WARNING: Swearing and black (almost jet) humour. The musical belongs and F is for Family belong to their respective owners.
Today was going to be one of those days. Eliza had a feeling about it. Her suspicions turned into reality when her sister, Angelica, sent her a message which read: "The lion is out of his cage… again", along with that sarcastic smiley emoji they both tend to use when they were too pissed about whatever they were talking about.
Eliza sighed and looked at the clock in the kitchen. It was five past ten already. Alexander usually got home at ten. Except for those days when he decided to write like a maniac all night in his office until Washington or Angelica told him he had to go home. Usually they were answered with a fake promise of only one paragraph more, and they had to wait by the door, watching the clock and seeing the minute hand going too slowly for their liking. More than one time, Angelica confessed her, Washington and she wanted to leave him there. "He wouldn't even notice" Eliza had remarked. Angelica laughed, saying she was absolutely right.
Ten past ten. Twenty-five past ten. Quarter to eleven… Eliza wouldn't be this worried if it weren't for Angelica's message. In a normal night, she would've been asleep already, but something was keeping her eyes opened. A feeling that told her she wasn't allowed to go to sleep until she saw Alexander coming in the front door. So, she served herself a glass of wine, sat on the couch in the living room (where she had a perfect sight of the front door by the corner of her eye) and resume the book where she had left it the last time she read it. Pride and prejudice. Angelica told her she would like it. Back in March. Now, there she was in November and she still was stuck in the tenth page, and hoping to catch up to where she had told her sister she had read before Angelica found out. Not that she didn't like the book, though, but reading was a difficult task when she had given birth to three children and was married to one. Tiredness was part of her life.
That was why, maybe, she didn't even remember when she fell asleep on the couch, letting go of the glass, breaking the glass and staining the carpet in dark red. She didn't even want to think if it was healthy to not have been awaken by the sound of glass breaking but by the sound of the slam of the front door.
Eliza jumped in her seat and looked at the entrance, seeing her husband with a bag on his right hand. Alexander seemed to not even notice her until she got up, stepping on something. Looking down she saw the poor page ten wrinkled and stained in red.
"Shit…" she muttered, picking up the book. "Angelica is going to kill me…"
"Oh, Eliza, didn't know you would be awake!" said Alexander, putting the bag on the table with a thump.
"Hush, keep it down!" said Eliza in a whisper. "The children are sleeping, and you know it's hell to put them to sl…"
Before she could finish, her worst fear came true: Philip and little Angelica came in the living room, rubbing their eyes in slumber. Eliza scratched her nape with a frustrating expression adorning her features meanwhile Alexander took a box out of the bag. Their children went immediately by their father's side, eyes wide in excitement.
"What is that, Dad?" asked Philip, standing on tiptoe to see better. His sister imitated him, but, with less success.
"A laptop" he answered. Then, he looked at the two kids, with a frown. "What are you two doing awake?"
"We heard a noise"
"Go back to sleep, kids" said Eliza, approaching the table. "Come on"
"Aaw, mum!" Philip complained.
"To bed" she said, firmer. "Take your sister and put her in bed. Then you do the same. I'll give you another kiss of goodnight when I… Alexander, what have you bought?" she stopped mid-sentence when she saw the logo on the box and on the laptop.
"A laptop" Philip and Angelica managed to say.
"To bed" their mother repeated. Her order was ignored right away. "Alexander, is that an Apple?"
"What a strange apple" Angie commented, tilting her head.
Alexander gave her a warm smile. "No, sweetie. Your mother is referring to the brand of the computer" and he stroked her hair affectionally.
"How much did it cost you?" Eliza asked, with an arched eyebrow.
"Don't worry about that, Eliza" Alexander waved his hand, nonchalantly.
"How much?" Eliza pressed.
"Two-four-zero-zero" Angie had picked the receipt she found on the floor and read the numbers her brother had taught her the other day.
"Two thousand?" Eliza felt her blood running cold. She inhaled slowly through her nose. "Philip, go put your sister in bed"
"Are you and Daddy going to fight again?" the boy asked, taking his sister's hand.
"No" said Eliza.
"Yes" answered Alex at the same time.
"Alexander!" she reprehended him.
"Don't lie to the children, they will be spoiled in a near future" he simply said, shrugging.
Eliza gave her husband a dirty look, before looking more tenderly to their children. "Dad and I are going to discuss, which is different. Now, go to bed. It is too late and you have to go to kindergarten tomorrow"
"Yees…" the two kids said, going back to their rooms.
Once she heard the door being closed, Eliza looked at her husband. Alexander was smiling as a child who was given new shoes. Yes, definitely she had four children.
"Alexander…" she began to say, in a low and calm voice.
"I know what you're thinking, Eliza, but it is alright" he stopped her, surprisingly looking at her while he talked. "I am paying in instalments"
"We still have to pay it"
"But it will be a good investment. Weren't you always complaining at how my old laptop was too old and loud?"
"Well, yes, but… Where is it, by the way?"
"Yes… I kind of… Broke it"
"How?"
"With my fist"
"How does it happen?"
"Well, I just came back for a meeting and Burr and I get into a sort of an argument. Few things were said and…"
"And the poor computer paid for it. Did it choose Burr's side or something?"
Eliza had crossed her arms and was looking at Alexander with eyes half closed. She was too used to this kind of behaviours. She had lost count on how many chairs and doors she had to fix due to Alexander's short temper. That was why she had decided to buy him a boxing bag. She truly thought she had solved the problem and no other innocent object would be damaged… She thought wrong. Maybe she had to repeat the gift, but this time put it in Alexander's office. She had already put a pillow and a blanket in his desk for the nights he spent there, though she knew they would be brand new as a lack of use.
Alexander shook his head, not wanting to recall the fight and the anger when he saw the old laptop not working. He didn't want to get mad now that he had to see how to use the new PC and get used to it. Thank God Angelica was there to help him calm down before he could make holes in the walls… again.
"I promise I can compensate you. If my financial plan gets through, I could rise above my station, and we'll indulge ourselves in our anniversary"
Eliza rolled her eyes, then gave the hint of a smile. "A whim a year can do no harm, I guess… Alright, if you're so sure this is what you want…"
Alexander had gotten up and Eliza was surprised when she felt a rapid kiss on her cheek. "You're the best of women and the best of wives"
Eliza giggled. "Flatterer" she said, kissing him on the head. "Don't spend all night up playing with that. You also have to get up early in the morning"
"Don't worry"
Both knew he was going to fall asleep on the table…
Going to kindergarten wasn't, precisely, Philip's favourite thing to do, especially because he had to get up early. But since his new baby brother arrived, his mother found herself at the verge of a mental breakdown. Taking care of a baby wasn't an easy task, and when you add two naughty kids that are always fighting over every little thing to the equation, then the difficult task became impossible. Luckily for his mother, his aunt Angelica talked to her about this kindergarten where she and uncle John took their son when he was Philip's and Angie's age. Eliza was never so glad to have Angelica as a sister.
His mother came to wake him up for the fourth time, now throwing back the blinds. He complained and covered entirely with his sheets, hoping he could steal a few more minutes before getting dressed. When he heard his mother screaming at his father to get ready, and then telling him off for getting asleep in the living room, Philip knew today was not the day to piss her mother off.
He got up, went to the bathroom and get dressed in the clothes his mother had prepared. He even helped little Angie with her braids, a thing he could do but tried to avoid. But, again, today was not the day to make her mother angry, and Angie was having, as well, one of her days, which consisted in "do as I say or I'll throw such a tantrum the neighbours will have to call the cops". So, he combed her hair, braided it as well as he could, and then told her to behave for their morning's sake. Angie seemed to understand when she began to pay attention and heard her mother going on and on about how she was sick of taking care of a fourth child she had never asked for and how lonely she felt while raising their children.
"It's our usual morning song" said Angie, shrugging.
"Yep, but it doesn't have to be about us" Philip told her, taking her to the living room and sitting her on the couch. "I'll bring our backpacks. Mum is talking about that time Dad promised her he would take her to dinner but was late for working. We still have a few minutes"
For being five and three, the two siblings were clever beyond their ages, partly because these scenes, which they found both comical and annoying, and they learned to take advantage of it. Especially Angie, who was the most curious of the two. So, when Philip left for taking their backpacks, and surely would make a stop to steal a pack of cookies from the kitchen, Angie got up and ran to the table where his father's laptop was.
It was white, thin and rectangular. It was fine and elegant, and she loved fine and elegant. With sparkly eyes, she jumped to the chair, climbed it and sat on it, admiring the gadget in awe. She tilted her head. She looked right, she looked left, she looked at the beautiful and shining gadget. Biting her lower lip, she dared to lift the screen, which shone showing a Word document that was abruptly interrupted. She didn't understood half of it, but was impressed by how bright the screen was. She looked at the keyboard, so clean and shiny as well. She wanted to touch it. She reached her hand to touch it.
