The Butler - 18. Chapter XVIII

May 13th, 2011, Greenwich, CT.

The months flew by and, in hindsight (which is always 20/20 vision), it was due to us actually communicating, something I hadn't really thought possible. These days, living under one roof with Greg wasn’t as bad as I’d imagined it’d be at the start of this whole thing. We were co-habiting on friendly terms.

That’s not to say we didn’t have our little run-ins. Greg was still quick to anger if things didn't go his way and I was still quick to defense, resulting in, sometimes, silly fighting but what was rather odd, I came to find, is that it was always Greg who would come and look for mending it. Usually very quick too like, within the hour. At first I didn't notice it, too busily holding on to the grudge of the particular subject but right around the third or fourth time it happened, I saw a pattern. Whether he was right or wrong, it didn't matter; he'd come. Once he even came to my door late in the evening, to solve an issue at the time.

I found that out of character for him.

It wasn't the only thing I noticed. There were other things too, like he hadn't threatened me once, in the last few months, or laid a finger on me. Nor had we had any of the explosive arguments. Not since he'd done that one-eighty, back in February.

When we'd begun to talk...

I remembered the letter and wondered what could've been in his. And when he'd read it. I found it somewhat strange that mine had come so much later. Forgotten? His had contained advice, he'd said. He'd taken it to heart, he'd said. Could it have been that? Had he read it just before that day?

Whatever it had been, it worked. He was almost pleasant to be around, well...if I did as asked. Which was another thing that had changed. He didn't order. He asked now.

On occasion, he still left for a few days on business, and then I found myself actually missing a presence in the house, so during the spring, when the weather got better and the days longer I’d begun taking trips on my own into the country but always making sure I’d be back before he was. With permission, of course though in all this time, we didn’t see anyone checking up on us, to see if we stuck to the rules but, as said, it could be anyone and we wouldn’t know. Every few weeks, William would drop in, or Seth and Kathleen, which was always a fun weekend. They did it quite regularly.

In late spring, William did one of his quick hit’n’run visits, in a weekend where Greg was out of town. We’d had a blast, actually, and he’d taken me out for a night on the town. He’d pumped me for information, and the first two months of this situation proved to be quite a source of recognition to him.

“Yeah, I remember, when we were little, he always wanted to be boss. But he was always there. Even if he was being a dick at times; well, alright all the time, he was always helpful. He is a generous guy, believe it or not. He just doesn’t show it to the outside world. He’s very private yet also much like Dad in that way, although Dad was way more outgoing than Greg ever has been. And yeah, he is controlling; he always wants control. It’s the way he’s wired, he likes to care and fuss and that enables him. Always annoyed the hell out of me. Still does. He runs my portfolio and always gives me grief about it.”

Comparing him to his father was somewhat of an eye-opener, and upon his return, I starting looking for similarities. And once I found one, (his being actually peeved he’d missed his brother's visit) I found more. He liked to exert control because he really did like to care and fuss, as William had said. The execution wasn’t always as plain as that, though, but the intent showed easily through it. And so I let him do some of it, if let him is what I could call it. He’d assumed control of everything already really, but he seemed pleased I didn’t argue about every little thing, which I’d consistently done until then, or insisted on have him look at it from how I’d done it previously. And, to be fair, his way usually was very efficient and I didn’t miss the whole managing-an-estate thing at all.

And so I found myself at the airport once again, late in the evening, waiting for him. The jet had landed not too long ago.

“We gotta stop meeting like this,” I joked when a heavy footfall came to a stop behind me. I didn’t even have to look if it was him; I’d felt his presence as soon as he zoned in on where I was waiting, and I sat with my back towards the gate, at that. Before he could say a word, I added, “People are beginning to talk.”

“Why, what’ve you heard?” he responded, deadpan.

I snickered. The man had a dry sort of humor which you really had to learn to appreciate. Only lately did I appreciate it. It kept things light.

“Funny.”

“Thank you. Good evening, Chris.”

“Evenin’.”
We turned for the exit.

“Anything new?”

“Nah, same old, same old.”

“Visitors?”

“Seth and Kath came by with the kids on Tuesday, stayed the night.” He cursed softly.

“Perhaps next time they’ll time it so I’m home. So what did you do, then, this week?”

“Took a drive down the coast after they left, Wednesday afternoon. Not that far, but found a very nice inn. View on the ocean, slept with the doors open, even.”

“Sounds nice. Better than being cooped up in an office for two days straight.”

