Chapter 4
The whisky was better than Ward had expected, although there was nothing special about it. A few candles scattered across the tables created a soft hue over everything. The room had obviously decided to borrow the color-scheme from his drink. Ward thought about the quiet, peaceful evenings he'd used to spent at Joy's, staring at the blazing fireplace in her study, absentmindedly reading whatever publications he'd happened to find there. Even if those days were long gone, the colors reminded him of the few places he'd been able to feel safe. And just to be... himself.
Lumi was treating the whisky glass like it contained toxic waste. She held the class between her thumb and middle finger as if trying not to pollute herself with the liquid. She brought it under her nose and firmly closed her eyes as her mouth pressed into a hard line. Then she took a deep breath, lifted the glass to her lips and took a sip. She swallowed with great effort and shuddered afterward.
”That good huh?”
She wasn't able to answer since evidently, she was trying to keep the drink from coming back up.
”You don't have to...”
Lumi lifted her palm to stop Ward from continuing. She took a couple of long breaths and straightened herself, wincing.
”Please don't insult my Finnish heritage by implying I cannot drink this. I can and I will. This is a question of honor. You should know we take our drinking very seriously.”
”You can just pour it down the drain.”
”And waste perfectly good booze? Sacrilege!” She feigned devastation.
She took another sip, shuddering and grimacing all over again.
”Now this... this builds character.” She squinted one eye as she brought the glass again to her lips.
”I take it you don't drink that often?”
”I haven't had much opportunity lately. And I've never liked hard liquor much.”
”Then why drink at all?”
Lumi pondered this for a minute. She lifted her index finger.
”First, it's impolite not to drink in company.” She added the middle finger next to the index finger.
”Second, I'm trying to seem more sophisticated than I really am, indulging in whisky. How am I doing with that, by the way?” She asked as she frowned, grimaced and quivered, trying to engulf the drink.
”Amazing. Very sophisticated.”
”Third... The third one will come to me eventually. I'll let you know when that happens.”
Against all odds, Ward found that he was starting to enjoy himself.
---
Whisky was just plain awful. It burned going down and left a horrible aftertaste. I couldn't stop the shivers. Ward watched my efforts, a grin widening on his face with every gulp I took. What I didn't tell him was that I needed the encouragement. This was Ward Meachum, the billionaire, every women's magazines top eligible bachelor, the business genius of the decade. Sitting alone with me, in the middle of the night, in candlelight. Ward. Meachum. Let that sink in. I felt a bit out of my league. Or more likely completely out of the ballpark.
Ward glanced at the security gates, brows furrowing.
”Are we locked in until the power comes back?”
His face relaxed considerably after I told him that there was a crank handle, which would open the security gates manually, although it required quite much force and I had never tried to do it myself. Plus I had no idea where the crane was. But that was a fact I kept to myself. His posture had softened a bit when he'd heard there was a way out. I didn't want to worry him any more than necessary. But there might be other people that were worried about him.
”Is there someone that's concerned about you? I can go upstairs if you need to call someone, so you get some privacy.”
”No, I texted my sister and told her I was ok.”
Ward played with his phone while telling me this. His long fingers caged the edges of the phone and made it spin. So he didn't have to call a significant other. Maybe he was in-between relationships.
”She told me that this 'emergency' is a local phenomenon, her block was not affected.”
Ward sneered and looked at the ceiling.
”She was pissed when she heard I probably won't make it to the Stanton Island meeting. Luckily she is perfectly capable of handling it herself.”
I nodded like I knew what he was talking about. Two shrewd businesspeople talking here.
He drained his glass in one gulp and poured more. I still had at least half of my drink left. I could feel the burn in my stomach increase with every sip I took. It was not altogether an unpleasant feeling.
”You two are close?”
I was trying to make conversation like he was a normal person and this was a normal situation. But I didn't feel comfortable enough to look him in the eye, which I usually had no problems with. I guess the situation had become a bit too intimate for that.
”It's been us against the world as long as I remember.”
A black strand of hair tried to coax itself towards his forehead. He combed it back with his hand a few times, then let it be. I was fascinated by how a single strand of loose hair made him look so much more human.
