“Bye!” I say to Jamie – it’s always best to be polite. I head to the front door. He replies with a mumble, keeping his eyes on his recipe book. I hope he’ll manage to get something out of that book sooner or later! And I hope for his sake that it’s going to be something reasonably edible!
I slam the door behind me, irritated, then I take a deep breath – I have to keep calm. The fact that he’s grumpy doesn’t mean that I have to be irritated. I pull myself together quickly and head to the lift. The doors open in front of me and Alex walks out of it with a bright smile on his face – my friend’s oozing happiness tonight!
“I’m so glad to see you!” I say to him, then I hug him enthusiastically. He hugs me back a little before I release him.
“Wow, now that’s what I call a warm welcome!” Alex says to me, still smiling.
“I really need to see a friendly face tonight, somebody who doesn’t constantly frown at me and look angry.”
“You’re talking about your flatmate?” Alex asks, laughing, but I see a hint of tension in his expression. I take him by the arm and lead him to the hall.
“Who else? Let’s just not talk about him for now, let’s enjoy tonight! Where are we going?”
Alex relaxes a little and smiles at me again. “There’s a restaurant just around the corner. I remember you telling me that you like this restaurant, so I kind of want to try their food too!” He says happily.
“Wow, good choice!” I agree. I’m starting to feel hungry and now that I know that we’re going to my favourite restaurant, my stomach has begun to rumble.
We enter the restaurant and head to one of the tables further back in the main hall. I’m glad the place is not busy – I’ve never liked crowded places. I remember struggling with university parties, where crowds were the norm. Every time that somebody invited me and Alex to a party, I would end up regretting going because of the unbearable number of people that would turn up.
The waiter arrives a few minutes later. He’s been working at this restaurant for so long now!
“Hey, Ashley! Good to see you – we haven’t met for a good while now? Samuel thought that you were avoiding us because you don’t like our menu any more… he was getting quite depressed about it!” The waiter says jokingly, then he pulls a note pad out of his pocket to take orders.
“No, I think I’ve just been too skint to even think about eating out anywhere? And I’m still skint by the way!” I wink at Alex, and both he and the waiter laugh at the same time.
“It sounds like I’m gonna have to pay for everything, right?” Alex asks, smiling.
“Of course you have, my dear.” I reply quickly, maybe raising my voice a little too much.
“Alright then, shall I order just a bowl of chips for you both?” John asks jokingly. I could never have just chips in this restaurant – the chef is famous for cooking the best tandoori chicken in the city, even if it’s the most expensive meal on the menu. Samuel the chef has known me since high school but he has quite understandably never offered me a discount on that special meal.
“What would you like to order then? I think I know what you might want, Ashley.”
“Of course you do! I’ll have the same old, please!”
I’m curious to see what Alex is going to order. I’ve known him for years, but I have no idea what he might like to eat. He looks at the menu for a few seconds.
“I’ll have the same, please.” The waiter smiles and writes on his pad, then he goes back to the kitchen.
“You don’t even know what you’ve ordered!” I tell my friend once the waiter has gone.
“I know, but I have no idea what any other dish might taste like either since everything is so out of the ordinary here! I decided to trust you on your choice.”
“I hope you like curry, then!” Alex pulls a slightly anxious face, which makes me smile. He tries to hide his disappointment. Same old Alex.
The rest of the night goes by pleasantly – this dinner has been a good occasion for both of us to finally chill out and break off from work. Alex eats almost all the bread that came with the curry – his main remains almost untouched. It’s obvious that me and Alex have a very different understanding of what type of food is tasty and what isn’t.
“Do you enjoy your job and the book shop?”
“Yes, I love books! That’s no news to you, right? The people that I work with are all amazing – including Jass, my boss.”
“I thought that you wanted to work in your father’s company.” Alex says. During our university years, I told him several times that the only reason I took that course was because I wanted to run my father’s company in the future. Alex asked me a few times whether this choice of subject was actually a good idea, as I struggled with the course.
