บท 29: chapter 29
Vukan awakened to the sign of the two figures standing by his bed. By their stance and the manner in which they continued to look down on him, he could only guess they had been there for quite some time. His mother assumed a spot to his side, while his father dragged a chair for himself without further delay.
"This is neat," Vukan noted, trying his best not to come off as rude or unreceptive of their decision to come into his room unannounced.
It wasn't something they had done before and he was more than eager to find out why they were there and what they were doing. He sat himself up and took the moment to look at his parents keenly. Neither of them seemed interested in speaking.
"So?" he asked, stressing his word as long as possible.
Agatha bobbed her head towards her husband and asked him to take the lead. Vukan could really tell the man was struggling with whatever he was about to do. His father was a lot of cool and quite annoying things, but the man wasn't one to try to connect with anyone emotionally.
"So, your mother and I were speaking about last night and the events of the entire day:, he began by saying. "I know we came off strong and don't actually grant you the opportunity to express yourself and… ".
Vukan stylishly looked around. He would give anything to have someone standing in the corners and recording the moment. It was definitely a turn around and a welcomed one at that too.
"i… ", the man continued before halting and clearing his throat. "We would like to know what exactly is going on with you and what prompted you to act in such an unruly manner yesterday".
Vukan felt his stomach drop, accompanied by his jaw before he sought verification on what his father was trying to do by looking at his mother.
"We are your parents and we would like to know what's going on with you", she added. "Being gay isn't the easiest choice as evident by your grandfather who is still out there, stewing on his farm about your sexuality".
Vukan did miss his grandfather and the moment they shared together before his big news. The man used to have a heart of gold and would do almost anything for him until he opened up about being gay. In what he could only term as unexpected and inhumane; he stopped communicating with Vukan, chose to leave their house and return to his farm in a small town outside the city.
The man treated everything that had to do with Vukan as though he was a plague and a rather dangerous one.
The thought made him understand where his parents were coming from and he appreciated why they had come to clear the air.
"What is this affair with Oliver to you guys?" he asked, hoping to get something from them before giving anything away.
His parents shared another quick glance before his father cleared his throat and sighed. "We simply want you to find happiness and to carry on with your life with someone you can truly fall back on".
"We want someone with good morals for you and who will always respect your emotions regardless", his mother seconded. 'Being gay, it is somewhat trickier and we understand us trying to get involved in this thing going on with you and Oliver might be frustrating but we are your parents and we love you".
He had not thought about them doing it solely for his happiness. He had assumed they got some kind of kick from being instigators for the whole arrangement. Granted, he loved Oliver, but having his parents snoop around wasn't quite what he had expected.
Hoping not to dash their expectations, he decided to tell them what he felt they needed to hear. He spun the entire narrative around having some silly ruckus with Oliver and not knowing how best to handle it. His parents were far more attentive than ever and the sight alone warmed Vukan's heart. It made him feel supported and cast away the feeling of being alone.
"Misunderstandings are bound to occur in relationships", his father said. "Your mom and I have had our fair share but we tackle them as they come".
Vukan wasn't sure about how he could tackle Oliver's obsession with a dead person. His love for Bruce Scott was too darn strong to break through. Everything he had done and every move he had played out, only ended up blowing back into his face.
"I would like to apologize to the Douglas family", Vukan informed his parents. "I have to set things straight".
They sighed and fell silent. It wasn't going to be an easy task, most especially since Vukan had targeted Oliver's parents.
"I can speak to Peter, but I don't really know about Oliver", his father sighed. "We might need someone to try and get through to him".
Agatha cackled and laughed at the men. "I will speak with his mother while you men handle your roles effectively".
Vukan looked at the two of them with confusion in his eyes. They had just designated roles to themselves without involving him.
"What about me? Is this not my mess and am I not meant to clean it up?" he asked in a passionate tone.
They both stopped at the door to look at him in a rather mocking manner before his mother spoke, "You have done enough darling. Let the adults handle things from here".
They left their son with his mouth wide open.
***
Oliver had barely spent ten minutes since he arrived at the river when his cell phone began to buzz. As usual, he had a habit of not picking up calls when he was at the place he referred to as sacred. Yet, without the calls coming through, he was beginning to get tired of standing by the river. It would be the first time and he chalked it down to being physically weak.
After all, the last few days weren't the typical ones he was used to.