”I don't have brothers or sisters. I wish I had so I could have stolen my brother's candy and blame my sister for it.”
Ward snorted, struggling to keep the liquid inside his mouth.
”That's... strangely specific.”
”You have time to scheme when you're an only child. I might have imagined a few siblings. Drove my parents crazy.”
”How's that?” He had his fist hold against his mouth as he cleared his throat.
”They never knew which one was coming to dinner, and where to set the extra plate. There was a precise order on where everyone was supposed to sit.”
”Sounds like a happy childhood.”
There was a strange longing in his voice. He was again playing with his whisky glass. Of course. His mother had died when he was a child. And then his father when he was on the verge of adulthood. I felt a sting of remorse. I hadn't meant to rub his nose on my happy memories. I tried to think of a way to change the subject.
”So... working at a big company like Rand. That must be exciting?”
”It can be, yes.”
”What's the best part of it?”
”Working with Joy.”
”And the worst part?”
”Working with Joy. No no, I'm kidding.”
He had a wide grin on his face. I wished I could have frozen time and just sat there and admire that smile for eternity. Maybe write a couple of sonnets or find a canvas and paint it. And since I couldn't do either of those things in real life, I resorted to emptying my glass instead. With a shudder.
---
Lumi pushed her empty glass towards the bottle. Ward had somehow gotten the role of the bartender, but he was happy to oblige and poured her a new drink. He felt strangely light as if the outside world didn't exist and there was only this honey-colored, secure space. And the intriguing person sitting opposite him. However, the intriguing person was just now very non-intriguingly fidgeting in her seat.
”I've never noticed how uncomfortable these chairs are. My bum is numb,” she blurted, snickering delightfully. ”Sorry, I speak worse and worse with every sip of that devil's... potion. Soon you'll have to Google Translate me.”
”I think I'm actually looking forward to that.”
Ward had a feeling he'd need a translator of his own soon if they continued to drink at this pace.
Lumi started to blow out all candles except the one on their table.
”Well, I've made a decision. The decision is that we need softer seating arrangements. Grab the bottle and follow me.”
With a lit candle and a whisky glass on her left hand and a couple of sandwiches from the display case on the other, she headed towards the stairs. She turned to face Ward with her index finger on her lips and gestured triumphantly with the sandwiches at the sleeping figure and the blown out candle in the back room.
”See, no fire!”
Ward had to admit that at least Hood could be trusted with candles. Then he had to concentrate on getting up the stairs with only the dim, swaying candlelight lighting the way. His shoulders almost touched the walls and he had to duck once to reach the upstairs apartment. The stairs made him a bit claustrophobic.
”Hold that,” Lumi said as she handed the candle to Ward.
Ward stood there, trying to get a bearing of the proportions of the room. This couldn't be it, could it? There had to be another room behind that only other door in the room.
”What's in there?”
”That's the shower and the toilet.”
Lumi was carrying a small kitchen table next to the single bed. It was only a few steps.
”You can put the candle on this table now. I'm sorry I don't own a coffee table, but this will have to do.”
She started to rummage the kitchen cabinets, found a bag of chips and poured them into a large fruit bowl. While she scurried around Ward had time to look at the interior. There were photos and paintings on every wall. Small and big. Round and square. Paintings of cats and dogs. Group photos and individual faces smiling at whoever had been taking the picture. He couldn't see the faces in the dim light but he figured they were Lumi's relatives and friends. The scenery in the pictures looked Nordic. He felt a tightening in his chest. So many different faces.
A thick carpet filled the floor from wall to wall, but it was hard to figure out the color. It might have been dark red. The bowl of chips, sandwiches, whisky bottle and glasses filled the tiny table to the brim. Lumi gestured towards the bed and Ward sat on the edge, elbows resting on his thighs, cradling his drink in his hands. Lumi took off her shoes, hopped on the other end of the bed and sat cross-legged on the red-striped bed cover.
”So... ” she mused, ”I have a very important question for you. One that will define my perception of you as a person.” The S's were pronounced very carefully. She was obviously trying to sound very professional.
”If you were a worm, how long would you be?”