Edgar opened the door slowly and saw that Tumi’s bedside light was still lit. Tumi sat at his desk with his textbooks open, and turned around to look at the four Boatwright men with the exact look that Edgar had imagined he would give when they returned: his mouth was slightly open and his jaw clenched as his eyes creased in a scowl. Edgar spoke before Tumi had a chance: “Tumi, sorry for the late-night intrusion. These are my brothers from London. Thomas, Wesley, Lawrence,” Edgar motioned at each one as he introduced them, and only Thomas stepped forward to try and shake Tumi’s hand, the other two brothers looking around at the room with looks of disgust on their faces. Tumi took a few seconds before reluctantly shaking Thomas’s hand, and Edgar spoke again just as Tumi got ready to say something: “Can I speak with you in private for just a minute, Tumi. Thomas, that’s my bed over there. You can go and make yourselves comfortable.” Lawrence and Wesley were criticizing the lodgings loudly, finding all kinds of problems that no one else would have noticed. Tumi stood up from his chair, clearly becoming more and more furious as each second ticked by, but followed Edgar out of the room. They stood in the darkened hallway together.
Tumi finally spoke, unleashing all of the annoyance onto Edgar: “What are you thinking bringing your family here in the middle of the night? I have to study and I have class in the morning. You could have told me they were visiting. I’ve been…”
Before Tumi could say any more, Edgar cut in: “I’m so, so sorry. I had no idea they were even coming here, and I tried to get them to leave, but they insisted on seeing my room. I know this is absolutely unforgivable, Tumi, but I want to make it up to you. Will you please let me pay for a hotel for you to stay in tonight? I can get a car to pick you up and you won’t have to worry about a thing. Please know that I had absolutely no intention of putting you out like this. I feel absolutely terrible.”
Edgar knew that the embarrassment was showing all over his face. He could hardly look Tumi in the eye as he spoke. He knew that they were struggling to adjust as roommates, and throwing this surprise on Tumi was something that would only add to Tumi’s impression that he was arrogant and inconsiderate. All Edgar wanted to do was to make sure that Tumi wouldn’t hate him completely. To his surprise, the look of complete fury on Tumi’s face was softening at his apology. He even saw a hint of sympathy.
After agonizing seconds of silence, Tumi responded: “Don’t worry about it, Edgar. I can see that you didn’t mean for this to happen. You don’t have to pay for a hotel, as long as you promise me that you’ll get rid of them soon. Twenty minutes, max, okay? I’ll just grab my books and go to the study center for half an hour, but I need to get some sleep when I get back. Deal?”
Edgar breathed a large sigh of relief. He felt so relieved that he was close to tears, and he wanted to hug Tumi, but stopped himself. He knew that paying for a car and hotel would probably wipe out the meagre savings that he had managed to scrape together since his father had canceled his credit cards. His voice was shaking as he said, “Thank you so much, Tumi. I promise I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure they’re out of here by the time you get back. I can’t thank you enough.”
“Seriously, don’t worry about it,” Tumi said, clearly sensing how upset Edgar was. “These things happen. I know that family can be complicated.”
They turned back to the door, and heard a loud voice from inside the room. “What are you two doing out there?” Wesley’s voice shouted at them, and they knew that he had probably woken anyone who had been asleep in their section of the residence hall. Thomas quickly opened the door, and saw that Wesley had spilled gin on his desk and was laughing foolishly as he watched them walk in. “Are you two an item?” he asked Edgar, and Edgar felt his face turn beet-red.
“Can we just keep it down a little bit, please guys,” Edgar pleaded, seeing Lawrence laughing hysterically at Wesley’s question. Thomas had a smile on his face, and was shaking his head disapprovingly at his drunk brothers. Edgar just wanted Tumi to get out of the room as soon as possible so that his brothers couldn’t embarrass him any further, but he was out of luck.
Wesley stood up from the bed, stumbling as he did so, and said to Tumi, “How do you even put up with living with little Eddie? He’s such a screw up! For some reason he was always our mother’s favorite. Did he ever tell you that? Always hiding behind his mommy’s skirt. Well look where that’s gotten you, hey Eddie? Can’t even get by on your own without wasting father’s money.”