"Angelica!"
The little girl jumped and bent down, to hide from the owner of the voice. Thankfully, it was only Philip. Her mother was still rambling in the distance. Philip had their two backpacks in one hand and the stolen cookies in the other. He slid the packet inside his backpack and then came closer to his sister, frowning.
"What are you doing? That is Dad's! You know how he hate when someone touches his things!"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I just…" Angie felt tears in the back of her eyes. A habit she hated but couldn't help doing. She hated disappointing loved ones, especially her older brother, who she looked up to.
"Is it as cool as we thought?" Philip changed his tone and softened his features. Angie felt the tears disappearing. She nodded. "Let me see…" he jumped twice, trying to get a better look. But then, Eliza's voice came from the hallway, getting closer.
"Philip, Angelica, we're leaving!"
"Coming, Mum!" the two siblings said in unison.
"Close it, close it!" Philip urged his sister in a whisper.
Angelica did as she was told, jumped out the chair, get her backpack and put the chair in. She nodded, feeling satisfied with her work. No one would be able to tell they were there.
"Do you think we will have something like that?" she asked her brother, walking to the entrance, where their mother was looking for the keys inside her purse while cursing under her breath.
Philip shrugged. "Don't count on it. We're too little"
"But George Icker has a tablet" she said, frowning in disappointment.
Philip rolled his eyes in annoyance. "He's a prick"
"Philip Hamilton, where did you hear that ugly word?!" Eliza asked with wide eyes in horror.
"Remember that morning Dad had to take us to kindergarten?"
"…Yes"
"Well, we were late and spent the morning with him at work"
"… Good. Beautiful. Splendid" said Eliza, finally reaching the car keys and stepping out the door. Her two kids followed her. "Perfect team work" she muttered, slamming the door shut.
"Why did you tell her? Dad told us not to" Angie whispered.
"Well, now they would have another thing to discuss and we'll have more time when the next rambling comes"
Aaron Burr didn't like confrontations. He was a peaceful soul. Always in a corner, prudent, observant, and formal. Not a fan of raising his voice or to attack other people, either they agreed with him or not. It was a rare occasion when he got involved in something. Angelica joked saying that, when that happened, it may be because the planets had lined up. Burr rolled his eyes at the comments, though he knew she was right. He even thought it was even possible. The planets had lined up yesterday afternoon when he and Hamilton argued about something so stupid he didn't even remember. Hamilton remembered, of that he was sure. That man stored every little thing said to throw it at anyone's face when the right moment arrived. Aaron didn't know how he did it, but he did, and that was why he came to work resolute to bury the hatchet by being polite and nice to the immigrant. He discovered that was a way to make his offense almost invisible.
Aaron entered the rest room, went to the coffee machine and served himself a mug with two teaspoonfuls of sugar. While stirring it, a voice asked from across the table.
"Didn't know you drink coffee"
"Peggy! Since when are you here?" he asked after a little jump of surprise.
Peggy shrugged, a bit offended. "I've been here the entire time. I even greeted you with a wave of hand"
"Oh… I'm sorry, I'm a little mind-absent today" he apologised, returning his gaze to the mug, uncomfortably.
"That's what everybody always says" the youngest Schuyler sister muttered, taking one sip of her own coffee.
Aaron left, waving goodbye to Peggy, who decided to ignore him. And Aaron didn't push it, because he saw Peggy scratching her nose and, as both Angelica and Eliza had told almost everybody in the office, that meant problems.
Aaron advanced through the hallway until he reached Hamilton's office. The man had arrived, there were his briefcase and a laptop on the table he hadn't seen before. Washington must have called him, he thought, feeling a stabbing sensation in the guts. Shaking his head, he decided to ignore it and walked towards the table. He could wait, but his sixth sense told him the best option was to let the mug on the table along with a note and then wait for Hamilton to come to him. That was the best that could happened. The worst that Hamilton ignored him and threw away the coffee. Well, no, he didn't waste food or drinks. He would give it to one of his friends.
As he convinced himself that the best could happened, he got distracted, and bumped into some wire that laid on the floor. He could avoid meeting the floor thanks to the wooden desk. But it was also thanks to the wooden desk that he was leaned forwards, not stopping the coffee from flying and landing on the keyboard, staining the white computer. He saw the laptop sparking and the screen turning completely black. Aaron froze, the world around him disappearing…
…Until a knock on the door woke him up from his trance.
"Burr, what are you doing here? You know Angelica told us we can only steal one thing a month from here"
Jefferson and Madison. Standing on the door and watching him. Better than nothing. Than Hamilton, especially.
"God, I was bringing some coffee to make amends with Hamilton for what happened yesterday" he began to explain in a whisper, the other two men approaching him to have a better listen. "And then, I bumped into something and spilled the coffee on the keyboard and… And the thing just turned off!" he finished, paling.
"See? That's what being nice to Hamilton gets you" said Thomas, sitting on the chair and getting a better look on the laptop. "James, guard the door and let us know when Hamilton comes back. I'll try to clean this"
"I only wanted to have a nice detail, I didn't want any of this to happen, I swear!" Aaron was panicking now. He looked in both directions, Madison at the door and Jefferson on the chair, opening drawers. "Please, don't tell on me, you know how tetchy he is"
"Don't worry" James assured him.
"We know; what the man lacks in height, he has it in bad temper" Jefferson chimed in.
"That's why the entire office calls him chihuahua"
Jefferson stopped, looking at the inside of one of the drawers. "What is this man doing with a blanket and a pillow in his office?" He shook his head and decided to ignore it. "He can't be weirder even if he tried" he said under his breath, finally finding some paper towels.
"He's coming" Madison warned.
"Please, hurry up" Aaron begged, turning paler.
"Oh, no, wait, false alarm" said James immediately. "He stops to talk to Maria… Or is that Peggy…? No, he noticed her, it's must be Maria… Jeez, you can feel the sexual tension from here. His poor wife…"
Aaron rolled his eyes: "Did Maria or Eliza break his new laptop? No? We'll focus on them later" he said, gritting his teeth.
"Now he's talking to Laurens… Oh, Angelica joined as well" James kept explaining, ignoring Burr. "That dwarf has more ships than a fictional character from a teenage tv series"
"Don't worry, Burr" Jefferson said suddenly, almost finished cleaning the keyboard. "Something like this happened to me once"
"Really?"
"Yes, one time when I was trying to read my older daughter's browser history and I spilled some tea. Fortunately, the PC survived because it wasn't a laptop but a desktop tower. I had to buy her a new keyboard, though" he explained, now cleaning the floor.
"You never told me if she noticed" James said.
"Nah, I bought her a new mobile as well and she was too excited to notice"
"Did you invade your daughter's privacy?" Aaron asked with an arched eyebrow.
Thomas shrugged. "She refuses to talk to me"
"Maybe because she knows you don't trust her"
"Hey, your daughter is still a toddler, isn't she? When she is a teenager with more hormones than neurons, call me"
"Now he's really coming!" James warned.
"This is clean" Jefferson picked up the mug and passed it to Burr. "Bury this when no one can find it and open the window. He would think it was Angelica"
"Come on, come on!" Madison urged.
The three men went down the hallway, trotting.
"But the laptop is still not working!" Aaron reminded them in a whisper.
"Not our problem. As long as we know, none of us were there today" Jefferson told him seriously, going directly to his own office, across from Aaron's. Madison following close behind.
"But…"
"If he asks, you were never there"
"But I can't lie!"
"Everyone can"
"No, I start to stutter"
"He'd think is for lack of practice" He entered his office, and James was left behind.
"Pretend to be working, that's what we're going to do" he advised him before closing the door.
Aaron groaned, feeling bad. When he heard footsteps getting closer, he entered his office and closed the door with a thump behind him. He sat on his chair, shaking. He took a pen and tried to read the papers Washington had given to him yesterday, but was too focus on what was going on at the other side of the door. The footsteps crossed just right behind the door and Aaron contained his breath, expecting Hamilton to burst into his office. But his co-worker kept walking.
"Ugh, there goes Angelica again… Tiresome woman, always opening the window"
He heard Alexander complaining and closing the window he had opened. Poor Angelica… he thought, feeling more regretful. He started to do that annoying noise with the push button of his pen his two Thedosias hated so much. He passed a hand through his face, all sweaty. His heartbeat began to match the sound of the push button, until he couldn't recognise which one was which one.
And so, he couldn't hear the tapping – more insistent and rapid at each second – that came from Hamilton's office. He couldn't concentrate in any other sound until his co-worker's voice broke the silence of the office.
