Chapter 15: Errand Girl
It would only take one phrase to set him off and he’d be loath to avoid the screaming match that was sure to come.
“So, how much longer are you going to play God?” Rupert asked.
And that just happened to be the winning phrase.
William closed his eyes and inhaled slowly. His body was taut like a bowstring, ready to strike, and Rupert didn’t seem to mind at all.
“You see, I’ve been doing some thinking since you phoned me yesterday. Very curious questions came to light,” he said smugly as he swirled his glass of scotch. “I’ve been racking my brain, trying to figure out why my son would bring an eighteen year old girl to my home, a home which you’ve stated quite plainly that you detest. Curious, isn’t it?”
“Stop,” William warned.
“It seems you’ve brought her under the guise of a Good Samaritan, kind enough to show her joy and Christian kindness because her parents abandoned her,” he feigned a pout and deep concern. “And yet…you’ve brought her here. Why, William?”
“Stop it!”
“Could it be,” he continued, leaning forward and speaking in the tone William hated, that condescending ‘I already know the answer but I want to make you squirm’ voice that he was all too familiar with, “that this is all a ruse, much like that costume you’re wearing?”
William gritted his teeth.
“How interesting that you phoned me from a very nice hotel in Los Angeles. Now, why would a priest and his student stay at a hotel? Is it more comfortable to pray amid the luxury of monogrammed towels and room service?”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, I don’t?” Rupert leaned back in his chair. “Tell me then, how you prepared your charge for this visit or for that matter, how you explained to your church of your intentions?” He studied his son for a moment, noting the boiling rage beneath the surface. Just one more push. “So I ask you again, William…how much longer are you going to play God?”
“I said stop!” William shouted and knocked his chair over as he stood abruptly. “You sanctimonious prick!”
Rupert laughed, pleased with himself. “Such language, William!”
“Fuck you,” he sneered and placed his flat hands on the table and leaned forward. “You think you know everything, do you? Think you’ve got it all figured out in that balloon sized head of yours?”
“I don’t claim to know anything,” he said smiling, “I was merely posing questions. It’s not my fault that you’re so angry about it, but isn’t that telling?”
“I’m angry because of you! I’m furious because of you, father! You! How foolish of me to think that maybe you’d be civil for two days. I haven’t even been here two hours and we’re already fighting!”
Rupert took a slow and appreciative sip of his scotch, seemingly unaffected by his son’s ire. “Don’t pin your frustrations on me, William. You knew exactly how I would behave, knew exactly what to expect when you arrived here.” Rupert set his glass down and waited for his son to sit down. When he did, his voice was calm when he said, “You’ve lain the groundwork for me, did nothing to cover your bases and now…you’re here.”
William’s lips curled upwards, holding in his guilt and anger as his eyes darted to his father’s. “You’re eating this up, aren’t you? You fucking…” he laughed humorlessly and stared at the ceiling. “What do you want me to say, Dad?”
There was a brief flash of sadness in the old man’s eyes. He was terrible at communicating with his son and the only way he could get anywhere with him was to push him to the limit. “I want you to tell me what’s happened. William…I can help you.”
William stood again and shouted, “I don’t bloody need your help!”
And that’s when Buffy walked into the library. She had no idea what had just transpired but from the pleading expression on the old man’s face and the tense, guarded expression of her boyfriend’s, she gathered that she’d timed it perfectly to walk into a room of caged tigers. Awkwardly fidgeting with the sleeves of her shirt as she said, “Um…I’ll just go back upstairs.”
William sighed and shot his father a glare before he turned to his retreating girlfriend. “Buffy…”
Rupert stood up and walked over to her, smiling kindly at her in an attempt to soothe her. “Would you do me a favor, dear?”
“S-sure?”
William cocked a brow.
“Vijay is very forgetful,” Rupert said laughing softly, “and I wonder if you wouldn’t mind going next door and reminding him about dinner this evening?”
“She’s not an errand girl, Dad.”
Rupert pursed his lips and rolled his eyes at his son. “I know that.”
“No, i-it’s ok,” she stuttered, wanting nothing more than an excuse to leave them be, “I don’t mind. Is he to the left or the right?”
Rupert placed his hand on her shoulder and smiled. “You can’t miss it. It’s the house with the disco ball on the roof.”
Buffy giggled. “Are you serious?”
“Quite. He should be in the garden anyway. Tell him to be here at seven. Marta is making a feast for us.”
Buffy hadn’t met Marta but assumed she was a maid. She thought about mentioning that her dusting skills were sub-par at best, but she refrained and nodded politely before she looked at William. “Ok, I’ll be back.”
William let out the breath he’d been holding and watched her leave. Rupert gestured back towards the table with an extended arm. “Sit. Tell me what’s happened.” When William didn’t budge, Rupert’s shoulders relaxed. “Please?”
With a reluctant sigh, William nodded and joined his father at the table.
~*~*~*~*~
Sure enough, Vijay was in his garden, bending at the waist and pulling out stubborn weeds. She chuckled at the sight of his house. Rupert wasn’t lying. One very gigantic disco ball rotated on top of the roof, more than likely annoying his neighbors to no end.
“You know, you can throw your back out that way,” Buffy said as she walked up behind him.
Vijay turned around and smiled. “You sound like Kamat. But she doesn’t know I am strong to the core!” He rubbed his hands together, picking at the dirt behind his nails. “They are fighting?”