Thomas turned to look at Wesley and said sharply, “Watch it! Don’t be so hard on him, Wesley. It’s unnecessary.”
“I’m just joking with him. You know that, don’t you, Eddie?” Wesley said sheepishly, the smile never leaving his lips. Tumi was still packing his books into his backpack, not saying a word about what was going on around him, but turned finally to look at Edgar. Edgar wondered what was in his eyes. Vindication? Pity? Either way, it tore Edgar up.
Lawrence took off his glasses and wiped his eyes, saying, “We’re here to help him, Thomas. That’s what father asked us to do. To set him on the right path. I don’t think we’re doing him any favors by pretending that he can just go along acting like he’s owed something, and that he can go on these joyrides to third world countries and expect father to foot the bill when he’s partying and destroying property. He needs some firm words. He’s 21-years-old, for Heaven’s sake.” Thomas stood next to the bed watching Edgar, his eyes showing concern, but he said nothing to contradict Lawrence. Edgar was mortified. He kept wishing that he could disappear, or that Tumi had just been somewhere else and didn’t have to hear the things his brothers were saying about him.
Tumi finally put the backpack on his shoulder, and Edgar caught his eye again, hoping that he saw anything but pity staring back at him. He couldn’t stand the thought of Tumi thinking less of him. As Tumi made his way to the door, Wesley got up from the bed and said, “And let me just tell you, Eddie’s roommate… Sorry, I forget your name…” But before he could say anything else, his eyes went wide and his face became even greener. He muttered, “I’m not feeling… I think I’m going to…” and then it happened. In a flash, Wesley turned around and Lawrence jumped up from the bed just in time. Wesley bent over, his knees collapsing, and with a loud retching sound he threw up all over Edgar’s bedspread.
Chapter 16
Tumi sat on his bed, the smell of alcohol and vomit thick in the air. Edgar’s brothers had called a cab almost immediately after Wesley became sick, and left Edgar to clean up the mess. Edgar had taken the dirty bedspread and sheets to the laundry room, apologizing to Tumi repeatedly and looking completely wounded as he attended to the mess. Tumi could see that one of Edgar’s textbooks had been drenched in gin after the most obnoxious brother had spilled his drink on Edgar’s desk, but Edgar had barely commented on it. All Tumi could feel at that moment was complete sympathy for Edgar. Tumi had wanted to speak up when the two eldest brothers were laying into Edgar, but he knew that he would only be embarrassing Edgar more. Besides, Edgar had asked him to leave. It wasn’t his place to say anything to his brothers. But the look on Edgar’s face, and the way he turned to Tumi as if to apologize for how his brothers were treating him, was heartbreaking. Tumi decided to stay in the room, and offered to help Edgar clean up, but Edgar had insisted that he would clean everything on his own.
Finally, having taken the bedding to the laundry room, Edgar returned, looking forlorn. He looked surprised to see Tumi still up, and said, “It smells terrible in here. Please let me pay for that hotel so that you don’t have to suffer through this all night. I thought that taking out the dirty bedding would be enough to get rid of the smell, but that clearly didn’t work. I don’t even know how to apologize to you, Tumi. I feel absolutely terrible about this whole thing.”
Tumi shook his head. He had tried to tell Edgar multiple times that he didn’t need to apologize for anything, but Edgar clearly felt that he had tarnished himself in Tumi’s eyes in some irreparable way. Tumi said, “You can make
it up to me by not apologizing anymore, okay? I don’t blame you at all, Edgar. They were the ones who were drunk, and I know you tried to convince them not to come to the room. Believe me when I say that you don’t have to feel bad. And let me help you clean up a bit…” Tumi got up to grab some tissues to start work on Edgar’s desk, which was still covered in the spilled drink, but Edgar stopped him.
“Please, Tumi, I don’t want you to help. I can’t bear the thought of you cleaning up a mess that I should have prevented.” He reached out to stop Tumi’s hand from wiping the desk, and the two of them looked into each other’s eyes. Edgar looked completely shaken. He was clearly a bit tipsy himself, and his eyes and cheeks were both red with exhaustion and embarrassment. Tumi felt his heart completely melt for the vulnerable man standing in front of him. He reluctantly put down the tissues and turned back to his bed.