"What the hell…?" And he stopped moving, his eyes fixed on the papers spread all over the table. More tapping. "WHAT THE HELL?"
Aaron got up from his chair, prepared to confess, but a paper on the floor with a message in Madison's handwriting telling him to "Play dead or you will be" convinced him otherwise.
"Come on, this gotta be a joke!" Hamilton's screams from outside resounded through the walls.
Aaron heard footsteps going directly to Hamilton's office. "Alex, what happens?" Angelica.
"Son, is everything alright?"
"How many times…?! I've got no time for this. My laptop is not working!"
Aaron could imagine perfectly clear Hamilton passing a hand through his hair and walking from left to right and vice versa. He put the hand on the knob, prepared to go out, when he heard Angelica's voice, trying to reach Alexander's volume.
"What?! What do you mean it's not working?!" Footsteps. She wanted to see it for herself, Aaron knew her too well. "WHAT THE HELL? What did you do?"
"I didn't do anything!" Hamilton defended himself.
"Then, why isn't working? Are you sure is not because the battery died?"
"Can't you see the wire? It is plugged to the wall!"
"Maybe you used too much? Eliza told me you spent the whole night with it" Angelica's voice trembled. Aaron then understood Eliza would be fiery about a new computer being broken being only one day old.
"For Christ's sake, I HAVEN'T USED IT TOO MUCH, IT'S BRAND FUCKING NEW!"
"Language!" Washington said, the frown clear in his voice.
"Don't yell at me!" Angelica complained, clearly offended.
Aaron couldn't help but flinch and felt his heart beating faster when he heard Angelica and Hamilton screaming at the same time.
"Why do you two always do this?"
"I am trying to help you!"
"Your sister and you always think it's my fault!"
"Eliza is going to kill you if she knows!"
"Why does it have to be always my fault? You saw me at the rest room five minutes ago!"
"Sweet Jesus… Are you sure the wire is plugged in?"
"And are you sure you haven't done anything?"
"What is that supposed to mean?!"
"The window was opened, you were here! Maybe you hit it unintentionally?"
"I haven't put a foot in your office until now! I haven't opened any window!"
"Well, somebody was here, because I never opened the window!"
"Why are we fighting over the window?"
"Because you don't believe me when I say it wasn't me!"
"The laptop is the problem. Why it isn't working, what's wrong with it?"
And Hamilton's voice finally spoke on its own: "YOU PREFER TO BE ON THE SIDE OF A INANIMATE OBJECT BEFORE TAKING MY SIDE!"
There was a pause. Aaron sharpened his hearing. He could hear Angelica inhaling slowly, and Washington sighing.
"No one is on anybody's side, Hamilton" George said calmly. "Look, we can try to…"
"I know what happened here"
"How to make a grown-up man almost collapse with just five words", by Alexander Hamilton.
"I can't go on like this" Aaron said to himself, opening the door.
"What are you doing?" Madison said, blocking his path. "Don't get out!"
"Jump out of the window" Jefferson suggested. "The aftermath can't be worse than what would happen if you go out here"
"I can't keep doing this, I'm going to…"
"I know exactly what happened here!" Hamilton said again, closing the laptop with a thump. "That man over the store thought he could have some good laughs selling me a lemon!"
They saw Hamilton storming out of his office, laptop in hand. Angelica followed close behind, nodding at Washington, who knew it was better if Alexander get out to fresh his mind and get this solved as soon as possible. And with Angelica's company nothing could go terrible wrong. Jefferson, Madison and Burr were left a few meters away, looking the scene with perplex eyes.
James was the first one to broke the silence: "… You were sooo lucky. God really must love you" he told Aaron, totally impressed.
Eliza was going to pick up her children in company of Theodosia when her phone sounded. She double parked and told Theodosia she would be staying in the car while she went to greet their children. Theodosia nodded in understanding and thanked her, for the fifth time, that she offered to give her a ride to the kindergarten that day, before getting out the car. Eliza dismissed it with a wave of hand and a warm smile.
Once Theodosia was out of view thanks to the tide of mothers that were trying to get into the building at once, she took a rapid look at her phone. The latest message was from Angelica. Call me asap.
"He started my day on the right foot and he wants to keep it that way…" Eliza said sarcastically, going to her contacts and pressing Angelica's photo.
The phone didn't ring twice before she had her sister on the other line: "Eliza"
"Angelica, what…?"
"Eliza, listen, how fast can you come to the electronic store?" her sister interrupted her.
"The electronic store?" Eliza repeated, blinking. "Angelica, slow down, what…?" She was interrupted again, this time by the sound of a jam on the brakes and a loud horn. She heard a few swore words. "Is that Alexander?" she asked, worried. "Angelica?"
"It was amber, I could pass!" she heard her husband screamed.
"Not when amber turned to red fifty kilometres away and there is a mother crossing with her son!" Angelica reprehended, clearly overwhelmed.
"Angelica?" Eliza asked, more worried. She saw Theodosia coming back with the three kids, talking animatedly.
Angelica sighed. "Please, Eliza, try to come to the electronic store before a homicide happens"
"But what is happening?" she almost screamed. Her four companions looked at her, with interrogative glares.
"Mum?" Angie asked, tilting her head. Philip hushed her, knowing it was rude to interrupt their parents when they were on the phone.
"What? What do you mean is not working?" Eliza asked in an almost-cream. Theodosia jumped, looking nervously at every corner of the car. She decided the best was to put her attention on the kids, telling them to fasten up their belts. "Are you sure?" Eliza kept talking. "And is he sure he didn't hit it or… Alright, alright, don't scream at me! I want to help! Maybe… I don't know, maybe he poured water or something like that down it? I told you to not scream! Aha, aha, yes, I'll be there in a minute. Bye-bye" she hung up and inhaled. How she wished to be alone in the car right now.
"Eliza…?" Theodosia called, trying to stay as far as possible.
Eliza looked at her with an apologetically look: "Theo, I'm sorry for asking you this, but, would you mind staying with the kids at my house until I can get back? Alexander and Angelica need some…"
"Don't worry, I'll take care of it" Theodosia promised with a smile.
Eliza smiled as well. "Thank you. I promise you I'll drive you to your house when we're back"
"It won't be necessary" she told her with a wider smile.
"Yes, it is" Eliza said, starting the car. How lucky she was to have someone as Theodosia when things got out of hand.
"Is everything okay?"
"Yes… I don't know. Alex's laptop is not working, and he lost it" None of the adult women realised Philip and Angie tensing up in the backseat. "He bought it last night, for Heaven's sake! What kind of curse this is?" she shook her head.
"Don't worry, dear, I'm sure things will be okay. The people at the store will know what to do. Besides, it's new! With the warranty, you'll be given a new one"
Again, Eliza was glad to have someone as Theodosia at hand.
The kids thought the same when they found themselves in their bedroom, at the verge of a panic attack.
"So, was it you?" little Theo asked, watching Philip going from left to right, a habit, he heard, he had inherited from his father.
"No, it couldn't be. We barely touched it!" the kid said. "Because you didn't touch it, did you, Angie?"
"No, I swear! You caught me before I could!" Angie had tears in her eyes.
"Don't cry" Theo said, feeling bad for her friend. "If it wasn't you, then you don't have to feel guilty"
"Maybe you closed it too hard?" Philip tried again.
"No… I don't know…" Angie shook her head, playing with her hair.
"Dad is going to kill us. I know he is going to kill us"
"We can't tell him, you know tetchy he is!"
"But they will find out!"
"Maybe Mum is right and it was just wrong" Theo tried again to be positive.
"But Dad says that people never want to be responsible. What if they see something strange?" Philip turned again to his sister. "Are you sure you didn't touch it?"
"No!" Angie exploded, letting her bad temper get out. Her mother used to say she inherited it from her father and aunt. "I didn't touch a thing!"
"Lower your voice, Mum could hear you!" Theo said, putting a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder. Suddenly, Angie's eyes grew wide. "What?"
"Oh… What if I look it for too long?"
"What?" Philip and Theo looked at her as if she was crazy.
"Yes, just like the tale the teachers read us today"
"That man didn't turn crazy because he looked at the carpet" Philip corrected her. "He turned crazy because he looked at it, simply"
"Stop, I wanted to forget about that story, it's too scary" Theo complained, clapping her ears.
"Why did he ever read that to us? The older in that class is six and a half!" Philip complained, angry at everything. "Why do adults have to be so irresponsible?"
"Knock, knock" Theodosia joked while entering the bedroom. "Is everything alright, kids? I heard your voice volumes a bit too loud"
"…" They looked at each other. "Yes"
"Really?"