Buffy sighed and smiled. “Oh yeah…I don’t know what about, but it was pretty tense in there. I’m errand girl.”
He nodded and extended his arm, patting her briefly on the shoulder as he led her to his front steps. “Come sit and I’ll have Kamat bring you some tea.”
“Oh, that’s ok. You don’t have to do that.”
“Trust me…she will be the thorn in the side if I do not be a good host. You sit. I’ll be back in two lamb’s tail shakes.”
She watched him enter the house and not two seconds after, she heard a woman screaming at him.
“Vijay! How many times I ask you to pull the weeds? You’ve only been outside ten minutes!”
“Stop screaming at me! I am here to get Tamarind for the Buffy errand girl!”
They continued to scream but she couldn’t understand when they started shouting in their native tongue. She heard something shatter near the door and seconds later, Vijay walked outside, smiling brightly and carrying a tray with a glass and a pitcher on it. A woman followed him outside, dressed in a gorgeous magenta silk tunic with bright gold thread inlay and a matching skirt, her thick black hair swept up in a chignon, gold bangles clinking on her wrists and large gold chandelier earrings. She smiled at Buffy and pushed Vijay to the side as he was blocking the door.
“Hello,” she said. “I am Kamat, Vijay’s wife.”
Buffy smiled warily, uneasy with how pleasant they both were. She’d heard one hell of an argument but it seemed to have been instantly forgotten. “Hi. Buffy.”
“You must drink my tea,” she said as she took the tray from her husband and poured her a glass. “It is good for you.”
“Thank you,” she said as she took the proffered glass and took a sip. “Mmm, this is good! It’s so sweet.”
Kamat looked at Vijay and smiled smugly. “Vijay says my tea is no good but I have tasted his mother’s and it is terrible.”
Vijay rolled his eyes and walked down the steps towards the garden. “My mother’s tea was the best in our village!”
Kamat hissed at him venomously, waving her hands in the air before she turned back to Buffy with a million-watt smile. “You must drink all of that and have more when you wish.”
“Thank you,” Buffy said smiling into the rim of her glass. She giggled as she watched Vijay’s lanky form sauntering around the front yard, yanking weeds.
“Vijay!” Kamat shouted. “You bend at the waist like that and you will break it!”
He looked at Buffy with a conspiratorial smile. “You are so good to remind me my beautiful bride.” He turned his back to her and slowly bent over, exposing his bony ass that was held taut by his short shorts and yanked a large weed from the ground. Buffy smiled when she noticed the slight blush forming on Kamat’s face. Vijay stood up and winked at her and Kamat shook her head, turning her attention to the blonde on her porch.
“You came with William?”
“Yes. We arrived only a short while ago. He’s my…um, my priest.”
“I see,” she nodded and sat down beside her on the steps. “He’s a good man. I miss seeing him.”
“He is a good man. My parents kind of took off for the holidays and William decided it wasn’t right for me to spend Christmas at the school, so…here I am.”
Kamat studied her for a moment. She thought the arrangement was strange, and being the nosy sort that she was, she said, “Your parents did not mind you spending the holidays with your teacher?”
“Um…well,” she said nervously, “they don’t exactly…know.”
Kamat poured her some more tea. “I see. William did not think to tell them?”
Buffy was growing uncomfortable with this interrogation and didn’t know how much she could say without the woman figuring it out. “Well, they’re out of the country and they didn’t even bother to tell me where they were so it’s not like we could have reached them anyhow.”
Kamat locked eyes with Buffy and in turn, Buffy took a large sip of her tea to avoid the scrutinizing gaze of the older woman. “Vijay said you are errand girl,” she said, aware that she’d gone too far with her questioning. However, the fact that there happened to be a boundary to her queries only added to her suspicions that something was up. She’d ask Vijay about it later.
“Oh! That reminds me,” Buffy said, grateful for the change in subject, “Mr. Giles asked me to tell you both about dinner this evening. At seven.”
Kamat’s eyes grew wide and she stood up abruptly and stomped over to her husband, her gold bangles tinkling as she lifted her skirt to step over the flowers. She slapped him on the back of the head and shouted, “Vijay!”
“Ow! What is it you foul creature?”
“Rupert has asked us to dinner!”
“Yes, but why are you slapping me?”
“Because you did not tell me! I promised him fresh yogurt the next time we ate together and you know how long this takes!” She slapped him on the back of the head again. “Why can’t you remember anything?”
They stood inches apart, shouting in their native tongue again and Buffy couldn’t tear her eyes away. It was quite a comical sight, especially considering Vijay’s outfit. And then they stopped suddenly, chests heaving, and Kamat grabbed Vijay’s beard and pulled him in for a passionate kiss. His arms wrapped around her waist as her hands clawed at his face and soon they fell to the grass, moaning and kissing as if they hadn’t seen each other in years. Buffy quietly stood up and tiptoed away, glancing over her shoulder at the passionate couple rolling around in their front yard. They didn’t notice her exit.
~*~*~*~*~
When Buffy returned to Rupert’s, she walked straight to the library. She couldn’t hear any shouting so she figured it was safe. However, what she saw upon entering wasn’t what she expected at all. Her chest tightened and she covered her mouth to muffle the sound of her gasp when she saw William curled up on the ground, wrapped in his father’s embrace, and Rupert rocking him softly. They were both crying, too emotional to notice her in the doorway. She blinked away the tears that welled in her eyes and quietly turned around and let them be.