26
Practical Proposition
The auto pulled away from the house. Irene eyed that car until it disappeared down the street as it pumped noises from what they used to call an ignition through its speakers.
“Where’s Angel?” Alex looked at her.
“Out drinking with some old friends.” Irene found her gaze had fallen onto the carpet.
“Didn’t know that she drank.”
“She hasn’t for a long time. I’ll tell you that. Maybe dating back to the sorority days—“
Irene visually scanned the doors before she spoke again.
“Okay— You didn’t tell me, or Kevin for that matter, that Kayla is looking to go home.”
“I didn’t know. Nobody knew. You found out the same time we did.” Alex’s tone was dead flat.
“What did you do to them?” Irene’s voice was almost that of a cobra, practically hissing at him. “Why did they suddenly want to leave?”
“They came in from New York.” He tilted his head and ratted off facts from his memory. “Assignment was for them to complete the experiment safely, they’ll return home. If we didn’t hear from them in four weeks, it is our call.”
“I thought you didn’t know.” She could feel her teeth shaking. “Angel told me you just wanted to get through this side gig and get paid. Did she know about where they’re from?”
Alex’s attention, by now, had drifted towards the Pacific.
“Part of the old Ferrule family in upstate. Daughter crash-landed for us to take her in. And no, Angel had no knowledge, hence why I am telling you now.”
“So you know all this time?” Irene struggled to ascertain if this is yet another deadpan setup.
“That’s true.”
“You lied to her about you knowing nothing? You made her write the letter, you think you can hide the crash and truth from her?”
“All so she doesn’t worry. They are important people we are temporary giving home to.” Alex looked back at Irene, without an ounce of emotion on his face. “And if I don’t like it, they can leave.”
“They are actual people! They deserve care! If they hailed from the opposite side of the country, they even more so deserve us giving one for them!” The motion in her arms could only barely indicate her thoughts. “You are being paid to make sure they had a home. They almost got killed getting here!”
“We are getting paid. No more, no less. We finish what we had to do, and we wrap this up. It is not our cause to give them any of your espoused ‘care’.” Alex could feel his voice climbing.
“You’re lying to Angel.” Irene’s teeth gritted against themselves and her gaze unmoving. “They don’t have a dime on them. If you didn’t care, why are you doing this?”
“For money. That’s why we’re in this mess. This calamity. All this buzz with the office.” His eyes flared up. “I don’t understand your unwarranted obsession with giving them something extra. No one at Circle cares. After four weeks.”
“Oh yeah?” Irene’s control over her volume was far removed. “You lied twice. All for your own benefit.”
“I thought you hated these people.”
She paced off to the glass railing.
“You and your dumb, dumb logic games!” Irene struggled to fight off her emotions, but they came back for her stronger. “You lied, you manipulated, you would cause your own people to turn against you— all for your stupid disciplines! Humans are animals, Alex. Get over it. We laugh. We cry. That happens. If you don’t even care to appeal to basic human thoughts, nothing is going your way until you hit the grave!”
Her voice turned into a whimper.
“Look at you.” His arm outstretched. “Your face is filling up with blood and tears. No need to drown yourself with these worries.”
“No need!?” Irene was not allowed a time-out. “Who passed you the $15 just to grab lunch three years ago because you spent all your money on bowling balls. Oh yeah. Bowling balls. Contributing to society. A sport serving a practical purpose, huh? You clutching your stomach and you asked, and I gave. That is compassion, and you will never know the true meaning of it!”
“‘Compassion’ is just a concept of people—“
“I don’t want to hear any more of your stupid theories!” Irene’s face was a mixture of anger and sadness as her finger pointed directly at Alex. “When anyone comes near me, they get fed. They get looked over. I don’t care how, I don’t care how much, I don’t care how long. If you want lack of compassion, I can call up Angel right now. I’ll let her know. See what happens then. In your eyes it’s her responsibility that the plane crashed, huh? Special treatment for your girl in your “fair” head.”
Alex exhaled, looked down, and moved in a rather slow circle.
“What do you want so you would keep this between us? A check? The fifteen grand, you can have some.”
“All you think are practical solutions to impractical problems! I don’t want your money.”
“You’re embarrassing yourself—“
“I account to myself too, Alex. My dignity is when other people feel happy.” Irene sighed. “You don’t understand. You will never understand.”
“I would like to repeat what I said over. What does it take for you to stay silent in front of Angel and those—“
“Oh? So you do care about people. You do care about how they feel and what they think of you, huh?” Irene, with an arm on her hip, watched as Alex tried hard not to exhibit his squirms and his shifting stare as it moved from one patch of the carpet to the next.
“Can we please dispense with the theatrics? I only want a straight answer. Anything you like, Irene. No more strife.” The words can barely escape his mouth.
“You know why Angel drank? Did you ever came to find out?”
Alex’s mouth stay closed. The eyes was barely looking at her.
“I’ll tell you about my conditions later. I’m tired.”
Irene trudged through the carpet until she disappeared inside her room.
Alex checked his film, his eyebrows furrowed, dropped his arm so the light from it went out. Looked over the railing, mouthed incoherently to himself, and retreated back inside his room.
They call it “their room”.