"Yes"
"Well…" Theodosia found it strange how mechanical the answer sounded, but decided to let it go. They would come to her or Eliza if something was too wrong. "I prepared a snack, do you want to eat it with me while watching some TV?"
"Yes" and she was surprised once again, when they sounded as tired as her husband after a meeting at his office.
The assistant who listened to Alexander's story was the same young boy who had convinced Alexander to buy that laptop, Angelica told her. Eliza knew she should be feeling bad for the poor boy, but he had some strange vibe in him she didn't like a bit, and she didn't feel a bit of pity for him. Angelica was by her side, both a couple of footsteps away from Alexander, who was showing the assistant – Chuck, as she read in his nameplate – how the laptop didn't turn on or respond to anything he would do.
"There you have it, all of a sudden, it stopped working" Alexander said, putting both arms in akimbo. "So, um… How are we going to do this? Refund? New set…?"
The assistant took one look with an arched eyebrow to the laptop. "Alright, so, what happened here? Did you pour water, or something like that, down it or…?"
Eliza and Angelica tensed when they saw Alexander frowning. "Why is everybody asking me that? Why on earth would I, or any rational man, pour water down their own new laptop?"
"Listen, sir…"
"Now, call me 'sir' only if you mean it" Alexander interrupted, feeling his blood boiling. Eliza took Angelica's arm, nervous.
"…Yes…" Chuck rolled his eyes. "Listen, the laptop was working perfectly fine when it left the store. We have no obligation to be responsible" he explained, putting both hands up.
"Not responsible?" Alexander echoed. "How comes you're not responsible? I spent 2400 dollars in this piece of junk!" he added, angrier, and hitting the laptop with the fist.
"Maybe you should have spent five bucks more for the warranty. Haha" said Chuck with half a smile, gaining a dirty look from Angelica, and a death glare from Alexander.
"You didn't pay the warranty?" asked Eliza, feeling her heart beating faster.
Alexander just clenched his teeth and took one step closer to the assistant: "Now, you listen to me, goddamn son of a bitch…"
Eliza got closer and put a hand on his shoulder. "Now, Alex, dear…" she tried to say.
"'Now, Alex, dear'? 'Now, Alex, dear' nothing, Eliza! 'Alex, dear' is going to talk!"
Eliza took two steps away. Angelica put her hands on her shoulders. The two women looked at how Alexander's face turned redder and his voice grew louder as the seconds went by. And, also, witnessed at how everybody around turned their heads to look in their direction.
"You think you can put on slacks and talk to a grown man like that, young boy? Do you? This is not how business is done! I've been a customer of this store for a very long time, I bought here a coffee machine when I first moved on my own, and, also a TV when I got married! Those were good times for this store… You, sir, were living the carefree life of a spermatozoon in your father's balls, who knew how to treat his clients with respect! Now, you inherited this from him because your University Entrance Exam marks were so low you couldn't even study for be a Physical Education teacher! I'VE BEEN WRONGED IN THIS TRANSACTION! Get off me, Angelica! Eliza, move to the side, love, I can handle this! I'VE BEEN WRONGED IN THIS TRANSACTION! I'VE BEEN SOLD A RIP-OFF SHAMELESSLY! And now I've got to re-do all my fucking work for the third time because some useless bastard with airs refuses to do his job right! Well, I want to do my job right! For your information, a whole office, maybe the whole fucking country is depending on me! So, you better rectify this situation! Now, what do you plan on doing about it?!"
The whole store fell silent. Eliza and Angelica were holding hands, not wanting to look at the hundred pairs of eyes that were paying attention to them. Someone coughed in the distance. Alexander was breathing heavily. Chuck looked at him with eyes half-closed. He waited a few more seconds before let a smile appeared on his face and talk.
"I'll tell you what I'll do" he said, approaching to the door. "I'll open the door for you with good manners and wait patiently until you're done getting out my store with the laptop you broke"
"… …"
Eliza and Angelica had a spot prepared just for them up in Heaven. They knew. Alexander would agree once he calmed down. If it hadn't been for them, they didn't want to know how bad the situation would have turned in the store. Eliza took Alexander's hand and told him it was alright, though her low tone delated her faked reassurance. Angelica packed the laptop and dedicated the young assistant one of her "beware" glares, which the boy ignored.
None of the three talked in the way back home. Angelica decided to spend the night with Alexander to help him get the job done. Two heads worked better than one, especially when one of them knew how to handle the other. Eliza spent the whole ride looking out the window, suddenly remembering she had left Theodosia at their house taking care of their children. There wouldn't be enough actions to thank that woman all the times she deserved it. She and Burr were the only decent people she knew.
When they arrived, Theodosia stopped Eliza before she could talk. She only smiled, took her daughter's hand, and told her to have a good night and to be positive because everything would turn our right, and that, if she needed it, to send her a message or even call her because she would be there. Yes, they weren't enough ways to thank Theodosia enough…
Eliza was suspicious when she saw no sign of her children coming out. She thought maybe they were too tired for a full afternoon playing with a friend and let it go. She went to Alexander's side, caressing his head while he had his face between his hands, distressed. Angelica was at his other side, with a comforting hand on his arm. Both women were looking at the laptop. Eliza sighed.
"You should've gotten the warranty…" she commented, shaking her head. She felt Alexander tensing up and heard him growling like a rabid dog.
"Where are the children?" asked Angelica, stopping her brother-in-law before he tried to repeat the scene at the store back in his house.
Eliza shrugged. "Maybe they're sleeping" she rubbed her temples. "We should imitate them…"
Angelica frowned her nose. "I'm going to see if they're fine"
Eliza gave her a weak smile. "Thank you, Angie…"
Angelica walked towards her sister's children's bedroom, slowing down when she reached a prudent distance and stopped in front of the wooden door. She pressed one ear against it and heard the muffled voices of the two children, arguing about something.
"No, we have to tell him!" Angie's voice was shrill and desperate.
"He will ground us until our hair turn grey!" Philip argued in an angry tone.
"But…"
"No!"
"But…!"
"No! We have to stick together…!"
"Why for?" said Angelica, interrupting her nephew. "Is everything alright, kids?"
"Aunt Angelica…" Philip looked at his sister, clearly telling her to let him talk. "Yes, everything's fine"
"Are you sure?" Angelica insisted.
"Yes"
"And you, Angie? Are you sure?" she took a few steps closer, crossing her arms.
"… Yes" said her namesake, less secure.
Angelica knelt down, to be on her same level. "I see you a bit nervous"
"She just ate a lot of sugar" invented Philip.
"Theodosia didn't tell us anything about it"
"Because she ate it when no one was looking"
"She told us you spent the whole afternoon playing and watching TV with her" she said, arching one eyebrow.
"… Well, there was a moment when she had to go to the bathroom" Philip had crossed his arms as well.
"You don't say…"
"Yes, I do…"
"Mmh" Angelica looked at her niece once again. "Angie, have you already written Santa's letter?" Philip dedicated her a deathly glare that resembled him too much to his father.
"… No…" answered the little girl, with a tiny voice.
"It's alright, there is enough time… We're in the middle of November, anyway, but… I feel I have the obligation to tell you that Santa is always watching"
Angie swallowed. "Always?"
"Always" repeated Angelica in a harsh tone. "And Santa is not fan of a lot of things" She started to count with her fingers. "Like… bullying, cheating, stealing… lying…" Angie was already shaking, and Philip passed a hand through his face. "There is a fine line that separates good and bad. But you are good kids, you surely don't do any of those th…"
She and Philip jumped afraid, not expecting Angie to burst out crying. Her baby brother was scared as well and started to cry, trying to reach the volume on his sister's crying.
"Jesus! You have the lungs of your father, God have mercy of your classmates!" said Angelica, covering her ears.
"That's what Mum always says" said Philip, cringing for his loud siblings.
Eliza came running from the living room along with Alexander. She entered her and Alexander's room, where their baby's crib was, more than prepared to rock and comfort him. Alexander stopped mid-way when he saw the noise was also coming from his daughter's room.
"Angie? What's wrong, sweetheart?" he asked, kneeling beside Angelica and in front of his daughter. Angie didn't hesitate in hugging her father with all her might, babbling words. "What?"
"Aunt Angelica told her Santa wasn't going to bring her presents this year" accused Philip right away.
"Philip!"
"Angelica!" Alexander and Eliza, already with John in her arms and at the door, looked at her with fire in their eyes.
"What did I tell you about not scaring my children?" asked Eliza, entering the room. "Wasn't enough to scare Peggy and I with that 'Violeta' short film?"
