Chapte Seven
My father was staying at the most over the top, decadent resort in Palm Springs. The grounds were sprawling, and the terrace overlooked the glistening, crystal blue ocean. Every inch closer I got to the resort, the sickening feeling in my stomach increased. I had not even bothered to say goodbye to my father when we left for the mission, I had simply left a note saying that I was heading to California. He had tried to call several times and I had called him back at times I knew he would not answer. Missed calls generally summed up my relationship with my father pretty well, neither of us had any desire to communicate with the each other but we put on a good show of it.
I couldn't of jumped out of the car any faster when we pulled into the lot. I was in desperate need of a cigarette to calm my fried nerves. I was dragging my feet whilst sucking down nicotine. I could feel Sydney's judgemental eyes giving my crumpled clothing a once over. I definately could have dressed better for the occasision but in typical Adrian Ivashkov fashion, I found the most wrinkled outfit I could find and rolled around in it some more. My father expects very little, so I don't like to over deliver.
We walked into the reception and grabbed the elevator to the second floor. Being in an enclosed space with Sage in any other situation would have been heaven to me but right now this was an elevator ride to doom. The doors opened and I heard Sydney visably gasp. In front of us was an enormous glass wall that showcased a dramtic view of the Pacific Ocean. "Take a closer look while I call the old man" I told her and she did not need to be told twice, social decency was the only thing stopping her from running over to the window.
I grabbed my phone and dialed daddy dearest, hoping to god he would answer and tell me he had already left town. "Are you here?" he answered gruffly. My father, the conversationalist. "Yup, I am down on lobby two" and with that he hung up the phone. I looked back over to see a mesmerized Sydney gazing out at the ocean with a look of wonderment on her face. Sydney seldomly shows her true smile to the world, instead offering a professional polite one. Her eyes were shinning bright and her smile genuine. I made my way back over to her but she was so transfixed by the view that she did not even notice that I was standing close beside her. She turned around after being startled by a young child being called by her parent and was suprised to see me standing so close by. We were only inches apart, which made her flinch and move away slightly. "How about some warning next time?" she said, shocked by our closeness.
I smiled at her and chose not to be insulted by her reaction. "I didn't want to interrupt, you looked happy for a change". She screwed her face up in a twist, "For a change? I'm happy lots of the time" she countered back at me. In a normal situation, I would have had several snarky comments lined up but I stopped dead in my tracks. All I really wanted in this life was for Sydney to be happy, deleriously happy. And if it could not be me that makes her that happy, I need to make sure she still was content in life.
"Does that Brendan guy, does he make you happy?" I asked, desperate for the answer but also anxious that it might break my heart. "Brayden" she muttered, searching my face to see if she was walking straight into a set up. "I guess. Yeah. I mean, he doesn't make me unhappy" she answered. An instant smile plastered my face, and it was all I could do from stopping myself laughing out loud.
"Red hot answer if ever there was one. What do you like about him? Aside from his car? And that he smells like coffee?" I asked, being a sucker for punishment. She took a moment to mull my question over, which seemed like another good sign for me. If she had to think about why she liked him she obviously was not head over heels for the guy. But as long as she was involved with him, I had to keep my distance, romantically.
"I like that he's smart. I like that I don't have to dumb myself down around him" she said whistfully and it made me frown. "Do you do that for a lot of people?" I asked and she laughed bitterly. "A lot? Try all the time. Probably the most important thing I've learned at Amberwood is that people don't like to know how much you know. With Brayden, there's no censoring for either of us. I mean, just look at this morning. One minute we were talking about Halloween costumes and the next we were discussing the ancient Athenian origins of democracy".
I furrowed my brow in confusion, "I'm not going to claim to be a genius, but how the hell did you make that leap?". She laughed at me, a genuine pleasant giggle, "Oh, our halloween costumes. We're dressing greek, from the Athenian era".
"Of course, no sexy cat costume for you. Only the most dignified, feminist attire would do" I joked with her. She shook her head instantly, "Feminist? Oh no, Not Athenian women. They're about as far from feminist as you can- well forget it, it's not important" she muttered and I did a double take. "That's it, isn't it?" I asked, leaning in towards he and was pleasantly suprised when she didn't instantly move away. "What?" she exclaimed. "You stopped yourself just now. You dumbed it down for me". I never wanted her to censor herself or feel like she could not speak about academia with me. I may not be her intellectual equal but I always wanted her to feel she could confide in me.
"Yeah I kind of did" she said sheeplishly. "Why" I pushed her to answer. "Because you really don't want to hear about ancient Athens, any more than you want to hear Brayden talk about chaos theory". She was right, I did not want to hear Brayden talk about anything, at all, ever. "That's different, he's boring. You make learning fun. Like a children's book or after school special. Tell me about your Athenian women". She smiled at me softly, "Most Athenian women weren't educated. They mostly stayed inside and were just expected to have kids and take care of the house. The most progressive women were the hetaerae. They were like entertainers and high class prostitutes. They were educated and a little flashier. Powerful men kept their wives at home to raise children and then hung out with the hetaerae. Like I said, really not important".
