Chapter Two

At 7:56 pm, Ryan was ready for dinner. He took one last look in the mirror. His suit was perfect. He hated wearing a suit, but his father wanted it. After all, when he invited his army friends, he wanted his son to look good, and as long as he didn't wear the uniform, a suit would do just well. Then he checked his hair cut. 3mm on the sides, 6mm on top. He sighed a bit. He liked his hair a bit longer, but his father didn't. A good appearance depended a lot on the hair cut, he always said. And the fact that he already had tolerated 2 cm was new to Ryan. Normally, 1 cm was already way too long. He shrugged. There was no way he would have his hair the way he wanted it. When he'd join the army later on… Not that he wanted it, though… The doorbell rang. Ryan speeded downstairs. His sister, Deborah, was already waiting. She was wearing a long dress. Despite the fact that she was only 11 years old, she was already more like her Daddy wanted than Ryan had been at that age. Okay, she was a ballet dancer, so she knew how to sit up straight and stuff, but nevertheless, she had learned a lot. Her hair was neatly combed, her dress ironed, her shoes clean… No wonder she was Daddy's favourite. His mother looked gorgeous too. And of course, his father was wearing the uniform.

He seemed rather annoyed now, "Why are you so late, Ryan?"

Ryan answered, "Sorry, I had to clean my shoes again… Sir."

"And you still forgot the tie…"

Damn. He bowed his head, "Sorry…"

"We will talk about that later." The father opened the door.

--

An hour later the Wolfe family and their guests, a soldier colleague of Duke's, his wife and their young daughter, were sitting at the dinner table. The soup Ryan's mom had made was delicious, but Ryan was so concentrated not to spill anything that he couldn't even enjoy it properly. His father was already angry because of the tie he'd forgotten that Ryan didn't want to draw any more attention to himself. Deborah though, who was sitting opposite of him, had other things in mind. Just when Ryan was about to bring the spoon up to his mouth, she kicked him under the table. Though Ryan managed to not hiss out of pain, of course he spilled the contents of the spoon right on his trousers. No one would have noticed though, if Deborah hadn't started laughing.

The father raised his head, "What's so funny, sweetie?"

She smiled at her father and pointed at Ryan, "He cannot eat properly."

Ryan gave his sister a look that contained a threat of assault and battery, but then he bowed his head and apologized. His father just looked at his guests again. Ryan placed his legs and feet out of his sister's reach, and the dinner went on without any further interruptions.

--

After the dinner, Ryan's father and his friend went to his father's office to have a brandy or two. The four ladies had made themselves comfortable on the couch, and Ryan felt a bit awkward. He couldn't stay with the women, but his father's office was taboo if he wasn't told to get in. But before he could even start to think about going to bed, his father did call him. Deborah gave him a smile. She knew petty well that Ryan was about to get lectured.

Ryan whispered, "You better not smile, or I'm gonna rip your Barbie's head off…"

His sister gave him a look before Ryan went to the office.

--

He knocked and waited. Two minutes later, he heard his father saying, "Get in."

He opened the door and stepped in, "You asked for me, Sir?"

"Close the door, Ryan." Ryan did what he was told. "I already introduced you to my friend here, Thedore Douglas. He's one of the top recruiters in the business." Ryan nodded. The man was tall and broad-shouldered, and had the usual haircut.

Now he came closer to Ryan, "I heard you want to be soldier, is that right?" Ryan only nodded. He couldn't possibly tell that man that it was actually more his father's choice than his own. At least not when his father was standing right next to him. "Well your father has kindly asked me to tell you a little bit about my work and about how life is in the army… Now, son, I'm gonna come over tomorrow afternoon after school, and we're gonna have a long chat. What do you say, son?"

Ryan glanced over to his father. He didn't even look at his son, so Ryan just said, "Sir, I would very much like that…"

"Good, son." The man seemed pleased. His father just waved him to go away.

--

Two hours later, the guests had left. Ryan was sitting in his bedroom, waiting for what to come. He knew his father would punish him for the tie and for spilling the soup. Stupid Deborah. He heard the door of the office open, and three seconds later, his father yelled, "Ryan!!"

Ryan got up immediately and walked over to the office. His father was standing in front of his office. Ryan approached him, head bowed down, "Sir…"

But the father didn't react; he just put something in his hand and said, "Bathroom."

Ryan nodded, "Yes, sir…" The father got back into the office and slammed the door shut. Ryan sighed and looked at the toothbrush he was holding in his hands. This was going to be a long night…

--

Ryan only stopped cleaning the bathroom when it was shining. He checked his watch. 2 a.m. In four hours he would have to get up again, getting ready for school. Fours hours only… better go to bed straight ahead… he was lying on his back already ten minutes later, after having brushed his teeth (with a different toothbrush of course) and folded his clothes. His back was aching. Damn Deborah. He sometimes wondered what he had done to make his younger sister do that. When he counted back, at least half of the punishments he had received had been because of Deborah provoking him. Well, this was the end of Barbie now… He heard a soft knocking to his door. He got up and opened.

It was his mother, "Hey honey. I just wanted to check if you are alright…"

He smiled a bit, "I'm okay, Ma'am."

"I'm on my way downstairs to the kitchen, do you need something? A glass of water maybe?"

"No, thanks. I'm just tired…"

She nodded, "I'm sorry for how the evening went."

"There's nothing to apologize for."

She sighed, "Well if you think so… Just make sure you're on time for that meeting with Mr Douglas tomorrow."

"Yes Ma'am…" She gave him a short smile.

"Sleep well, Ryan…"

"I will…" He closed the door, silently, and went back to bed. After a few more minutes, he had fallen asleep.