Angelica rolled her eyes. "You're too sensitive…" she saw Alexander picking her niece in his arms and sitting on the bed, trying to calm her down. "Besides, this time it was justified"
"Yeah, right…"
"They know what happened to the laptop"
"You do?" asked Alexander looking at his daughter.
Angie looked at her father, then at her brother – who shook his head violently. She sniffed and hugged her father tighter. She eventually nodded.
"What was it?" asked Eliza, approaching them.
"I broke it…" she admitted.
"What?" her parents said.
"We both broke it!" said Philip suddenly, jumping on the bed. "We both"
"No, it was only me"
"No, we both"
"Me"
"Both"
"Me"
"Both"
"How can't you even agree whose fault is?" said Eliza, tired.
"You're not going to win a price. Tell us who was it" added Angelica, getting on her feet.
Angie looked at her father. "It was me, Daddy. I looked it too much"
"You looked it?" repeated Alexander, sharing a shocking glare with his wife.
"But did you touch it?" asked Eliza gently.
Angie shook her head. "No. Philip caught me before I could"
"And I told her to close it before you or Dad could see us" explained the older. "It was my fault, we shouldn't have…"
"Alright, alright" Alexander put Angie on the floor. "Honey, computers don't break because you look them too much"
"No?"
"No"
"If they did, then your father would have broken it the minute it was his…" joked Angelica. Eliza bit her lip to supress a laugh.
"Whatever…" Alexander rolled his eyes. "None of you did anything. But, if someday you do, you have to tell me or your mother right away, understood?"
"Yes, Dad…" both children said.
"It was very brave to confess, Angie" said Eliza with a warm smile.
"And it was brave to blame yourself to save your sister, Philip" added Alexander, tossing his son's hair.
"So, who's hungry?" Eliza changed the subject, looking at her watch. "It's eight already, I'm sure you want dinner. Or did Theodosia let you eat too much cookies?" she joked.
"We weren't that hungry" said Philip going to his mother's side.
Eliza laughed. "Come on, I'll let you help"
"Poor little ones" said Alexander once the children had left with their mother to the kitchen. "I feel so bad for them, carrying the blame all day…"
"Yep, you really should improve your parenting skills" commented Angelica, gaining a dirty look from Alexander. "Oh, my God, I forgot to call John and tell him to pick our son from his football class!" she said suddenly, running out the room.
"I thought he was out at seven!" shouted Alexander.
"He is!"
"Go call your husband, pot…"
Angelica left at two in the morning, when Alexander could convince her he had what was left under control. He finally made her leave. She deserved to rest. Alexander went to bed at half past three, getting into bed with a moan.
"Everything turned out fine?" his wife asked in a whisper.
"Eliza, sorry, I didn't want to wake you"
"I was already awake" she said, turning around to face him. "So?"
"Angelica and I could re-do most of it. I wrote it down paper, just in case" He passed a hand through his face. "A one-eyed must've looked at me when I was born. I couldn't understand half of this shit if that weren't the case"
Eliza hugged him and rested her head on his chest. "Come on, it'll be alright. You always come up with something…" she tried to comfort him.
"Hm"
"If it wasn't you, if it wasn't a lemon and if it weren't the kids, then what could've happened?" Eliza wondered.
"Jeez, Eliza, I'll be damned if I kn…"
Not used to hear her husband stop in the middle of a sentence, she looked up, seeing him looking directly at the ceiling. She began to feel his body shaking beneath her. "Alex?"
"Those fucking, amoral, envious and shitty beasts…" she heard him mutter.
"Your co-workers?"
"Who else?" he punched the mattress. "They have crossed the line, Eliza, they have crossed the fucking line. Our children felt guilty all day, and that's enough. No one can hurt my family in the slightest"
"Aw…"
"Only I can, because it's my fucking family"
"… Yeah…" she lied down facing the ceiling. "I kinda felt that…"
"Tomorrow morning, I'm going to discover which one was it. They don't know who they fucked up with"
"If they really did, I doubt it…" Eliza agreed. "But, honey, tomorrow is Sunday"
"… Is it?"
"Yep"
"… … Don't care, I'll keep this anger inside until Monday arrives"
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. You know, I'm getting better at classifying and choosing my emotions"
"… Do you?" she asked with scepticism. She shrugged. "Well, if that makes you happy"
"Goddammit, Eliza, thank you for your constant support, I love you!" he screamed suddenly, giving her a rapid kiss on the lips. "Goodnight, sweetie" he whispered, turning to the opposite side to sleep.
Eliza looked at him for a moment. "I wonder what happened with that suitor I had in college… Would he still have hair?" she wondered with melancholy. "Thinking about how I refused to date him because he was too shy… Dumb, Eliza, dumb" and she closed her eyes, trying to sleep.
Monday morning, Angelica received a message from her sister before leaving to work.
Eliza:
Alex thinks 1 of his co-workers broke the PC. LOL, God save your souls.
Angelica:
The person who said working with your family was a curse didn't know alex
Eliza:
Ikr?
Hey, you know what you gotta do.
Angelica:
Yea yea I'll send voice messages 2 u
Eliza:
Good sister, good sister :D
George Washington liked his job, denying that was lying, but there were days when he wondered if he had chosen the correct career. There was no day he didn't hear his mother's piercing voice reminding him the disappointment he was for all his mistakes in life. Again, wasn't she the one who criticised every career chose he made until he decided to pick this due to lack of nasty comments? Things had started to go well. As well as they could. His mother still seemed unsatisfied and so she let all their acquaintances know every time she could, but he didn't mind that much. Now, he had Martha and a new life, and he only had to stand her on Christmas as all normal men do.
Maybe he should thank his mother for all her comments, because he became immune to others'. His friends used to talk about every little detail of his life, and with no filter. Some days, like today, he heard them telling him he had made the right decision going for politics and business instead of doing the other jobs he had in mind like psychologist or teacher.
"'Standing people's problems all day, what a trouble' the said" George complained under his breath, making his way to his office, where almost all his employees were already crowded together, murmuring with one another. George made his way to his desk, where Angelica was standing next to. They both nodded as a greeting, and he managed to smile a little to be polite. "'Standing a bunch of brats all day, with their whining' they said…" he mumbled once again, putting his folder on the table with a thump that made the whole room fall silent. "'Sir, he stole my pencil; sir, he ate my brownie; sir, she hit me; sir, he broke my things'…" he kept muttering nonetheless, this time faking a childish voice, gaining a curious glare from his employees. Rumbling his temples, he added: "Yes, I get away from such a horrible job…"
"Sir?" he looked forwards, seeing Lafayette with his arm raised.
"Yes?"
"Can I go to the toilet, please?"
"… Such, such a horrible job…" he muttered. "Can't you wait a few minutes?"
"Non…"
He sighed. "Alright, but be fast"
"Merci" he said, smiling nervously.
Once he left, Washington cleared his throat: "Alright, we wait until we all…" Another hand raised. "Yes, Madison?"
"Can I go to the toilet as well?" asked the short man, coughing in a kleenex.
"… Alright…" George waved his hand.
"And me?" asked Hercules, raising his hand.
"I think I need to go as well" Jefferson joined in.
Angelica rolled her eyes. "Tight it in a knot, misters"
"Schuyler" said George with a grave tone. She only shrugged. "Whoever wants to go, go, but be fast" he said, seeing in surprise how everyone left the room, talking to themselves or to the closest person at hand. George saw Angelica walking to the door as well. "Didn't you tell them to tight in in knot?" he asked, arching one eyebrow.
Angelica shrugged. "I have nothing to make a knot with" she answered with a smile.
Laurens laughed in the distance: "Hahaha, dang!"
George took advantage of the silence to read the paperwork he couldn't do because the problems he had to take care of yesterday. He thought after Hamilton were gone, he would have a bit of peace, but that afternoon John Adams had decided to finally break completely the automatic vending machine. A knock on the door returned his attention to the actual world.
"Good morning, sir" greeted Hamilton. "Uh, where is everybody?"
"They went to the washroom"
"All of them?"
"Aha"
"Hm…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…" an uncomfortable cough.
"You can go as well"
"Thank you, sir" and he left in a rush.
Yes, he had been so lucky not choosing Education as a career…
"So, the issue is on the table" said George, reclining on his chair. "Yesterday, Hamilton's laptop was found broken in his office. He had gone to the store and they are more than affirmative that the laptop was working well" His eyes fell on the gadget on his table, then on his employees, one by one, starting by Peggy on the corner, to Angelica and Alexander, right beside him. He saw Angelica doing something with her mobile, but decided to not say nothing about it as her attention was back on the matter rapidly. "So… Who broke it?" Silence. Madison coughed. More silence. Margaret pressed her back on the wall and took a rapid glare to her nails. More silence. Laurens bit her bottom lip as a bad habit. More silence. Jefferson crossed both arms. More silence… George frowned. "We are not mad" he promised, calmly. "We just want to know" Peggy raised her hand. "Yes, miss?"