I laughed at her abridged verson of Athenian history. "I don't know, I find prostitutes vastly important". I heard someone approach behind us and a tall shadow cast upon us. "Well, how refreshing to see that things haven't changed" my father chimed in and we both turned to see an unimpressed Nathan Ivashkov standing in front of us. We were still standing very close and Sage jumped backwads quickly, embarressed she had been caught in somewhat of a compromising position. My father looked just as he always did, angry and displeased with life.
"Dad, always a pleasure" I said without any enthusiasim in my voice. He gave my choice of clothing a once over and looked even more judgemental than Sydney did. He turned his attention to Sage and noticed the golden lily tattooed upon her cheek. "Nathan Ivashkov" he said, extending his hand to Sydney. In her defence, she did not even hesitate with reach for his hand and introducing herself. "I met Sage while I was bumming around out here, she was nice enough to give me a ride out here from L.A. today since I don't have a car"
"That's a long drive" my father said gruffly, shocked that anyone would be willing to go so far out of their way for little old me.
" I don't mind Sir" Sydney said to my father. "I'll go get some work done. You want to text me when you're ready to go?" she asked, obviously desperate to escape the mini Ivashkov family reunion. "Work? Come on Sage, go buy a bikini and enjoy the pool while your hanging out" I said, trying to picture her in said bikini in my mind.
My father looked over at me incredulously, "You made her drive you out here and now you're going to make her wait around for you?". Sage tried her best to interject but my father was having none of it. "She's an Alchemist, not a chauffer. There's a big difference. Come, Miss Sage. If you've wasted your day driving my son here, the least I can do is buy you lunch". Sage shot me a panicked look and my head was exploding. Lunch was not about to go well and the last person in the world I wanted to witness it was Sydney.
"Dad-" I attempted but was cut off too soon. "I insist. Pay attention and learn common courtesy". He turned and walked towards the elevator, not even checking to see if we were following him. Sydney looked over to me, her face full of shock. "Should I find a reason to leave?" she whispered softly. I would love for her to dissapear but my father would just see that as a failing on my behalf. "Not when he uses his "I insist" voice" I muttered in response. We both followed along behind him, like misbehaving children being roused on by our father. To be honest, that was exactly what was happening.
We walked towards the lift and I could see Sage's face was saddened by having to leave the gorgeous view behind. We stepped inside and my father pressed the button for basement. The tension in the lift was unbareable, my father obviously just as unhappy to see me as I was him. The elevator chimed and the doors opened to a darkened pub. The room was decorated with old wooden beams and dated black leather booths. The maitre'd accompanied us to our table and promptly took our drink order. After perusing the menu, I ordered a martini, the most expensive one on the menu since lunch was on Nathan Ivashkov.
"It's barely noon" my father chided, whilst staring down his nose at me. "I know, I'm suprised I held out that long too" I joked back but my father just ignored me. He turned to Sydney to engage her in conversation about the Alchemist's and her job with them. In a perfect world I would have had supportive and pleasant parents and I would have loved to introduce Sydney to them. But my real life father meeting my real life dream girl was definately not something I was enjoying.
"Well Adrian, what is it that you wanted?" my father asked, drawing my attention back to the table. He seemed more interested in engaging Sage than dealing with my petulant attitude. "Oh, did you just notice I was here? I thought you'd come to see Sydney". It was a low blow and I could see that Sage just wanted to spontaneously combust.
"Why must every question yield some difficult answer with you?" dad wearily answered. "Maybe it's the kind of questions you ask, Dad" I countered back, angry that our conversation had already gotten off on the wrong foot.
An uncomortable silence fell upon the table, so I took the time to sample my over priced drink. "Adrian's in college, he's taking art classes. He's very talented" Sydney spat out. I looked over at her with an amused look on my face, trying to hide an all knowing grin.
"Yes, he's done that before. It didn't last" my dad responded flatly, unimpressed with my new devotion to art. "Different time, different place. Things can change, people can change" Sydney said. My heart was warmed by her desire to defend me to daddy dearest but her words were falling upon deaf ears. My father turned the the passing waiter and went straight ahead and ordered for the three of us without even asking for our opinions or desires. Everything that he had ordered was calorie laden and dripping with fat.
"Heavy handed much dad? You didn't even ask if we minded you ordering" I muttered but my dad still was oblivious to my concerns. Nathan Ivashkov knew best and there was no arguing with him.
"You see? That's exactly how you operate. You assume you know best for everyone. You just go ahead and make these decisions, not bothering to consult with anyone, because you're so certain your right". I could not hold my tongue and my fathers attitude had angered me.
"In my vast experience, I am usually right. When you to posess that kind of experience- when you can actually claim to be an authority on, well, anything- you too can be trusted with important decisions". My father's pig headedness was driving me crazy and I hated that Sydney had to sit and watch this spectacle.
"This is lunch. Not a life or death decision. All I'm saying is that you could have at least made some effort to include others. Obviously your "vast experience" doesn't apply to normal courtesies". My father rolled his eyes and looked over at Sydney, "Have I been anything but courteous to you, Miss Sage?" My father asked her as I drowned the rest of my martini and signaled for another.