Finally taking a glance at his phone, the missed calls spread across his screen were particularly from his mother. Odd as it was, considering the woman wasn't really the calling kind, he still wasn't in the mood to speak with anyone.
Absolute silence, being alone and wanting to remain that way was the mood he had chosen over the past few days. His parents had obliged and even respected his choice before barraging him with phone calls on that sunny morning.
"Mom", he muttered in a disinterested tone. "I really don't have time to speak".
Gemma Douglas replied, "What are you up to?"
Oliver sighed, knowing the woman wasn't going to get off his case unless he gave her something concrete.
'Some graphics design job for a friend's father's company", he lied. "I might not be done here till evening and i… ".
His mother interjected, "Alright honey. We will wait for you when you get home".
The call came to an abrupt end and within seconds, Oliver began to feel unease about the kind of phone call he had received from his mother. Something didn't feel right but he couldn't quite affix his finger to it.
"Is it about Vukan?" he felt alarmed almost immediately. "Did he show up to make some more mess of things?"
The speculations threatened to drive him wild and slowly began to consume his focus until he forced himself back to his car and sped off.
On arriving back home, he spotted his folks waiting outside, with weird expressions on their face.
Oliver hopped out of his car, "if that saucy son-of-a-bitch came here to create more mayhem, then he had better… ".
He stopped speaking after noticing rose petals delivered to their doorway in large numbers.
"He wants to apologize", Gemma Douglas said.
"What?" Oliver asked rhetorically before nudging some of the flowers in his path aside. "He sent some bunch of lame flowers and now he is in your good graces?"
He could not believe his ears.
"He explained some aspects of his story and basically said he needed to speak with you", Peter Douglas explained to his son. "I think everyone deserves a second chance, even if they mess up".
"Especially when they mess up", his wife added.
Oliver shook his head and decided to stand his ground. He had promised himself not to forgive Vukan for what he did and the embarrassment he levied against his parents. Even while he had a hint of why Vukan had acted in the manner he did, he still counted the actions as unwarranted and absolutely terrible.
"He also left you this", his father reached out his hand with a note in it. "We did not read it and hoped for you to look through it first, but we can honestly say this guy likes you".
Oliver snorted derisively and tried to play their words down.
"Nobody goes off the rails for someone they don't like", his mother pointed out. "You should see your father when I really get him mad".
Hearing his parents confirm it made Vukan's words when he professed his feelings seem to hold better ground. There was still the anger at the fact that he had insulted his family without being man enough to come himself, but the past few days since they had not spoken had been hard.
"I still don't want to believe he is sorry until he actually says it to my face", Oliver played hard ball.
"Well, you can ask him when you see him", his mother chimed.
Oliver thought of letting off a disrespectful chuckle but decided against it. He had no plans of seeing Vukan anytime soon and he was sure the boy wouldn't dare step foot in their house after all he had done.
"We are attending breakfast in their house tomorrow", his mother broke the news like a bombshell. "They invited us cordially and we accepted after your father had a lengthy and quite mature conversation with his father of course".
Without turning around to look at their faces, Oliver screamed, "You have got to be kidding me!"
He wasn't sure on how to feel; betrayed or angry. He had warned them specifically against accepting any more invitations or proposals for meals from anyone and especially not the Adamson family.
"Henry is a nice guy and I know he means well", Peter Douglas tried to defend his old time friend. 'His son simply stepped out of line and you could tell by how embarrassed he was".
They all witnessed the man slapping the daylight out of Vukan. It definitely struck Vukan as odd and it wasn't something he was used to by the manner in which he stared at his father with his jaw dropped. Oliver wasn't new to such beatings and while he wouldn't support such an act on anyone, he would be lying if he said a part to him didn't enjoy seeing it happen to Vukan after his foul rants.
"Well, if you guys are insisting", Oliver threw in the towel and raced off to read the note Vukan had left him.
Feeling anxious and other mixed emotions, Oliver wasn't sure about what to expect. He pondered on whether it would be some bland apology with no originality or maybe some smug note which would try to justify Vukan's actions. Slowly unfolding the note, as the wonderful penmanship began to unfold, Oliver realized he had written a poem.
These few lines melted his heart immediately, without having to peruse the entire content of the note. He wanted to see Vukan… he wanted to have breakfast.
***
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