Chapter 14 – People Are so Rude
The next day Regulus opened his inbox to find 5 new e-mails from Barty, each one sounding more urgent than the previous. He sighed and started to type a reply, since ignoring him obviously wasn't working.
Barty, do you not recognize a hint when you see it? I got all your mails, but you and I are over. I don't hold a grudge, but I'm not interested in seeing or talking to you ever again. I live in the States now, and I'm happy here. I'm not going back to the UK.
Have a good life,
R. A. B.
It took only 5 minutes for a reply to pop up from Barty.
Dear Regulus
I said I was sorry. Do you really want to leave your life with me behind and live with your brother whom you have not seen for five years? Come on... come back to me and we can live together like we used to dream of. I miss you so much it hurts. Don't tell me you don't miss me too. You must be lonely.
My offer to come and get you still stands. I love you.
Barty
Regulus typed a short reply:
I did miss you at first – I was bloody miserable, but I've moved on, Barty. I have no feelings for you anymore. I'm happy here and not lonely. I'm not coming home. Stop writing me.
R. A. B.
There was no reply after that.
o0o0o
Coming home at five p.m., Remus slumped down on the couch, closing his eyes and sighing. He had had a rather exhausting day, spending eight hours at the library studying for his contemporary Am lit exam. James was off playing football, Sirius at work, and Peter at a friend's house.
"You look exhausted," said Regulus and crawled into Remus' lap, giving him a soft lingering kiss.
Remus opened his eyes and looked into Regulus deep gray pools. He placed his hands on his hips and gave them a light squeeze. "I'll be alright. Just spent all days with my nose in some very dry books."
"Too bad you're tired..." said Regulus and ran his fingers slowly through Remus' hair. "I had hoped you would come home ready to give me a good working over..."
"Who said I was too tired for that?" smiled Remus, loving the feeling of Regulus' fingers in his hair. "I'm never too tired for you and you know I can't refuse you anything."
"Let's hurry, then," said Regulus and climbed off Remus' lap. "Before Sirius comes home."
o0o0o
Afterwards, lying in bed, legs tangled, Remus asked, "When are you ready to tell the others about us so we don't need to sneak around? I'd like to sleep next to you every night without having to fear anyone catching us. Actually, I'm having trouble sleeping without you. It's torture thinking about you lying just down the hall."
Regulus considered it for a moment. "Alright... Although I still don't want to have sex when they can hear it. Some things are private."
"Of course," beamed Remus. "I understand. I'm not keen on that either." Mostly because he knew Sirius would tease him about doing his brother and he wouldn't hear the end of it.
"You want to tell them?" asked Regulus. "Tonight, when they're all here. Get it over with."
o0o0o
Later that evening when all were home Remus went over to turn off the TV, to Peter and James' loud protests.
"I have something important to tell you."
"You're screwing Regulus," said James.
Remus looked stunned. "Wh… how did you know?"
"What?" said Sirius, looking at Regulus and then Remus. "You're shagging my brother?" Then he turned to James. "And you knew without telling me?"
James laughed. "I didn't, not until now! It was just a guess. But Remus has been eye-fucking him since the day he arrived, so it wasn't a stretch, was it?"
"Well, Regulus has been in a much better mood lately, so I reckon you're doing a good job, Remus," Peter laughed.
"Shut it!" said Regulus, feeling heat rise in his cheeks. He had known they would tease them, which was the main reason he had been reluctant to tell.
"So you've been sneaking around? Hey, Remus, you should have told me. It's my baby brother, after all."
"He doesn't need your permission to date me," snapped Regulus, blushing even more. "I'm an adult!"
"Well, I guess I can rest assured that Remus will treat you well. But no shagging when I'm home. I don't wanna listing to you lot getting it on."
"Excuse me?" Regulus scoffed. "You of all people have no right to tell others not to have sex while others can hear it! How many times have you come home with some bird and made her scream like you were torturing her?"
"That's different. You're my baby brother," said Sirius and crossed his arms. "But thank you for noticing that I make my birds scream. Means I'm doing a good job."