“They shouldn’t have spoken to you like that,” Tumi said, finally letting out the words that had been on his mind ever since Edgar’s brothers had left. “I wanted to say something…”
“Oh, no, they weren’t being serious,” Edgar lied. “That’s how we joke with each other. They were just trying to be big brothers to me. They were always like that. Larry was always the business-minded one, Wesley was the strong, sensible personality, and Thomas was the one who could take the punches if any of us needed defending. And then there was me… They always wanted to toughen me up, make me one of the Boatwright men. My mother used to scold them a lot, but when she was gone I had to toughen up quickly, grow a thick skin. I’m used to it by now.”
Tumi bit his lip, breathing deeply. “How long ago did your mother pass?” he asked, realizing that he was overstepping some unstated boundary between them and delving into Edgar’s personal life. Neither of them had ever really talked about things that were too personal with each other before. But on that night, something felt different between them.
Edgar wiped his desk and looked at his destroyed textbook as he responded: “I was nine. She was diagnosed with cancer only three months before she passed. We were very close. She always spoke about coming back here some day. She was born here, lived in Cape Town until she was in her late teens, but left during apartheid and met my father in England. I was always curious about this place. She would tell me stories and I’d imagine all of these interesting places. Her sister still lives here, in Kalk Bay. That’s who I was visiting last weekend, actually.”
“So you have South African blood in you,” Tumi said, smiling. But Edgar had drifted far away into his memories, and didn’t return Tumi’s smile. “I’m sorry for your loss,” he added, and Edgar looked at him with a quizzical expression.
“It was such a long time ago. You know what they say, ‘what doesn’t kill you…’. And I think I’m definitely stronger now than I was back then.” Edgar made an awkward show of flexing his bicep. Tumi cringed on the inside; he knew that the topic was making Edgar uncomfortable.
“How does it feel to finally visit South Africa? Does it make you feel closer to your mother?” Tumi asked, his voice measured. Edgar was still wiping at the desk, even though all of the alcohol had been cleaned from it by that point.
“I don’t know. It’s definitely not what I expected it to be.” There was a far-off look in Edgar’s eyes. Tumi wished that he could have access to the thoughts going through Edgar’s mind. He wished that he could know the man standing in front of him better.
“You’re much better than your brothers give you credit for, Edgar. Don’t for a second believe the things they’re saying about you. I’ve seen your passion for the law, your intelligence, and even though I don’t know you that well, I know that you’re a person I’d much rather spend time with than any of them. They were asses, and you didn’t deserve any of it.” Tumi admonished himself for being so distant from Edgar and so combative with him. He had no idea that there was so much more to Edgar than he had assumed. He wished that he had seen past all of his assumptions a lot earlier and spent more time getting to know Edgar.
Edgar turned to him, a smile crossing his lips, his eyes still red but less burdened: “Thank you, Tumi. That really means a lot to me. You have no idea.” Edgar finally threw away the tissues he had used to wipe the desk and turned his attention back to the mattress on his bed. “It looks like it’s soaked all the way through. I don’t know if I can sleep on it. I’ll try and find a clean mattress in the morning.”
Tumi watched Edgar walk to his cupboard and take out some extra blankets. He asked, “Where are you going to sleep?”
Edgar didn’t turn to look at Tumi, and said in a low voice, “I’ll sleep on the floor tonight. It’s late and I don’t really feel like going to a hotel. I’ll be okay for just one night.” Tumi saw him carry blankets to the floor next to his bed. He felt completely devastated for Edgar. After the humiliation he had suffered all night, he was left with a soaked mattress and a ruined textbook. And now he had to sleep on the hard floor.
“Maybe I can help you find another mattress somewhere. You can’t sleep on the floor,” Tumi said, but Edgar seemed adamant.