“Well, things have changed,” I confess to him, feeling a little mellow. Thinking about my hopes as a university student and how badly I was disappointed after graduating makes me a little sad. It also makes me angry, especially after the last fight with Jamie.
“What do you mean?”
“My father chose to let someone else take the lead.” I say.
“Who?”
“My flatmate – who else?” I ask ironically.
“Jamie?” Alex stares at me with his eyes wide open. Yeah, I would be just as shocked. The most painful problem is that I can’t deny the facts that Jamie’s ability to cook is unbeatable and that he’s also good at managing the company.
“Yeah, Jamie. He shares my apartment with me because that’s my father’s will. He explicitly mentioned that he wants us to share the apartment and the management of the company at the same time for a whole year. This is the only way for us to inherit the apartment and the company respectively.”
“Is that the reason why you two live together?” He looks shocked and incredulous. Why is he so surprised? It’s obvious that there’s nothing going on between me and Jamie – he doesn’t need me telling him. Why would I keep someone like Jamie in my apartment, if I wasn’t forced to?
“Of course, why would we live together, otherwise?” Alex seems not to know whether I’m being sarcastic or serious.
“Oh, right… I thought that you two…” His cheeks are flushing visibly now.
“Don’t even say that, Alex.” I say, and I smile at him. “Me and Jamie? No way! The only thing that’s going on between us is some kind of mutual intolerance. We are kind of forced to keep our arguments to a minimum because we’re being observed by a lawyer, to make sure that everything goes smoothly throughout the year. If it doesn’t, we’re going to lose everything. In a way, we share the same commitment to not losing what is due to become ours.”
“Ah!” Alex breathes out. “I understand now.”
“Yeah, no romance.”
“You know, I was getting kind of worried for you – that man freaks me out! When he glares at me… I just want to run for the hills! I thought that he wanted to stab me to death the other night and then hide my body in the woods.” Alex speaks with genuine terror in his eyes.
It’s true – Jamie is really good at scaring people away and his intense stare makes him all the more intimidating.
“Enough talking about Jamie now – I don’t want to have to think about him when I don’t see him around the apartment. Tell me – do you have a girlfriend now?”
“Ha, that’s a bit random?”
“That’s true, actually…”
“That’s okay – and no, I don’t.”
“Very well!”
“What do you mean?”
“I know somebody that you might like!” I say excitedly.
“Right?”
“She’s blonde, very pretty and clever… she’s quite funny too! She’s the right type for you!”
“Who is it?” He asks perplexedly.
“You’ve met her already – her name’s Elly, she works with me at the book shop and she’s one of my closest friends.”
“Yeah, I remember her.”
“It’s dif
ficult to forget someone like her, right?” I ask with a wink.
“Yeah, that’s true. She’s one of a kind.”
“What, you don’t fancy her?”
“It’s not that – she’s a lovely girl. Why are you trying to get me a girlfriend?”
“I just think that you two would match perfectly. I know you both very well and it would be a shame not to introduce you to one another properly.”
“But we have spoken to each other already.” Alex replies decisively.
“I know, but you didn’t have a chance to get to know each other properly. You could go out together.” I propose. Alex is particularly slow today.
“Going out… together?”
“Yeah!”
“Me and her?”
“Sure!”
“Alone?”
“Yes – would you be uncomfortable?”
“No, it’s just that I don’t know her that well.”
“That’s why you need to go out together,” I reply patiently.
“I know but I’d feel a lot more at ease if you came along with us. You know me and you know her – you could help us to find things in common, you know, to get conversations started.” I look at him, perplexed: he looks serious. I should decline the offer, but then I think about my friend Elly and how badly she would like to meet the man of her dreams. The idea of being the third wheel doesn’t sound very good at all, but if it’s the only way…
“Okay, I’ll join in, but if everything between you two goes smoothly, as I imagine, I’ll leave half way through, okay?”
“Okay,” Alex finally surrenders.
“Perfect, I’ll go and talk to Elly and then I’ll give you a call to set a time and a date.” I conclude happily. Finally, something’s going the way I want it to!