"I think you're paying them to do it," mumbled Regulus. "Just to impress us."
Sirius snorted. Then he looked at Remus and a smile curled on his lips. "So is he any good, Remus?" he grinned cheekily.
Remus got rather flustered. "Uhm... that's none of your business, Sirius."
"You pervert!" said Regulus. "Who wants to know how good their brother is?"
"Just teasing Remus. He's hilarious when he gets embarrassed," laughed Sirius and got up from his seat. "I'm getting a Coke. Anyone want one?"
o0o0o
To Regulus' dismay he found a new e-mail in his inbox a few days later. Having heard nothing from Barty for days, he had thought he had given up.
You can't be serious about wanting to stay in the US! Come back to me and we can sort things. I'll come visit you and we can talk it all out. All right?
Love, Barty
No! Not all right! I have a new life and I don't want you in it! How more blatantly can I write it? Don't you dare come over here - and STOP WRITING ME!
I'll come see you. We need to talk. Things ended badly, and I can't stop thinking about it. And I can't stop thinking about you, love. I need to see you.
Barty
Don't come! What do you need to talk about so badly? We can do it online if it's that bloody important.
No, I need to see you. It's much easier and I miss your pretty face. Please let me come see you, Reg. Maybe things will change if we just talk things through. I love you so much you don't even know.
Barty
Things won't change! I don't want to see you. I don't love you and besides, I have a new boyfriend, and it's getting serious, so let's just cut ties here, Barty. Go find yourself someone else. I'm sure it won't be too difficult for you. You're a handsome bloke.
There were no more e-mails after that.
o0o0o
Coming home a few days later, James had brought a piece of paper with an ad for a job. "Here," he said, handing it to Regulus. "I tore it off the note board at the cafeteria. Maybe you should apply."
Regulus studied the ad. Easy money, it said. The more you sell, the more you make. A phone salesman. He snorted. If there was something he hated it was people calling at the most inconvenient time trying to sell him something completely useless. But a job was a job, and Regulus' bank account was dwindling. It couldn't hurt trying.
o0o0o
Being the supportive boyfriend that he was, Remus went with Regulus to the job interview.
"Hey, y'all," a woman greeted them at the front desk. "How may I help you?"
"The job," said Regulus and smacked the ad James had brought him down on the desk.
The woman looked a little taken aback by his attitude. "I see... Um… have you any experience with telemarketing?"
"I have experience with people calling me to sell things. It's a bloody drag, but I suppose I can give it a try."
"Regulus, you need to be polite," Remus said as they followed the woman down to the call center. "You won't get a job if you're so rude."
"I was just being truthful. It is bloody annoying when salesmen call."
"Yes, but if you want a job as a salesman that's not something you wanna say," sighed Remus.
"Are you here to apply as well?" the woman asked, smiling at Remus.
"No, ma'am, I'm just here for moral support."
The woman lead the way to an unoccupied desk. "Take a seat and let's give it a go, shall we?"
Regulus sat down and put on the headphones handed to him. "So, what do I have to sell?"
"Razor blades," said the woman and handed him a list with product information and prices. "And here's what you gotta to say when you call. And remember to say where you're calling from and greet them properly." She gave him further instructions on what to say and how to go about the conversation. Then she gave him a list of phone numbers and sat down to listen in on Regulus' calls.
Regulus called the first number on the list. "Hello, sir? I'm calling from Hudson and Jones. I have a great offer for you on the new Gentle Touch shaver. It comes in -"
"No, thank you," said the man at the other end of the line.
"Why? Don't you shave?"
"Yeah, I shave, but I got all the equipment I need," said the man. "But thanks for the offer."
"Try to think ahead. Sometime in the near future you're going to run out of cartridges," said Regulus. "Then you'll say 'What a bloody twat I am to not have bought some from that bloke on the phone. Now I have to turn up for work with stubbles, and –"
The sales woman snatched away the headset from Regulus and apologized to the man before hanging up. "You can't say words like that to the customers," she said and shook her head. "You got spirit, I'll give you that, but you need to work on your language. "
"So I can't say twat?" asked Regulus. "He probably doesn't even know what twat means."
