This Charming Man

Four

I knocked on Mr Weekes' door the next morning at 7 o'clock sharp and went in anyway after I got no response. The shades were drawn and I could see the shape of Mr Weekes' sleeping figure under the duvet. I could hear him snoring softly and I had to bite my lip to stop myself from laughing. I walked over to the opposite side of the room and opened the curtains. The room lit up instantly and I had to cover my eyes from the brightness. From the bed, I heard Mr Weekes mumble and looked over to see him hiding his face under the duvet. I grinned and padded over to his wardrobe.

"It's time to wake up, Mr Weekes!" I chirped and started looking through his wardrobe for his work clothes. I hung up his suit jacket on the wardrobe door and smiled at the sight of him sitting up in bed. He was rubbing his eyes which were heavy with sleep and his messy brown hair was sticking up in short tufts. He peered up at me through squinted eyes and mumbled a, "Morning," before shuffling to the side of the bed to swing his legs over. He was dressed in his boxers and a t-shirt and I smiled at how normal he looked compared to last night when he was dressed up smartly.

Mr Weekes got up and stumbled to the bathroom with a yawn and I set about making the bed and clearing up his litter on his bedside tables. I heard the shower switch on as I plumped up the pillows and arranged them neatly. They'd all been strewn across the floor except for one and I frowned at how uncomfortable I always was sleeping with just one pillow.

He wasn't very long in the shower. I marvelled at him when he came into the room bone dry with his hair fluffed up and a towel wrapped around his waist. He was much more awake and alert now and he almost skipped over to the folding screen. I quickly moved his clothes over to hang them on one of the screens and started passing over clean underwear and his shirt.

"So what are you up to today then, Brendon?" Mr Weekes asked cheerfully from behind the screen.

"Oh just my usual duties. Laundry, cleaning, etc. Nothing exciting," I said, passing him his pants, "What about you?"

"I'm sticking around here this morning," he said, shuffling around behind the screen, "Got some files to sort, then I'm heading up to the office in the afternoon."

I heard him sigh. "Well that doesn't sound too bad," I said, passing him his tie.

"It's alright," he said, emerging from behind the screen adjusting his tie. He was quiet for a brief moment before he spoke again, "I was thinking about heading up to the market this morning actually. Would you care to tag along?"

I froze at the question and blinked up at him, my cheeks flushing. "U-uh... I-I don't think I can, I'm afraid," I mumbled, flustered, "G-got a lot of work to catch up on."

He shrugged and smiled. "That's alright. Some other time perhaps," he said and went over to his bed to slip on his shoes.

I swallowed, feeling bad about saying no. "I-I'm sorry, Mr Weekes," I mumbled, feeling foolish.

"Don't be," he said, smiling up at me cheerfully, "It's perfectly alright, Brendon. And please, it's Dallon."

I nodded quickly. "O-of course. My apologies."

Mr Weekes stood up and brushed his suit down. "Right well, I think that's all I needed you for today. I'll see you around perhaps," he said and smiled down at me.

I stared for a second in disbelief. "That... That's all?"

He nodded. "Sure. For today anyway."

I smiled back at him widely and scurried to the door. I bowed quickly to him. "Thank you, Mr Weekes! Damn! I-I mean Dallon! See you later!" and hurried down the corridor.