The Butler

8

Chapter 8

It was almost eight in the morning but Richard is still in his room probably sleeping. I guess he's getting all the sleep he can get since he went out again last night and went to god knows where. I only noticed that he was gone for the night when I noticed that he was missing at dinner. Evelyn told me he went out but didn't state where he was going. 

I knocked on his door but I never heard a response so I knocked again. I waited for a while if he would make a sound but I heard nothing. I thought twice about whether to open the door to his room or not but in the end, I decided to nudge the door open. 

And he's not in his room right now. 

Did he even came home last night? I scanned the room for any possible clues about his whereabouts and my question was immediately answered when his bathroom door flew open. Richard emerged with only a towel wrapped around his waist. 

"Yes?" he questioned.

"Nothing sir. I am here to remind you that it's almost eight in the morning and you still haven't had your breakfast." 

He frowned when I called him sir again but didn't bother to make me drop it again.

"Don't worry. We'll get to work on time."  he said confidently. I didn't know if he was always been this shameless but he started to  remove the only piece of clothing covering his body even with a presence of another person in the room. I swiftly closed the door before his towel fell down on the floor.

I went down to the dining hall and instructed Evelyn to prepare his meals. Not long after, he went down fully dressed in is work attire. He invited me again to dine with him but I excused myself saying that I already ate earlier this morning. He decided to let me stay with him anyhow just to watch him eat.

"I thought you were only allowed eat after the master was done eating?" he inquired as he fish out some eggs and put it on his plate.

"Well, due to the special circumstance, I have to bend the rules a little because we're going to be late if I have to wait for you."

"Are you a slow eater? Like I told you, you can have your breakfast with me and we're still good to go. Just admit the fact that you're avoiding me."

Ding! Ding! Ding! Bingo!

"No sir. Why would I ever do such thing?" I tried my best to sound offended.

"Come on Carl. You can do better than that." he pointed his fork at me. "You're building a barrier from me and I wonder why?"

"I'm not sir. Really."

"You even left my room enthusiastically and you didn't even witnessed the best part of the show." 

"I don't get it." I said trying to act like I have no clue what he meant.

"Aren't you even a little bit curious?" he smiled mischievously. "You didn't even take a peek." he sounds a little bit cheerful compared to yesterday.

It was at this moment that I realized what he was doing. "My apologies but I don't want my appetite for the day ruined. Thanks for the offer anyway." I replied to take control of the conversation. He's messing with me again and if I will not kill his newfound topic, I'll never hear the end of it for the day.

His arrogant smile suddenly vanished and is replaced by a scowl. It was my turn to smile hoping that it would even irritate him further. "Enjoy your meal sir."

"Whatever." he murmured.

Speaking about seeing someone naked, I think it's time for us to have the talk. The talk we didn't have for five years. "Fine. You're right, I do still have my reservations from you." I started.

Richard's face seemed to brighten a bit. "So you're actually curious?"

"Yes, I'm curious." I said. He put his utensils down and grinned like he won the grand prize in the carnival. "I'm curious whether I warped your juvenile mind when you saw me with my girlfriend having some personal time in my bedroom." I continued. 

After the question bomb was dropped, the dining hall was filled with silence with Richard looking shocked from the unexpected interrogation. He let his head down and cleared his throat. "Congratulations, you just officially ruined my appetite."

"No, but honestly. You look quite shocked before you left the room." 

"Sex? Please. I was already an eighteen-year-old high school graduate when I caught you in the act. It's not like it's a shocker anymore." 

He's got a good point.

"True. But what I don't understand is that, why did you treat me like I no longer existed starting that day?"

"No, I did not." he denied my accusation. "You must be imagining things."

"I don't think so. Come on, be honest with me. We never spoke again until your arrival last week."

Richard stared at me inquisitively. "Do you really want to have this talk? Aren't we late for work like you said?" he returned the ball back to me. 

"Do you? You said so yourself, we'll get to work on time. In your own words, we have a plenty of time, especially now that you're done eating." I retorted.

He crossed his arms and leaned back on his chair.

"Fine." he replied as if he had accepted a challenge. "Why don't you remember a time when you initiated to contact me or even tried to ask me anything about my life ever since you left the house for college."

I stared down and thought about my college years. I bit my lip at the realization that he's actually right. I got so busy exploring life outside their manor that I never bothered to give a call to the Prestons. 

"Anything?" he taunted.

I didn't answer. I was still trying to figure out how to respond to his question.

"You know, when you finally went home during my high school graduation party, I was actually excited to see you." he confessed which actually surprised me. "I wanted to talk to you and catch up about the years we never met each other but what do I find? You with your girlfriend having some carnal activities at my own party."

"In my defense, I actually wanted to talk to you too and ask you how you've been when I returned to your house for a visit. But after you saw us in that compromising position, I was too embarrassed and a little bit nervous that you would tell your parents what you saw."

"Oh yeah? But why didn't you?"

"Because you looked pissed the whole day and it seems like you doesn't want to interact with anyone." I fired back.

"I wonder why?" he asked sarcastically. "Who's the one who prioritized doing the deed the moment he came back?"

Our conversation was going nowhere. It was just us placing the blame on each other so I have no choice but to be older adult among the two of us. "Fine. I admit my lapses." I exclaimed in defeat.  "But you should also remember that communication is a two-way street. I have no clue that you would like to talk to me because I didn't know if you actually see me as your friend and not just one of your employees." 

He looked at his watch. " Times up. We're gonna be late for work." he said and left the dining hall. His breakfast almost untouched. I followed him down to the parking lot and it looks like it's going to be a long day today. He closed the door of the car loudly like a kid who's just been inform that he's grounded. It's obvious that he's still pissed about something but he was never been the type of person to share what's bothering him.

" You know that I care about you... right?" I said.

He took a deep breath before finally starting the car. "Yeah. But not in the same way I care for you." he answered coldly.