"Leave her out of it, don't try to manipulate her to prove a point" I shot back at him, protecting the woman I loved against my father. "I hardly need to manipulate her to prove my point, I think it's made" my father chided in.
The tension at the table had reached an uncomfortable high, "Lunch will be fine, I need to try more things anyway" Sydney conceeded, desperate to appease my father. "Don't give in to him Sydney, that's how he get's away with walking all over people- especially women. He's done it to my mom for years". The waiter had just arrived to replace my empty martini and he could not have been happier to get away from the table.
"Please, leave your mother out of this" my father said with a heavy sigh. "Should be easy enough, seeing as you always do. I've been trying to to get an answer out of you for weeks on how she's doing. Hell, I've just been trying to figure out where she's even at. Is that so hard for you to give up? She can't be in maximum security. They must let her get letters" I exclaimed, desperate for some form of emotional response from my father.
"It's better that you don't have contact with her while she's incarcerated" my father said knowingly, visably shocking Sydney with his cold attitude towards my mother. "There we go again, you knowing what's best for everyone. You know, I'd really, really like to think you're keeping this avoidance attitude with her because it hurts too much. I know that if the woman I loved was locked away, I'd be doing everything in my power to reach her. For you? Maybe it's too hard. Maybe the only way you can cope without her it to block her out- and by keeping me away too. I could almost understand that".
"Adrian..." my father started but I cut him off before he could continue. "But that's not it, is it? You want to distance us and pretend what she doesn't exist. She's ruined the family reputation".
My father stared me down and sneered, "Considering your own reputation, I'd think you would see the wisdom in not associating with someone who has done what she's done". I was getting angier and angrier and it took all my focus to not shout at him across the table. "What, screw up? We all screw up. Everyone makes mistakes. That's what she did. It was bad judgement, that's all. You don't cut off the people you love like that".
""She did it because of you" my father spat at me. "Because you didn't leave well enough alone with that dhampir girl. You had to flaunt your relationship with her, nearly getting yourself in as much trouble as her in your aunt's muder. That's why your mother did what she did- to protect you. Because of your irresponsibility, she's in prison now. All of this is your fault".
I felt as if the wind had been knocked out of me and I picked up my drink just so I had something to do with my hands other than hit my father. It was a low blow but it was what I had believed all along. The food had just arrived and the waiters looked even more uncomfortable than I felt.
"Mr Ivashkov, it's unfair to blame Adrian for her choices. Especially when he didn't even realise what she was doing. I know he would do anything for her. If he's been able to stop this- or take her place- he would have". Sydney had spoken up against her better judgement and was trying to take on my father, something almost unheard of.
"You're sure of that, huh? Well, Miss Sage, I'm sorry to shatter your illusions, but it seem's you- like so many other young women- have been fooled by my son's fast-talking ways. I can assure you, he has never done anything that didn't serve his own interests first. He has no inniative, no ambition, no follow through. From a very early age, he was constantly breaking the rules, never listening to what other's had to say if it didn't suit what he wanted. I'm not really suprised his college attempts have failed- and I assure you, this one will too- because he barely made it out of high school. It wasn't even the drinking, the girls or the stunts he pulled... he just didn't care. He ignored his work. It was only through our influence and checkbook that he managed to graduate. Since then, it's been a constant downward spiral. Honestly, I don't even mind the drinking so much, as long as it knocks him out and keeps him quiet. You think his mother suffers now? I assure you, she's far better off. She was up countless nights, crying over whatever trouble he'd gotten himself into. Keeping him away from her now isn't about me or him. It's for her. At least for now, she doesn't have to hear about his latest antics or worry about him. Ignorance is bliss. She's in a better place not having any contact with him, and I intend to keep it that way". My father finished his rant and went on to dish out the food waiting for us on the table as if he had not just dealt me a leathal blow.
Sydney sat shaking her head, utterly shocked at my dad's abrasive and cruel attitude towards me. "Really dad? I come all the way here to see you, to ask you to give me some way to contact her... and this is all I get? That she's better off not talking to me?". I was physically keeping my cool but my temper was close to exploding. My father looked over at me startled, "Is that the only reason you came here?".
I looked at the ground, knowing that there was no possible way I would ever grovel to this man again for money. "I also thought... well, that maybe you'd want to hear how I'm doing? I thought you might be glad to hear that I'm doing something useful?". It was a big call but I was hoping somewhere deep inside, my fathers paternal instinct might actually exist.
My dad looked over at me and suddenly laughed. "Ah, your joking. I was puzzled for a moment". That was the breaking point. I had come and listened to his insults, be hurt by his words and now he laughed at personal progress. "I'm done" I declared. I took the rest of my martini down in one gulp and stormed out. I hated leaving Sage at the table but I had been thoroughly embaressed enough for one day. Every bad thought I had ever had about myself my father had just confirmed he also believed. And worst of all, he voiced them in front of the one person's whose opinion I actually cared about. I rushed to the stairs and took them two at a time, almost running out through the front doors into the hot afternoon sun. I needed a cigarette and I needed one now.
AN- ANOTHER ONE DOWN, PLEASE ENJOY :)