From Mr E to Mr Z
Chapter Twelve - Sylly Phone Calls
It had been almost a month since the date from hell and Teddy still hadn't heard from Dick. Also, the ache in his chest hadn't lessened in the slightest during that time. The police officer had been on his mind at least once every minute and although he really shouldn't, he couldn't help it. A small flare of hope kindles within his heart courtesy of Syl who still maintains that the man will eventually come around.
Which was why it was a complete surprise for Teddy to find a letter from the man in question sitting in his mailbox.
Without a further thought, the editor raced back inside his house with more energy than he'd possessed in the whole last week combined. He anxiously tore open the envelope with so much excitement that his fingers were trembling terribly. When he eventually managed to extract the contents, his insides felt like they'd been turned to lead and he couldn't help but let a small sob escape.
All that was within the envelope was the latest Terrible Tease contest crossword. Nothing more, nothing less. The only added extra was that wherever Teddy, Theodore or Zerr appeared on the form, it had been crossed out and relabelled as purely, Nygma. Each word felt like a physical blow to his chest and he couldn't stop a torrent of tears from streaming down his face.
The letters in the grid in front of him blurred and started to run but the man forced himself to concentrate on completing his job. Like hell he was going to fail at his new career despite how much he just wanted to tear the entry form into miniscule pieces. There was no real reason to be too thorough though because, as usual, it was one hundred percent correct.
There had been no conscious decision on Teddy's part. In fact, it seemed like he just blinked and instead of seeing the walls of his apartment, he was staring at the manicured shrubbery of the restaurant that was becoming as familiar to him as his own riddles.
Bright violet obscured his already hazy vision and a firm pressure applied itself around his midriff. It took him an embarrassingly long time to realise that he was being hugged. The casual embrace was something he was quite unfamiliar with so he stayed completely rigid and waited to be released.
"What did he do?" asked the quiet but clearly enraged voice of Sylvia Moore.
Teddy wasn't exactly sure when the woman stopped being a casual acquaintance and had turned into his first real friend. What he did know was that he didn't think he could survive without her anymore which was a truly frightening circumstance. He'd never had someone to rely on before and although her usual solution to his problems were to ply him with alcohol, it was more of a plan than anything he'd come up with on his own.
Finding himself sitting at one of the tables, the crossword compiler blinked in surprise. "Uh, what?" he asked.
"What the hell did he do?" growled Syl as she eyed the crumpled crossword clenched firmly in his grasp.
Somehow, Teddy managed to relax his hold on the now tearstained and wrinkled contest entry form. He hesitantly handed it over to the older woman.
Syl critically examined the completed crossword and noted the revisions made to the other content before she unexpectedly smacked her hand down on the table. "That's it. I've had enough of his hideous behaviour. If Dick's going to act like a three year old, I'll treat him as such." She abruptly stood and made her way to the bar (as her office was located behind it) muttering under her breath angrily all the way.
Teddy looked on as the woman retrieved a couple of items, collected something from the bar and returned to his table.
The restaurant owner placed a full glass of water in front of him with a sympathetic smile. "Sorry Ted," she soothed, "but even I wouldn't crack open a bottle of wine this early in the morning but just having something to keep you even mildly occupied is better than nothing at all."
"Thanks," Teddy muttered automatically before forcing himself to take a sip of the H2O. He watched on as the woman slammed her cordless phone onto the table with a bit more force than necessary before she started rifling through a slim, green phone number index. The pages also suffered from her rage as she practically tore them apart while searching for a specific number.
"Aha!" Syl chirped excitedly before she inputted it into the cordless phone. She held it up to her ear and waited a little impatiently. "Richard John Grayson," she all but yelled into the receiver and Teddy couldn't help but cringe in sympathy for a moment before remembering how much the man had recently hurt him. His moment of empathy ended in an instant. Fuck him. "You have no idea how angry I am with you right now."