"I didn't pour anything down it" Hamilton said quickly, before she had the chance to speak. She shrugged, and looked out the window.
George drummed his fingers on the wood. "So, nobody knows anything?" he asked, starting to lose his patience. "Am I going to have to look at what the cameras recorded, as I had to do with Adams yesterday?"
"Where is he, by the way?" asked Alexander.
"Home. I told him not to come here in all week"
"That was his third vending machine victim…" added Peggy.
Alexander shrugged, very indifferent. "Not that his absence is ever a relevance…" The Schuyler sisters supressed a laugh, even Eliza, on the other side of the line of Angelica's phone. She had called her older sister to let her know she wanted to hear the mess in live.
"Before you start, Hamilton, no, it couldn't be Adams. He was late yesterday for work"
"Surprising…" commented Angelica.
"I don't want to go to the record videos, ladies and gentlemen" said George in a warning tone, coming back to the main matter. "You won't like it if I have to do this to know what happened"
"Just confess already, I know it had to be some of you!" Alexander exploded.
George saw Angelica moving a bit closer to him, trying not to smile. Why did that family have to be so weird? "Now, Hamilton, calm down…"
"You know as well as I do they are hiding something. It had to be them!" Alexander began to point at random colleagues. "Was it you?"
"No" said Madison.
"Was it you?" Peggy shook her head. "Was it you?"
"It wasn't me, Alex, I swear" said John Laurens suddenly, smiling gently and blinking.
"Aw, I know it wasn't you, Johnny, I believe you" said Alex with a foreign calm tone of voice. "You can leave, sorry for make you lose your time"
"No prob" said Laurens with a wide smile, walking to the door. Mulligan cleared his throat louder than he normally would. "Oh, yes" Laurens turned around. "It wasn't Hercules or Lafayette, either"
"I believe you, Johnny, you three can leave"
"Oh, come on!" complained Jefferson. "What kind of democracy this is? He's letting them go without any true evidence!"
"Well, they're friends, they wouldn't break him anything" agreed George, shrugging.
Jefferson passed a hand through his face. "Unbelievable…" he looked at his back, seeing Laurens flipping the bird at him before closing the door. "Mr. President, Laurens is doing obscene gestures to me" he accused.
"Not true!" said Laurens from behind the door.
"You were dismissed!" shouted George to be heard over the hallway. "Jefferson, this is not a classroom of an elementary school"
"Yes, sir…"
"Or that is what I want to tell myself before going to bed"
Eliza's muffled and distorted laugh was heard, and everybody looked in all directions, confused. Angelica coughed a bit, giggling afterwards.
"Hehe, a cold…" she excused herself. George looked at her suspiciously.
Hamilton looked at her other sister-in-law: "Peggy, dear, I know it couldn't have been you as you were sick yesterday and missed work. You can also leave"
Peggy frowned. "I didn't miss work yesterday"
"Peggy, Peggy, you don't have to defend it. Being absent worked fine this time for you. Take advantage of it"
"But I…!" she sighed, defeated. "To the hell, I am not interested in any of this, anyway" and she left slamming the door shut.
Maria raised her hand, timidly. "I wasn't at Hamilton's office yesterday" she said in a low voice.
"Maria, you can leave as well, I know it wasn't you" said Alexander with a smile.
Maria returned the gesture and left. For a brief moment, George saw the four persons who were dismissed at the other side of the door, supressing laughs. They were snooping. Am I sure to not be in an Elementary School? He wondered, saddened.
"Now, look what we've got here: Satan's triad" said Alexander, crossing his arms and looking at the three persons left in the room. "You, misters, either think I'm dumb or you simply don't respect me"
"Or both" said Angelica.
"… …Thank you, Angelica…" he stood up straighter than before. "This laptop was fine when it left the store and I sure as hell didn't break it, neither did my wife or my children, so it must be one of you"
Angelica raised her hand and took two steps forwards. "Now, whoever it was, I want to let you know that, thank to you, Alexander made a fool of himself in the electronic store yesterday"
"Alright, Angelica, you don't…"
"No! They have to know this!" Angelica put herself in front of Alexander and put her arms in akimbo, facing the three men. "My poor brother-in-law made himself look like a lunatic thanks to you!"
"For God's sake, Angelica…"
"And now, I'm very sure lots of people had recorded him with their mobiles and a few videos might've spread all across YouTube…"
"They got it!" interrupted Alexander. He inhaled.
"Please, people, just tell the truth" insisted George one more time. "Who did it?"
"We don't know" said Jefferson, looking at the right.
"The hell you don't" said Alexander with teeth clenched. "Did he break my laptop?" he asked them, pointing at Madison.
"No" said Thomas and Aaron.
"Did he break my laptop?" he asked again, now pointing at Jefferson.
"No" said James and Aaron.
"Did he break my laptop?" now, pointing at Burr.
"No" said Thomas and James.
"Who the hell broke my laptop?!" screamed Alexander, losing the patience.
"I told you we don't know" said Jefferson, frowning.
"Some of you is lying to me!" accused Alexander. "Is he a liar?" he asked, pointing at Burr.
"No" said James and Thomas.
"Is he a liar?" Now, pointing at Thomas.
"No" said James and Aaron.
"Then, he is the liar!" Now pointing at James.
"Nope" said Thomas and Aaron.
"Alright, so that's how it's gonna be" said Angelica, starting to be impatient as well. "We'll be here until some of you confess. All day if it's necessary!"
"Well, all, all day…" said George, paling at the thought. "Adams' office is vacant"
"Why did it have to be one of us?" asked Jefferson suddenly. "Angelica haven't said anything about herself in all this time"
"Really, Thomas?" asked Angelica, rolling her eyes. "It wasn't me and that was left clear yesterday!"
"What did you do to prove it? Saying it? Acting like a maniac? That is you in every day basis"
"For your information, by the time Alexander was discovering the mess, I was in the restroom writing the list of what is lacking there, like coffee, tea and some snacks. Something that you were supposed to do this month, but it has been my responsibility"
"Jesus, Jefferson…" said George, weary.
"That's what happens when you trust this man to write down anything" chimed in Alexander. "He doesn't even bring a sad pencil to the meetings"
"What should I? I already know what I believe in, and your thoughts are not worthy to be repeated more than once"
"Enough, enough!" said George, immediately. "Let's focus on the important matter"
"Sorry, sir, but it's unfair. I would never break my family's things" said Angelica, offended.
"I never said it was on purpose" clarified Jefferson. "Accidents do happen, you know?" Aaron moved uncomfortably at his side. "Maybe when you opened the window…"
"How do you know about the window?" asked Alexander, arching one eyebrow.
"With your yelling, I'm sure the whole continent knows about the window"
"I didn't open that window!" complained Angelica.
"I'm only saying that if, you did it by accident, it shouldn't have the same repercussions as if you did it intentionally"
"Why are you so comprehensive all of a sudden? Did the Virgin appeared to you or something?" asked Alexander, tapping his shoe on the floor.
"No, I…"
"Because" he interrupted "is either that or that it was you who broke it and now you're saying those things to make you the victim and I, the executioner if I got mad if it was really you who broke my laptop by accident"
"I was only…"
"Though I hardly swallow it"
"If you can't swallow it, then choke, asshole!"
"Jefferson!" reprehended George.
"Mr. President…!" he begged.
"You know he isn't like this!" said Alexander, outraged. "We all know how he let one of his gardeners be deported only because he broke his birdbath!"
"I didn't deport him! He lied to me, I had to fire him, he wanted revenge, he stole some of my jewellery and I had to call the police!" told Jefferson, hitting the carpet with his foot at each sentence. "What was I supposed to do? Applaud him? If he didn't have papers, it's not my problem!"
"He was working for you, fucking walking mop!"
"Alexander!" George reprehended once again.
"Mr. President, what does this have to do with…?"
"For Heaven's sake, why can't you understand…?"
"Why can't we talk things as civilized…!"
Angelica, Alexander and Thomas started to talk at the same time, gesticulating exaggeratedly, and raising the volume until the limit of their lungs. Madison coughed in his kleenex and rumbled his temples while he shook his head, thinking that was ridiculous. Aaron was all sweaty and wanted to go home as soon as possible. He bit his bottom lip. A part of him wanted to confess, but the other was telling him to follow his own advice of "talk less and smile more". That part was winning force at the screams got louder.
He glared at Washington and felt even worse. The poor man had his head lowered and between his hands. Madison and Aaron shared a look of worry. Just when Burr was about to get up and ask his boss if he was feeling fine, George got up from his seat with a stern look. He hit the table with one fit that silenced the three screaming adults.