*
It’s almost one in the morning when I get back to the apartment. Time has passed so quickly that I barely realised that it was so late until we left the restaurant. I open the front door gently, trying not to wake up Jamie.
The living room is pitch dark, exactly the way I expected it to be. Jamie must be in his room and he’s probably fast asleep right now. I take off my coat and feel the walls of the hall with the tip of my fingers to find the light switch. Here it is!
“Finally.” Jamie’s deep voice makes me jump – my heart skips a beat out of sheer fear. I turn towards the living room and I see Jamie sat on my favourite sofa, his intense, dark eyes staring at me like a predator. I still haven’t got used to his eyes, and I have a feeling that it’s going to be a while before I do.
“What the hell are you doing on the sofa in the dark? Why are you being so creepy? You almost gave me a heart attack!”
“Did you see the time?” He asks and then he gets off the sofa. My eyes focus on his face – he looks tired and nervous at the same time. What on earth is wrong with him?
“I know the time, thanks.” I reply calmly. I’m trying to figure out why he feels he can tell me off as if he was my father.
“Do you think this is a respectable time to come home?” Jamie asks, looking more and more bad tempered.
“I’m not twelve, Jamie. I’m an adult. I come home whenever I want.” I grumble, annoyed. I’m fed up with how hard he always tries to demonstrate that I’m not a responsible person. “Alex was with me anyway!”
“Alex? I doubt he could defend you from a stray cat in the street,” Jamie says dismissively. Why does he always have to be so hermetic? Why does he care so much about me getting home safely?
I walk slowly towards him, locking my eyes onto his. He looks very nervous, he’s frowning and his lips are pressed together. His jaw is clenched.
“What’s wrong with you, Jamie?” I ask him, then I lay a hand gently on his arm, trying to soothe him. His skin is very warm. He lowers his gaze onto my hand and, a moment later, he sits back down on the sofa. I follow and sit right next to him.
“Nothing,” he says sighing, then he runs his fingers through his hair.
“You’re lying.” I insist.
“Sorry, I’m just tired. All this was unnecessary. I apologise.” He stands up quickly and dashes up the stairs.
I’ve never been so confused before.
I remain sat on the sofa for a few seconds, unable to decide whether to follow him or ignore him. He’s not been himself recently – he’s very different from the calm, friendly and well-mannered man that I used to know. Not long ago, he was a professional, balanced and confident man – nothing would shake him off his path and nothing really bothered him. He’s so different now. If Dad was still alive, he wouldn’t recognise him any more! A yawn brings me back to reality – whatever happened while I was away, he doesn’t seem keen to talk about it right now, so I’d better defer any discussions to another day. Maybe tomorrow morning, or whenever I feel patient enough to face him again.
I walk up the staircase. His room is completely silent – has he fallen asleep already? I walk into my room and lock the door behind me. I’m exhausted, so I change quickly and slide under my bedsheets. As soon as I rest my head on the pillow I fall asleep.
*
When I open my eyes again the following morning, I feel a lot better. I haven’t slept so well for a long while. I get out of bed and head downstairs for some breakfast. I expect to find Jamie there, working on some new recipe, but when I get to the living room, I realise that all the lights are still turned off. I hesitate for a few seconds, perplexed. It’s 10 a.m. and it’s worrying not to see him around at this time of the day. I open the curtains in the living room – and the sunshine enters the room. It looks windy and cold outside – I can see thin layers of ice on the roofs of some of the houses across the road.
I walk into the kitchen and open the fridge to find some milk and a couple of eggs. The fact that Jamie is still asleep means only one thing – I’m going to have to cook breakfast this time. It’s not going to be anywhere near as good as his breakfasts, but he’ll have to make do. Assuming that he decides to leave his room at some point.
The scent of ground coffee has filled up the kitchen already, when I see my flatmate walking down the stairs.
“Good morning!” I greet him with enthusiasm. Judging from the dark circles under his eyes, he didn’t sleep that well last night – he’s so pale that he almost looks like a ghost.
