Satisfaction: A Hamgelica Mystery

Mister Burr, Sir

With a head spiraling in ambition Alexander dug into the cabinets of the small kitchen gathering up fettuccine noodles and alfredo sauce. He searched through tons of condiments while making a ruckus as he scurried to find the right ones.

"Ah ha!" He proclaimed as he found a jar of basil. He dropped it off towards the counter before kneeling down and searching the bottom cabinet for a pot.

Aaron Burr was typing away on his laptop as he sat in front of a desk located on the far left side of the room. He was working in the middle of an essay for one of his classes, he practiced law, when he was interrupted by the man who arrived in the room. With a flinch of irritation at the constant shuffling he heard in the kitchen, Aaron lifted his head up from the screen. Aaron was Alex's roommate after all so anything Alex did in their room, he had to deal with it. It wasn't so much a bad thing, but it was a hassle at times that he struggled with. Nonetheless, he still considered him a friend.

His pupils constantly shifted back and forth as he followed the fellow orphans movement. "Alexander. Why are you going 'bout the room like you're running out of time?"

"Because mister Burr, sir-" He paused smirking at him momentarily before rushing once again. "I am."

"It's distracting." Aaron said dully as he stared back at his thin glass screen and typed a sentence or two. Alex said nothing, but there was anything but silence. The sounds of metal pots and pans clinked before a loud crash interrupted him and Burr's head rose once more. "Alex! Will you please?" He was on the verge of yelling, but his patience refrained him from doing so.

Hamilton's head popped up from the island counter with a large pot in hand and a wide and proud gleam in his eye. "Found it!"

Burr sighed heavily. He closed his device in the meantime because he concluded he won't be able to finish with Alex in the kitchen. Instead he crossed his arms against the wooden surface and observed as his friend turned on the stove. "What is all this for?"

"I have a date."

"A date? No offense sir, but who would want to date you?" Burr was a smart man and had the tendency of keeping his language formal, even to his closest colleagues. Coincidentally his roommate was almost the same when he wanted to be.

"Just about anyone if I put in the effort. I'm-" He pointed to himself while his eyes fell into a boastful close. "-irresistible."

Frowning at his cockiness he dismissed his words. "You're infuriating."

"Just you wait." Alex winked at him and Burr only rolled his eyes.

There was silence between the two men again. Aaron watched Alexander fill the pot with water and add a few sprinkles of his own extra ingredients. Finally in the midst of the silence Alex spoke. "I have a date with Angelica Schuyler tonight. She'll be here by seven." He was already assuming she'd show up. He was confident that she would. He had almost no doubts.

With brows perked up in surprise, Burrs tone made that even clearer. "Angelica?"

Alex turned his head away from the stove for a second. "You know her?"

"I had a run with her freshman year." He thought back to his first encounter. It was when the Schuyler sisters first entered college, well only the oldest. Eliza and Peggy hadn't graduated high school yet at the time and only went to accompany Angelica to the place she'd be staying. He was more of a flirt back then but that was before he met Theodosia, the love of his life, he was certain.

"A run, huh?" Alex interrupted his thoughts just as quick as he interrupted his essay. Burr blandly nodded.

"I approached. Not my better approaches, I assure you." He shook his head before he concluded one thing he could recall from her. "Intense woman."

"Intense?" He questioned.

"You don't think so?"

"Not at all." It was Alex's turn to shake his head.

Intrigued, Aaron leaned back against his seat with his elbows resting down on the arm rests. "Enlighten me."

"She speaks her mind." He began. "Calling her intense only means you're not use to that. I do the same thing."

"Intense isn't the word I'd use for you Alexander."

"Exactly my point. We're glued to a system. The 1700's when we were still under Great Britain's rule. Back in the ages of no freedom. Or when our founding fathers were barely shaping the future of our nation, where slavery was still forced and women had no voice."

"But over the ages they've abolished slavery and woman could do much more now." He protested. Alex was ready to shoot back.

"It's a sugarcoat, Burr. Yes, there is no more slavery, yes women have a voice, but our nation is still just as ignorant." Alex gestured his hands through every passionate word he spoke. "Discrimination floods the streets with every subtle turn. It creeps in the shadows in hiding. It's not gone; it's just taking up a new form. You'd have to be a fool to think it was completely obliterated."

He watched as his colleague sat there staring at nothing in particular as if he was taking in his words. That was Burr. He was an observer. Rarely opinionated. Feeling obligated to continue, he did. "Angelica isn't intense. She's an intellectual. A woman who knows how it is and isn't afraid to say it." He felt as if he knew her. He only truly met her today but that speech gave him an instant perspective on who she was. He felt gratified to defend her name.  "She's someone overlooked.... underestimated."

Burr said nothing as if he had a revelation of his own. The one thing Burr would admit about Alexander is that anytime he had a case, he defended it well. His words were strategic as if he had formulated an army. His facts were the soldiers and his articulated approach was the weapons. Not even Thomas Jefferson could beat him down, and Burr had sure seen him try.

Finally Hamilton drew his attention away and focused back to his cooking. The water was already scorching hot, you could tell by the steam fogging up the kitchen and the bubbles growing and popping within the surface of the liquid. Alex finally poured in the stiff rectangular strings of noodles. He watched as the liquid settled a little, trying to consume the untouched sustenance that laid across the pot.

At the corner of his eye, he could see his friend stand and circle around the work-desk. The patter of his feet was the only thing breaking the quiet aside from the boiling water that hissed in result. Aaron walked towards the fridge and opened it. He peeked in seeing nothing but half a gallon of milk.

"Can I buy you a drink?" He chirped simply.

That's certainly unexpected. Hamilton thought. "That would be nice.."

Aaron felt like he should explain himself . "If you believe she's as great as you say she is, then an insightful woman deserves more than just milk to go with that fettuccine. I recommend Cabernet Sauvignon."

"Oh I see." Alex leaned back against the counter with a playful tilt of his head. "The great prodigy of Princeton College speaks."

"Former prodigy. I transferred remember?" He gave a subtle grin.

"Aaron, you cocky little shit." Alexander chuckled and caused Burr to follow.

"Maybe a little, sir. And you know what?"

"What?" The chef perked a brow curiously.

With a smug grin, Aaron walked towards their door and opened it. He stepped into the hallway and just before exiting the room fully he said his final thought in which he allowed to linger in the air for the moment. "I learned that from you."