"Alright, that is enough! I have a grandson who is six and he knows how to dialogue better than any of you! If I were in that position I'd feel completely ashamed of myself!" he screamed, making the five persons who were in the room look at the floor. "I am going to ask this for the last time: who broke this laptop? If no one answers, I will see the videos recorded from yesterday, and I was serious when I said you wouldn't want that option, ask Adams if you don't believe me!"
When Washington raised his voice, you had to take him seriously. That was what made Aaron decide that he preferred to be in trouble because he admitted his mistake – no matter how late – than because he was caught red handed in a video. He cleared his throat and straightened himself.
"Sir…"
"I did it!" said James Madison suddenly, taking one step closer to the desk. "I broke Hamilton's new laptop"
"You did, Madison?" asked George, calming down.
"Yes"
"James…!"
"No, Thomas, it's alright. I broke it. Thank you, but I broke it"
James was small but imposing, and if he said something that had to be done. Aaron looked at Thomas, who just shrugged and pointed at Hamilton with the head. And Aaron remembered: Alexander already hated Madison for that time he didn't want to be on his side on an important decision and Madison's plan ended up winning. If you look for "resentful" in the dictionary, a Hamilton's photo would appear. And a Madison's one as well, for that matter. Because neither of them wanted to let it go.
Hamilton's sarcastic laugh broke the tension and the silence in the room, and Aaron stepped backwards, fearing for the worse.
"Ha! Was it you, then?"
"Yes"
"I knew it: if it wasn't Bert it had to be Ernie… How?" he asked, getting closer to the man, his arms crossed.
"I…" James looked at the left. "I poured coffee down it"
"Poured coff…?" Alex was red in the face in a matter of seconds. "AND WHY THE FUCK DID YOU POUR COFFEE DOWN A NEW AND SOMEBODY ELSE'S LAPTOP? DID YOU THINK IT WOULD HELP IT TO CHARGE FASTER OR WHAT? AND IF SO, WHAT KIND OF MENTAL PROBLEM DO YOU NEED TO HAVE TO THINK SUCH AN IMBECILITY! FUCKING AND RESENTFUL HOBBIT, DID YOU EVEN END ELEMENTARY SCHOOL? WHY WOULD A MAN WITH MINIMAL INTELLIGENCE DO SUCH A STUPID STUNT ACCIDENTALLY!"
"Oh, yes, genius?" blurted out James, redder in the face as well. "Well, guess what, I didn't break it!"
"You didn't?" echoed Alexander, with scepticism. "Then, why did you tell me otherwise?"
"Are you a masochistic?" asked Angelica.
James simply exploded, looking bigger than he actually was: "BECAUSE I FREAKING HATE YOU ALL AND I'M ANGRY I WASN'T THE ONE WHO BROKE THAT FUCKING SHIT!" he screamed.
Aaron gasped. Thomas muttered an almost inaudible "Sweet Lord…" and Angelica clapped a hand on her mouth. Even Eliza was heard saying a soft "Damn" on the other side of her sister's phone, but no one paid her attention. There was a moment of complete silence. No one moved or talked or thought. James was the first one to move, turning around and leaving the room. The other workers jumped surprised at the other side of the door and let him pass, afraid of what he would do if they refused to do so. Thomas looked at George, who nodded, and he left the room, worried.
All eyes fell on Alexander, who was petrified, looking at the door. Angelica and George shared a worried glare, waiting for an answer. Alexander was more dangerous when he was silent than when he spoke. Aaron knew this as well, and decided to press his back against the wall. The rest of people looked at him from the door. Finally, Alex moved. He nodded his head, put both hands behind his back and exited the place without a word or a last glare to anything or anyone in particular.
"Alex…?" said Angelica with tiny voice.
George and she followed him. They reached the exit door, seeing Alexander looking at the sky at the verge of the sidewalk, the air gently moving his hair. The other witnesses decided it was time to go back to their office and locked up there until they had to go home. They didn't notice John Laurens was missing from the crowd until they saw him passing by Alexander, with a burger in one hand and a soda in the other. They talked a few words, and then John went directly to the office.
"Where did you go?" asked George.
"I woke up late and decided to go for a meal" he answered.
"It's not lunch break yet, Laurens"
"Hehe… I really thought the fight would last longer" he admitted, shrugging.
"What did Alexander tell you?" asked Angelica, worried.
"Bah, nothing. I asked him what happened and he only told me he wished smoking inside the buildings were still allowed"
George nodded with a sad expression. "I miss those days when I could smoke here…" He sighed and turned around, seeing Aaron Burr still at his door. George arched an eyebrow. "Do you have something to tell me, Burr?"
Hamilton was told to get back inside once Burr finished telling the story. Angelica was fuming mad by that point, and only contained her rage to let Burr tell the story for the second time so Alexander could hear it. She even forgot about Eliza, who was still listening everything through her phone back at home, now eating popcorn in the living room and enjoying the solitude and silence the lack of children and husband gave her.
Washington was sat on his desk, arms crossed and a glare fixed on the broken computer right in front of him. Aaron was sitting by his left, while Angelica stood by his right, throwing daggers at Burr with her glare. Alexander was behind them, looking through the window, both hands still on his back and lips sealed. Aaron was told when he was little by his grandparents than telling the truth was good because it lifted a heavy weight from your shoulders, but, right then, he was feeling the pressure about to crash him. He was, also, looking at the laptop, totally regretting what he was retelling.
"I'm sorry, Alexander" he apologised when he finished, scratching the back of his neck. "I'm really sorry. I promise it was an accident"
Angelica kept her eyes fixed on the table, Alexander didn't move, either. Washington, on the contrary, turned around in his swivel chair, chin supported by the palm of his hand. Aaron bent over himself when the silence wasn't broken by anyone. A sigh of relief leaving his voice when Alexander finally talked, still facing the window. His voice too calm to be taken slightly.
"I don't want to look at you, I might kill you… Not that I haven't thought about it before, but now the idea is too tempting and I don't know if I could control myself" Aaron swallowed and looked at Washington, looking for help, but their boss was still looking at his well-trusted employee with an illegible expression. "It's not so much that you lied to me, but that you let Angelica scare my children, and that is something I can't ignore"
"I… What?" he asked, confused.
"I hope you're satisfied, Burr" Angelica spoke, with a harsh tone, pressing the bridge of her nose. "You made Alexander look like a madman who needs to be taken away forever in a mental asylum"
"Gosh, Angelica…" Alexander rolled his eyes, too tired.
"There were so many people in that store…" she kept talking, now with a broken voice. "And all of them were looking at us… Taking photos, recording videos… I'm sure that poor though conceited assistant was left with a depression for all the shit Alexander said to him"
"Buf…" Alexander pressed his face against both hands.
"Come on, Schuyler, don't be too harsh on him" said Washington, sitting straight and looking at Burr for the first time in all the time they entered the room. "He's clearly feeling bad about it and to me it was a pure accident"
"Sir, he needs to know actions have consequences!" said Angelica regaining her confident voice. She pointed at Burr with one finger. "Thanks to you, young man, hundreds, maybe thousands of videos are now free on the Internet!"
"Angelica…" said Alexander.
"You turned my brother-in-law into a meme!"
"FOR THE LOVE OF CHRIST, ANGELICA, WE ALL GOT IT ALREADY: I'M THE AMERICAN JOKE, NOW DROP IT!"
Angelica finally stopped, looking at the side with an angry expression. George sighed.
"Please, Schuyler, Hamilton, go back to work"
"Yes, sir" said Alexander. Angelica followed close behind.
When both were gone, George turned to face Aaron. "Go home for the day, Burr, I think it will be the best…"
"Me too, sir. I'm sorry" he apologised once more, getting up.
"Oh, take this" he pointed at the laptop "with you. I don't think it'd be wise to show it to Hamilton ever again"
"Agreed" Aaron took the gadget in his hands, feeling more regretful for being him the one who was going to throw it away. Thinking about how I only wanted to have a nice detail, he thought, saddened. Before getting out the room, he heard Washington saying:
"Gosh, I'm exhausted and it's only Wednesday…"
"Um… It's Monday, sir" corrected Aaron.
George hit the desk with fury: "Dammit, Burr, can't a man dream for one minute in a row?!"
Aaron apologised for what seemed like the zillionth time and closed the door behind him.
"You really messed up, Aaron" said a voice from behind.
"Peggy, I didn't…"
"You didn't see me, I know" interrupted the youngest Schuyler sister. Crossing her arms, she said: "Now, what would you do?"
"What do you mean?"
"Are you going to move? Change your job? Pretend your death?"