“It’s really not a problem,” Edgar replied. “I’m probably getting a fine for noise already, I don’t want to have to go around searching for a mattress at this hour. Let’s just get some sleep and I’ll sort it out in the morning. Goodnight, Tumi.” Edgar turned off the lamp on his desk and lay down on the blanket he had positioned on the floor, still fully dressed, pulling an extra sheet over him as covering. Tumi had no idea what to do. He couldn’t stand the thought of Edgar sleeping on the floor, especially not after the rough night he had suffered through. Tumi weighed the options in his mind, silently watching Edgar on the floor.
Finally, Tumi said, hardly believing the words that came out of his mouth, “Why don’t you come and sleep next to me on my bed tonight?”
Edgar’s eyes immediately shot open, and he looked at Tumi anxiously. “I… That’s really not necessary, Tumi, but thank you. I’ll be just fine over here. It’s almost morning anyway.”
“Just come over here, Edgar. I won’t sleep at all if I have to worry about you suffering on the floor. I’ll be much more comfortable if you sleep here with me. I mean, not with me… You know what I mean.”
Edgar laughed uncomfortably, and said, “Are you sure? I don’t want to impose any more than I already have.”
“I’m sure,” Tumi said, and he smiled before adding, “as long as you don’t sleep naked again. Deal?”
They both laughed at this, and Edgar stood up from the floor, bringing his blanket and pillow with him to Tumi’s bed. Tumi lay down facing the wall, and he felt Edgar crawl up next to him facing the opposite direction, their backs touching on the small single bed. “Thank you, Tumi,” Edgar whispered, the pain and discomfort of the day evident in his voice.
“You’re welcome. I’m happy I can help,” Tumi responded, meaning every word.
Edgar turned off Tumi’s bedside lamp and they both lie there in the dark in complete silence. Edgar smelled of alcohol, but Tumi didn’t mind. Tumi’s heart was racing wildly, excited at the close proximity to Edgar. Something had shifted between them that night and there was no going back. Every fiber of Tumi’s body was drawing him towards Edgar. He fantasized about turning around, pulling Edgar closer to him, exploring his body. Edgar had found his way into Tumi’s heart, and trusted him with so much. All Tumi could think to do was to share something of himself with Edgar as well. He wanted to talk about everything he was going through, to be vulnerable in front of Edgar the way that he had seen Edgar being in front of him. He knew in that moment, lying next to Edgar for the second time, this time even closer than before, that there was something real developing between them.
Chapter 17
Edgar felt the warm body against him, the arm caressing his side, the soft breath on his shoulder. He felt comfortable, like everything was easier in that moment and like he was exactly where he was meant to be. His mind drifted to reality from a pleasant dream, the face of Tumi
and the kind words he had said to him the night before still sitting with him. He had a smile on his face as he felt the sunlight peek through the window of the bedroom, and realized that he was not in his own bed. His mind shot to alertness; he wasn’t imagining the body next to him. It was Tumi, every inch of him wrapped against every inch of Edgar’s body, and his arm holding Edgar at his waist. Edgar felt his heart start racing. He hadn’t realized that they’d moved so close together on the small bed, and that Tumi had turned around at some point in the night to hold him like that. They were spooned so closely that Tumi would pick up any movement that Edgar made, so he stayed absolutely still in that position. Tumi’s head was tilted slightly forward into Edgar’s neck, his lips touching between Edgar’s shoulder blades. His chest stretched out across Edgar’s back, his torso following every curve of Edgar’s spine, and lower down, his pelvis was pushed right up into Edgar’s butt. Edgar blushed at the realization, and tried to divert his mind from the excitement he was starting to experience. He savored the moment for just a few seconds, listening to the sound of Tumi’s breath as he slowly inhaled and exhaled, his chest expanding right up against Edgar’s body. But Edgar knew that Tumi would be uncomfortable if he woke up and realized how close they had moved throughout the course of the night they spent together in Tumi’s bed. He moved forward slightly, making sure not to wake his sleeping roommate, and felt himself slip out of Tumi’s arm. Regret pulsed through him for a moment; he had wished that he could make the closeness last for a lot longer, but he couldn’t risk Tumi not enjoying it as much as he did when he woke up.
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