracted to give any more. If he left now, he might be able to meet her. He could risk waiting for her to come back but what he couldn't risk was waiting another week.

***

She ran and just kept running. Saying she was perplexed would not cut it. How would she explain to anyone whom she had just seen. No wonder she had been met with hostility upon asking about him. She had not been told this.

Following the death of her parents, she found that she was more and more drawn to the world of private investigation, nothing violent, just the surface level of gathering information. In the beginning, it was all for the sake of giving closure to those that needed it but as she progressed, it became even more serious till she met the man that changed her life, for the worse. She couldn’t have known. Now it looked like she was about to make the same mistake. This new information was a risk to her cover.

She had reached the kitchen, it was only a matter of minutes before she would get blasted for what she had just displayed in front of the family. This would only blow over quickly if Ann hadn’t gotten wind of it. No way would she take it easy on her; the fact that she left Jane to set the dessert would not make her day, no doubt.

She wouldn’t give it a chance, the next person to enter the kitchen would be either one of Jane or Ann and she would be more apologetic than she had ever been, though it was fast looking like that was where she thrived.

And so when the sound of the footsteps came, she wasn’t the least bit prepared for what she saw when she turned.

‘’I am going out on a limb to assume that your mouth isn’t always open. I mean, I have seen you more than once’’ he said as strolled in.

He didn’t need to walk in like he owned the place. He did own the place. And he was right, her mouth was shamelessly still open. Closing them, she cursed him for taking her unawares. All of a sudden, her mouth was dry and she was as red as a ripe tomato. She had to stop doing this with him.

He laughingly added ‘’You need to say something or it is gonna get even weirder’’

Why was he laughing? What was so funny? These questions were only meant to distract herself from the fact that his laughter had a melody to it.

"W-what are you doing here?" she stuttered

"What happened back there?"

"I remembered a task I owed," she said.

"I would expect you'd be better at lying."

"Please sir, I don't want any trouble. I am really sorry for all the inconvenience caused." What a scene this would be if any of them found them like this.

"Then you owe me answers"

"I already told you." She wondered what he wanted to hear. If anyone met them there, it might not go as well. "Please sir, I had to leave immediately"

"Because…"

"Because I didn't expect to see you." She heard herself say.