22. Chapter 22 #4
Because it’s just like Luna stated, asking such a question could deem her unemployed, where she is one of my other employees, b-wait what.
If she were another employee? Why has she suddenly become exempt?
If I chose to fire her because of what her family member did would usually be as easy as a heartbeat…
and yet, I can’t even bring myself to even think about doing so.
What does that mean?
“I stand by my question; should he choose to answer or not, I get my answer either way.” Her Gran nods. “And don’t think I don’t hear your tone; remember who you’re talking to,” she warns sternly as Luna slips into her seat now that I no longer need assistance.
But that only points all attention back to me. Macy has climbed down from her laughter; the faint sound of Mario Kart lingers from the living room, and all three Jackson women have their eyes on me.
“Well, Mr Wal-Oliver. Now that you’ve recovered, can you answer my question?” Gran asks, but everyone in this room knows she’s not asking, more like demanding one.
Although I should have every right to refuse…I don’t sense that it will be so easy. I’m starting to understand why LJ left the room, and I wish I had done the same, as being in the room with these three women hardly spells the word fun.
“Oliver, you don’t have to answer her,” Luna adds at the end of her Gran’s sentence, patting my shoulder, but she retreats her touch when I turn to look at her. To others, it may have seemed like I was upset that she touched me, but oddly enough, it was the opposite.
She and Macy share a look that allows the cogs in Macy’s head to turn when something suddenly becomes clear. Luna may not have told her family about the kiss we shared, but it does tell me that it won’t take her sister-in-law long to figure it out.
There is something between Luna and me. But that is a hurdle for another day; right now I have something else to focus on, something outrageous but needs to be put to rest.
“Let’s start from the beginning, shall we?” I recite after clearing my throat, gaining attention from everyone in the room, and adjusting my suit jacket to compose myself.
“Mrs Jackson, I’m unaware of what my employees in this room may have told you about me, but please allow me to express the same courtesy I gave them on their first day,” I start, turning towards Luna’s Gran.
“First, I deeply value my privacy; anything that occurs outside my place of work I keep under a tight leash, and I expect the same, if not more, from those who choose to work with or for me.” I start, glancing at Macy and then at Luna before looking back at their elder.
“That being said, as I do currently have your granddaughter under my care, I am currently in your home. There are certain questions I may be willing to answer depending on their content.” I finish watching Luna’s Gran lean back in her chair, registering my words.
It only takes a second or two for her to catch up before she leans forward, folding her arms across one another.
“Very well, so sex dungeon, yay or nay?” she blurts, causing one Jackson female to palm her forehead in embarrassment and the other to vibrate with excitement.
“Though I’m not a stranger to certain forms of intimacy, I’m afraid the answer is no,” I state, sitting tall as Macy’s face droops in disappointment, Gran remains stoic, and as for Luna, she sits next to me as if she’s ticking off a list in her head.
“So, what is in that room and why is it locked?” is a question I expect to come from the oldest person in the room, but it comes from Macy; however, it doesn’t make me more reluctant to answer the question, the way it should.
I lean forward, prepared to answer when something inside me clicks, and Luna’s late nights in the living room a while back suddenly make sense.
“It seems you ladies have discussed this particular topic at length, but let me take your minds out of the gutter and put you at peace.” I pause as Luna is the only one sitting there, bright red with embarrassment, whilst the other two hold their own, standing by their words.
“There is nothing in my household that would take away Luna’s will to choose, nor does it contain anything that could put her in danger.
I’m sorry to crush your fantasy, but that room is nothing more than an office.
Kept under lock and key because it contains work-related documents for my eyes only.
” I finish as the three women decide whether that answer was satisfying enough.
Whereas, if I’m given the chance to relive what just happened, had this happened in a friendly environment, I would have reacted slightly differently.
Much like Luna did when I made the wrong assumption of what she did on her days off, dare I say I would have laughed, maybe even cracked a smile at her Gran’s inappropriate question.
Most likely, I would have encouraged her thought process on how she thought that worked and how I was able to have such a thing in the house with a child under seven.
But that is something that could have only happened in an alternative universe; nothing about this is meant to be fun and as informal as it was to be dining with my employee’s family, I had a reputation to uphold.
****
I’m guessing the answer I gave earlier must have been satisfying enough, as not much was said after that. We moved on into the living room, just big enough to house the six of us, as the Jackson family bickered over what to watch on TV.
Theo was dozing off in Luna’s lap, becoming my new escape attempt, once everyone else noticed, but I was able to understand why he was so eager to come here for three weeks in a row. The Jackson family’s typical Sunday dynamic was very different to ours.
While they cook, eat and converse, only to end up bantering in front of the TV.
Theo and I’s usual Sunday involves us going out to a game, getting junk food, then coming home for a few rounds of Mario Kart, then Theo begs for a change of scenery, so he runs off to play before bedtime, and I pour myself into work until the early hours of the morning.
This being yet another sting at how different our upbringings were, spending time with others is just another reason - no, a reminder that even though it wasn’t my choice to raise Theo, I’m clearly doing it wrong.
Had I put Theo up for adoption after realising my mother had no intention of coming back, like I originally planned, he could have been raised in a family like this, one built of pure love and a sense of warmth.
Such dark thoughts start to loom over my head like a dark cloud, but I make sure not to show any feeling on my face once I notice Luna staring at me, as she does now and again, the same look she gave the first time we met.
As if she’s trying her hardest to get inside my head.
Little does she know, no matter how hard she knocks, I’ll never let her in.
Theo’s light snores fill the room as the Jacksons finally settle on what to watch. The original plan was to play along, watch whatever they chose for a while before making a clean exit, but that all came crashing down by the sound of the theme song that haunted my childhood.
As if the darkness wasn’t enough, my social battery had just exploded into pieces, and I wanted nothing more than retreating home to be alone with my demons, or should I say demon.
“Whether it’s in your back garden or in the outback, travel to your heart’s content,” said the voice who birthed me, the only change being I had no power to switch off the TV and put an end to her bullshit, but instead I was sitting in a household full of Joan Walters fans.
The countless travel magazines in the cabinet and the family travel photos around the house, including the one I saw earlier in Luna’s bedroom, all connected to make my version of a horror show.
I was not only a typical fan of my mother’s work, but I was in the presence of a superfan, the proof being Luna’s Gran reciting the TV show’s intro word for word.
“So, ladies and gentlemen, where shall we travel to next?” said my mother and Luna’s Gran as if they were filming the show together. I glance around the room, choosing not to take in my mother’s young smile or remember where I was when this episode was filmed and watch everyone else.
Luna’s Gran is leaning forward, soaking in every word that woman mutters, even though it’s clear she’s watched it so many times she could recite it the same way she’d done with the intro.
Macy and LJ watch with familiarity as this is most likely something they do every Sunday evening, and for Luna, her eyes are still on me.
I’m glad she didn’t notice the stiffness in my shoulders the moment that strawberry blonde woman flashed on screen as she was looking down to realise Theo had drifted off.
But in this moment, being in this household, sitting next to Luna, stuck in a room with her voice sucking everyone else in, made it too hard to breathe. I had to seek sanctuary.