"I already apologised, there's not much I can do"
"Hm… If you say so…" Peggy accompanied him to the parking lot. He was glad by the silent company. "You know, I know Alexander as I know myself: if you want to make amends, an apology won't be enough"
"I already knew that…"
"But maybe you can redeem yourself"
Aaron opened the door of his car and put the laptop in the co-pilot's seat: "How? He won't talk to me, that's a non-starter"
"Maybe he will if he sees you did something for him" Peggy started to play with her short hair and, when Aaron looked at her with an interrogative look, she pointed the laptop with her head. "Madison was right, God really must love you. George let you have the laptop"
And with that, she left. Aaron looked at the laptop, thinking about his options. Finally, he sighed, defeated.
"It won't harm me to try…"
Finding the store wasn't that difficult. He only had to talk to Theodosia, who was told by Eliza. He had confessed it to her and she supported and congratulated him for his bravery at confessing as soon as possible… He didn't have to tell the entire truth, he had had enough for one day.
As it was a Monday afternoon, the store was almost empty. He saw a young boy in a counter, and he approached it, laptop in hand. He read "Chuck" in his nameplate and prayed for him to be the same one who Hamilton had screamed at, to kill two birds with one rock.
"Um, excuse me, sir?" Aaron showed him the laptop. "A frie… One of my workmates bought this computer the other day and… Well…"
Chuck immediately paled and raised both hands in surrender. "Look, sir, I don't want more problems because of it"
"No, no, my intentions…"
"Look, I've already had enough with it. He didn't do anything to the laptop, it was broken when it left the store" he said in a rush.
"No, I broke it" said Aaron, a bit confused. "Look, I poured coffee down it and didn't tell him because… Well, as I can see, you already can imagine why"
"… Yes" Chuck looked at him with narrowed eyes.
"I just wanted to know if you could fix it or… if I'd have to buy a new one?"
Chuck looked at it for a brief moment, then at the store, seeing it now completely empty. "Coffee?"
"Coffee"
"Give me a minute"
"Thank you, sir"
Aaron was surprised when he saw fixing a computer was almost as expensive as buying a new one. Surely doing things right didn't harm him, but it did leave him penniless. Chuck could fix it, he paid him, and they both said goodbye. Aaron didn't want to think about he had spent his whole savings to do this. He would have to start again, but it would be worth it. Not only because he wouldn't be an important part in Hamilton's black list, but because he had done everything wrong and this was the last thing he could do. Besides, Theodosia was supportive and their daughter didn't have to start school in two years. He had time.
The next morning, he tried to convince himself this was the right thing to do. He inhaled as he entered the office, noticing everybody looking at him with the corner of their eyes. He tried to see if Peggy was there to encourage him, but he didn't see her. Not even when you wanted to find her, she was anywhere to be seen.
He stopped in front of Hamilton's office door, closed. He swallowed, looking at the bag in his hands.
"There's no sin in trying" he convinced himself for the millionth time, and he knocked.
"Come in!" said Hamilton's voice from the inside.
Aaron was relieved when he heard him in, apparently, good mood. He decided to not say a word until Alexander saw it was him. So, he pressed his lips and entered the little office his once-friend worked in. And he froze.
Alexander was working, Peggy by his side and a laptop on the table. The same laptop he had in his bag, brand new as well. Hamilton looked up when he heard nothing.
"Oh, Burr, good morning" he said. "What do you bring there?"
"I…" he shook his head. He pointed at the laptop. "What…?"
"Oh, do you remember Angelica saying I screamed at the assistant?" began to explain Alexander. "Well, it's a small world, because that guy went to college with Peggy. So, she went to the store and told him either he would give her a new computer as the one I bought for free, or she would tell his father all the secrets he had told her and had as text messages"
"… No way…" said Aaron, feeling his body shaking.
Peggy smiled mischievously at him: "Yes, you know? If you piss somebody I love off, I will piss that somebody off even more" and her smile grew.
Aaron started to have a tick in his right eye. "You…"
"Did you come for something, Burr?" asked Alexander. "What's in the bag?"
Peggy approached him and took the bag in her own hands. "Oh, Alexander, it's your old computer!" she said, pretending to be surprised.
"Oh, so you had it!" said Alexander. Peggy put the bag on the table and Alexander took it out.
"I went to fix it…" said Aaron, not to explain it but to recapitulate all the things he had done. "I went to fix it and apologised to the man at the store… I spent all my savings…" the tick in his eyes was getting more evident.
"Oh, really?" said Alexander, impressed. "You didn't have to do it. I know it was an accident"
Aaron was shaking. "Of course, you do…"
"But thank you very much, now Eliza can have this. I'm sure she will be happy!" he put the computer back in the bag and continued to tap.
"Well, Alex, I'm glad to know you're happy" said Peggy, kissing him on the head. "I'll go back to work" she passed Aaron by, with an evil smile on her face. If glares could kill, Peggy would've ended up dead in that moment.
"Burr, are you going to stand there all day?" asked Alexander, without looking at him.
Aaron looked at him, then at the bag, then at him again. He clenched his fists and inhaled deeply, before turning around and slamming the door shut. He pressed his back against it, trying to think correctly.
"What a strange man" he heard Hamilton from the other side, which provoked him to groan.
Aaron went directly to his own office, wanting to be locked up for the rest of the day. Maybe the whole week. Before getting in, Jefferson's voice, from behind, said:
"Told you: that's what you get for being nice to Hamilton or anyone close to him"
Aaron dedicated him a death glare: "WORK!" he shouted, before slamming his own door shut as well.
That afternoon, Eliza invited Angelica over. She wanted her sister to teach her how to use her new computer, she was so excited she almost felt hypocrite for criticising Alexander a few nights ago. Almost.
"And now… You go there… Click. Alright, you're downloading it"
"And I can see that on the TV?"
"If you have a pendrive, yes. You can borrow mine whenever you want"
"Thank you!" Eliza click in a few more things, before returning her attention to her sister. "By the way, why did all of this start?" she asked, curious.
"Hm, what?"
"This. The fight, the reason why Alexander had to buy a new laptop"
"Oh, yes, that… Well…" Angelica frowned. "Honestly, I don't remember"
"Angie…"
"It's true, I don't" Angelica shrugged.
"Well, it's not like you can't find out"
Angelica took out her mobile from her purse. "You know me too well" she said, smiling, and began to look for the audio.
"I wonder what Burr could've said to Alexander to make him mad" commented Eliza, meanwhile. "I mean, that man is a walking monosyllable"
"Hm… I kinda remember we were discussing something and then… Alexander said something"
"I knew it had to be him" Eliza shook her head.
"Oh, here it is!" said Angelica with a triumphal smile. "The audio from Friday"
Angelica pressed the screen and turned on the volume as much as she could. Both sisters bent down to listen better and clearly. At first, they only heard a bunch of people screaming at once. Eliza distinguished Alex's and Thomas' almost immediately. Then, Washington's voice made everybody fell silent, telling them the meeting was over and that they would continue tomorrow, and was hoping he would hear adults and not toddlers.
"I almost lost it when I heard him today, saying he felt like he was working in an Elementary School" commented Eliza with a smile.
"I know, I had to pretend to have a cold" laughed Angelica. "Now, now, listen up! This is when it happens I guess…"
Eliza and Angelica sharpened their hearing. Aaron and Alexander's voices were distant at first, but they got closer to the recording Angelica from Friday as the conversation went on.
"Being nice from time to time won't kill you" said Aaron with a calm voice.
"Being nice to Jefferson certainly would" contradicted Alexander. "What haven't killed anyone is letting people know your opinion, you know?"
"I've got enough problems in my personal life, I don't need to have enemies in my workplace"
"You can't be liked by everybody, Burr, you're not a bed" Angelica's laugh was almost inaudible thanks to hers and her sister's current laughs, hearing the conversation.
"Listen, I understand you're angry because of what happened today, but can't you let it go? It's been a really long day"
"I'm sure listening lets you exhausted" mocked Alexander.
"Listening to you surely does" Aaron sighed.
"Though I can admit I prefer silence to stupid words"
"Thank you!" said Aaron, relieved. "See? Between me and him, I'm the lesser of two evils. Jeez…"
There was a pause. Angelica was now trying to supress her laugh, remembering what happened. Eliza looked at her with a smile, took the phone in her hands and pressed her ear against it.
"Between him and me" said Alexander all of a sudden.
"… … What?"
"It is said 'between him and me', Burr" there was a silence, only broke by the sound of a pencil writing down something. Alex's for sure. "If you are only going to talk once a week, at least, do it fine" More silence. Eliza sharpened her hearing and could even hear Aaron inhaling dangerously. Then, the last straw. "Grammar, Aaron"
The rest was history.