Teddy wasn't sure whether he was supposed to be listening to the one-sided conversation but in the end he decided that it wasn't really ignorable.
"Don't you dare get smart with me, young man," Syl spat out. "To what do I owe this pleasure?" she all but screeched in what was clearly a sarcastic echo of what Dick must have said. "There are many things I can call you, Richard. Most of which are much less than complimentary at the moment but stupid has never been one of them. You already know why I'm calling and exactly why I'm seriously considering driving to Blüdhaven myself just to tan your damn hide."
Teddy's eyes were bulging with surprise. He'd never heard the kindly old woman get so angry before and he made a mental note to himself to never get her into such a state himself. Hands down, the woman was definitely scarier than Batman.
"Why? WHY?" yelled Ms Moore. "Who do you think has been looking after the mess of a gentleman you left behind, huh? Who do you think has been trying her best to keep a man who's lost all hope from giving up completely? Who the bloody hell do you think has held him in her arms as he cried for over a whole mother fucking hour? Me. I did."
Feeling his guts wrench at the fact that he'd apparently been crying for so long, Teddy couldn't help but feel mortified at his inability to control his emotions.
Syl was obviously on a roll. "Here I am, trying to salvage something from this situation and you're being an unmitigated ass." She listened for a moment before letting out a growl. "If you think I'm going to forget that, Richard, you are sorely mistaken. I suggest you have a long, hard think about your words and actions before you even think about talking to me again." She hung up without another word before letting out another frustrated growl.
Before Teddy could formulate a sentence, Sylvia entered another number into her phone. She took a deep breath and tried to calm down as much as possible before speaking and only partially succeeded. "Good morning, Mr Pennyworth. This is Sylvia Leanne Moore née Hardwick... Yes, it has been a long time... I was hoping Bruce might be available for a quick word... Oh, thank you very much... Yes, we should definitely catch up for a coffee... Excellent. I'll see you then."
Despite the situation, a small smile flitted over Syl's face before she ruthlessly smothered it. "Hello Bruce... I know, the restaurant has kept me extremely busy but that's really not an excuse... Oh, you've always been a charming devil, haven't you?... It's about Richard... He's being a stupid ass... This is not a laughing matter, Mr Wayne. I'm seriously angry with him and I don't know who else I could turn to... I know, he's not really your responsibility anymore and you're not exactly as close as you once were but he needs someone to pull his head in and I don't think it can be from me."
Sylvia sighed wearily. "It's a bit of a long story but I'll try to keep it brief. A few weeks ago, your ward was on a date with a friend of mine at my restaurant. It was during that hold up with Poison Ivy and that clown girl... Yes, that's her. Anyway, Richard flipped out when he discovered something about his date and has been more than awful ever since... I know that there's not much you can do about it but if you could discuss the matter with him, I very much appreciate it. I just can't stand by while someone I care for is standing on the brink of a total mental collapse..."
For the first time since talking with Bruce, Syl's voice took on a hard edge. "No. I'm not being melodramatic. I've been with him at least every three days since the incident and in some cases a few days in a row. I haven't seen anyone this devastated since, um, oh yeah. Do you remember that young man from Star City who was head over heels in love with that secretary of yours?... Well, it's worse than that... Thank you... Oh, I'd be delighted to come but only if the gentleman in question is also afforded an invitation... Well then, we'll see you then... Goodbye."
Sylvia looked at Teddy as she ended the call. "I hope you have a nice suit, Mr Zerr, because this Friday night we're attending the annual Wayne Enterprise Charity Ball."
The Terrible Tease Clues - Chapter Twelve
Teddy is a very clever genius. Two of the words from the chapter above are actually answers to Teddy's latest Terrible Tease crossword puzzle. Here they are now!
25 Across - Ignites (7 letters)
4 Down - Maiden name indicator (3 letters)
For instructions on how to solve the Terrible Tease, please refer to the footnote of Chapter One - The Birth of Mr Z.