“Morning,” he mumbles, sounding both sleepy and exhausted. He looks at me with a confused expression.
“I’ve cooked breakfast – come and take a seat!” I invite him, pointing to one of the stools. He raises his brown eyes to me, then he surrenders and takes a seat. I thought it would be much harder to persuade him to have breakfast with me.
I put a plate with a couple of pancakes in front of him, together with a mug of coffee, some chocolate syrup and a fruit bowl. I have no idea what he likes to eat for breakfast, so I decided to prepare a bit of everything, hoping that he might like at least something. I’m hoping that the food will perk him up. He picks up the coffee mug and sips at it without adding sugar. I still don’t understand what is wrong with him – he could be grumpy because he has lost sleep recently, or maybe because he felt he had to stay awake last night and wait for me to get back home. I still don’t understand why he takes everything to heart so much. I hate it when things between us remain unsaid and up in the air, I hate not knowing what he’s thinking.
“Did you sleep okay?” I ask. He raises his hypnotic eyes to me and sighs.
“Pretty much.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know, it happens sometimes.” he says bashfully; he seems annoyed.
“Why were you upset last night?”
“I wasn’t upset last night, and it wasn’t even night any more – it was one in the morning! It was so late!” he splutters. This kind of confirms that my getting back late triggered his bad mood.
“I don’t understand why that annoys you so much.”
“I’m not annoyed.”
“You’re upset.”
“I’m
not upset.”
“Yes, you are. You’re frowning and pouting and the fact that you’re not talking much confirms it. You keep snapping back at me and that’s not like you.” I tell him tersely. He’ll have to admit the truth sooner or later.
“I’m just tired, Ashley. Give me a break, please.”
I remain silent, I stare at him for a few seconds. I’m not at all convinced that he’s just tired, but he obviously doesn’t want to talk about it – at least not to me and not right now. It might be wiser to let him calm down by himself – that way, I’ll also avoid wasting another precious Sunday. I finish my breakfast and then I head for the sofa upstairs. I can’t miss my Sunday chill out time, and this one is not going to be any different.
I turn on the TV just in time for the beginning of a new episode of Bones, which I was looking forward to. A few minutes later, I hear Jamie walk up the stairs. I know what he’s going to do – he’s going to sit next to me and ruin my day. The fact that he is so sullen doesn’t give me much opportunity to be as nasty to him as he deserves. I’m stuck. I know that once I let him get away with this, he’ll feel free to break any of the rules I made as soon as we began to live together. I can’t let him do that!
I bite my lower lip, trying to decide whether I should kick him out as soon as he enters the room – I can’t let him win over this TV. All of a sudden, I realise that he’s not heading towards the sofa – he’s just going to his room. I hear him close the door and I turn in that direction, perplexed. I wasn’t expecting this. He’s usually the one who nags me when I lock myself in my room to avoid arguments… now he’s doing the same? There’s definitely something wrong with him.
He comes out of his room a few minutes later, dressed casually in a pair of jeans and a grey hoody. His face is still morose. He walks down the stairs, and slams the front door behind him a few seconds later. Where is he going?
I know that it’s not my business, so I turn towards the TV again and try to enjoy my favourite series. It doesn’t take long to realise that, even if my eyes are watching the screen, my mind isn’t registering any of the scenes. I keep thinking about the curious case of Jamie Button and I can’t get it out of my mind. Damn, how I hate not being able to relax! I grumble, then I get up and head downstairs – I want to make something reasonably tasty for lunch to make up for the morning. I want to concentrate on myself, as I always should! I’m tired of trying to be friendly and nice to him – we’re not even friends! Not any more. I hate him, so why should I forget the basics and get into bad habits? Worrying is not healthy – it makes you age faster and I don’t want a wrinkly face at my age. I boil some pasta, fry up some mince and chop an onion. This is what it should always be like in my apartment – quiet and peaceful.
The Inheritance: A feisty, giggle-inducing romance Page 11