As if in defiance, he fumbled with his tie, jerking it loose and opening the top button of his shirt. He’d been doing that a lot of late. These days, he seemed to prefer to lose the jackets and the ties and just wear the shirt with the sleeves rolled up; but that could also be the warmer climate this time of year.

“Maybe learn a real job, then,” I shot back, causing him to huff.

“Hah! Maybe I should; I’d love to take a leisurely drive and sit around doing nothing, looking at the sea.”

“You should come with then, next time. There’s more to life than work, y’know.”
I meant it more as a jibe, but he took it seriously.

“Hmm…you know, maybe I will! How about this weekend? I have nothing planned.” I stopped dead in my tracks and he halted, turning around, frowning. “What?”

“You do realize I was joking, right?”

“No, it’s a good idea!” He answered, walking back and stopping right in front of me. Our noses almost touched. “We could go there tomorrow, spend the weekend there. Actually, the more I think about it, the more I want to. It’s been ages since I’ve been on a vacation, or even a long weekend.”

Oh brother…I could see he was dead-serious. And of course, if he wanted something…

**********

“We’re going,” he said, again, slamming the door of the car shut.

How the heck he had arranged it, after we’d returned home at that late hour last night, I didn’t know, but this morning, he’d been banging on my door, at 5am if you please, telling me to make ready to leave.

“We’ll even make it before breakfast.” I groaned softly.

“You do know the point of a leisure drive is the actual ‘leisure’ part, right?”
He snickered at that and started the engine.

It had its advantages, to not have to watch the road; I saw things I hadn’t seen on the previous trip and enjoyed the scenery. The sun came out and presented a nice spring morning, not too warm yet for it was still very early.
We drove on for about half an hour more; then I asked him to stop in an area I knew. Perhaps I could teach him a thing or two about leisure. After some direction, and leading him to where he had no idea where he was, I told him to just trust me, and relax.

“Why?” he asked, but indulged me and took the first exit.

“Because I want to enjoy myself? We don’t have to be there for breakfast, do we?”

“Well…”

“No, we don’t,” I finished for him. “We can have breakfast wherever we want, along the way. Just let me do this, ok? I want to show you something. There. Park there.” Frowning, he did as requested. “C’mon.”

I got out, stretching my legs for a bit. In the meantime, Greg got out as well and locked the car, then joined me, looking confused.

“So…now what?”

“Now we walk a bit. It’s not far. That way.”

We struck a path not far from the parking area; it was deserted, this early, which was good. It’d suck if there was a throng of people where we were going, and ruin the view.

“Where are we?” He asked, curious. He seemingly had relaxed enough to start enjoying the surroundings. Trees were on both sides, thick and blocking all view, their smell thick in the air.

It was a little colder here but we were both wearing thick sweaters so it was doable. Breathing out produced a small cloud, still.

It took about a ten minute walk. Then there came a sudden bend in the path and a whole wide space opened up, revealing a still lake, stretching for about two miles into the distance. It fed directly into the sea through a narrow channel, twisting and winding. But the kicker was that the path ended on several small platforms, high above the lake.

“The last time I was here, there were like queues. It’s nice and quiet now,” I explained, heading for one of the platforms, leaning on the railing and over, looking down. “Now how do ya like that, huh?”

“Very,” Greg replied, right behind me. He set one of his hands next to mine, the other on my shoulder, tightening a little when I leaned further down. "Stop that, please."

I frowned. Wait...

"You're afraid of heights?" I leaned out a bit further. Yep, his hand tightened again.

"They're not my favorite; I asked you not to do that. Please."

I grinned. Gregory Montgomery was afraid of something. Who'd have guessed.

"You fly around all the time..."

As I came up, his hand left the railing and came to rest on my stomach, lightly. Clearly he didn't trust me to not do it again. Which was probably not that farfetched.

"That's different. Flying is safer than standing on the edge of an abyss. Stop it." I laughed. Alright, fine. I leaned back, bumping against him. “Thank you. I’m impressed. How did you find this?”

“Just driving around. I know my way around these parts pretty well by now.”

“It’s beautiful.” His other arm joined the first. “Thank you for sharing this with me.”

“You’re welcome,” I answered, a little taken aback.

What was he doing?

It turned out nothing more than that. We stayed out there for a while longer, just enjoying the view, the cold air creating wisps of breath. My back, though, was very warm with him standing behind me. If anyone would see this, we’d seem like lovers...

Immediately as that thought entered my brain, I took a step to the side, forcing him to let go. This was getting a bit too real.