"I'm sure he could guess that it isn't a nice word. You need to be polite. And if people say 'no' more than twice then you say 'I'm sorry to have disturbed you' and 'have a nice day' and you hang up."
Regulus called the next number and presented the same offer as before.
"Oh, that sounds interesting," said the woman. "My husband uses up cartridges so fast I feel like I'm buying new constantly, and they're so expensive, aren't they?"
"Brilliant," said Regulus. "We have a great price for large bulks. 20% discount on 15 and 30% on 30."
Two minutes later Regulus hung up the receiver, having just sold his first 30 cartridges. "Easy as pie," he said, pleased with himself.
"Very nice job," said the sales woman. "See that wasn't so hard, was it? Just remember that if they say no then ask again and tell them about our special offers. If they say no again ask them if they are sure. If they say no a third time then say – okay, have a nice day."
"Alright. I can handle myself now. I don't need you breathing down my neck."
Remus said goodbye and headed to the library to do some studying and the lady let Regulus alone for a while.
The next few calls were uneventful. One declined politely and could not be persuaded and one said yes. Then there were a few calls where the phone was hung up immediately. That irritated Regulus. "They're hanging up on me, those bloody wankers," he grumbled to the young man sitting at the next table.
"Some of them do that," he said with a smile on his lips. "Hey. I'm Benji. You're new, right? I've only been here a week myself and I've already gotten used to them hanging up on me. And the abuse some of them throw at me."
"Yeah... I'm Regulus. Rotten job. I wouldn't be here unless I was desperate. But I need money for college, you know."
"Yeah, me to. Started last year. My parents are paying my tuition, but rent doesn't pay itself, you know, and I need food on the table."
The next costumer already sounded grumpy when he picked up the phone, before Regulus had even introduced himself. "Good day, sir. I'm calling from Hudson and Jones -" he started.
"What do you want?" said the man.
"I have a brilliant offer on the new Gentle Touch shaver," said Regulus, forcing himself to keep a friendly tone. "The shaver itself is only 12 dollars plus tax, and the cartridges -"
"I don't need no God damn shaver," spat the man. "What makes you think you can just call me here in the middle of the day and offer me God damn shavers?"
"Because it's my job!" snapped Regulus. "And I'm being nice and giving you a great offer! Why don't you show some respect, you old fart?"
Benji dropped his pen and stared at Regulus in disbelief.
The manager rushed over to Regulus' table and snatched the headset from him, excusing his behavior and saying goodbye. "What the hell were you thinking?" he roared. "We don't talk to customers like that!"
"He was even ruder to me!" protested Regulus. "He shouldn't dish it out if he can't take getting some back!"
"I don't care how rude he was to you. Your job is to be nice to the costumers, because we have a reputation to uphold. So you just suck it up and apologize!"
"Alright, alright! Give me a break, will you?" said Regulus, rolling his eyes.
"Don't roll your eyes at me, boy," he said and pointed at Regulus.
"Sorry," mumbled Regulus, realizing that he might be about to lose his job. "Can I go back to work now? I won't be rude."
"Fine," nodded the manager. "But you're walking a very thin line, so I suggest that you stick to the script."
"That was close," said Benji after the manager had left. "He's a real asshole sometimes but you better do as he says."
"Uptight," mumbled Regulus.
Benji nodded. "But you should do okay here as long as you keep yourself in check. Might even make a decent salary. You're pretty good at persuading people."
o0o0o
Regulus made it through the day, barely keeping his temper in check. He went home in a rather bad mood, finding the others plus Lily in the living room, just started on dinner.
"You okay?" Remus asked.
Regulus pulled out a chair to sit down. "I didn't know there were so many obnoxious people out there."
"Working is hard, Reggie," said Sirius, "but it won't kill you. If the rest of us can do it, then so can you."
"How was your first day?" smiled Lily, putting a plate down in front of Regulus.
"Horrible. People are so rude. It's just my job and they nearly bite my head off!"
"I seem to remember hearing you on the phone with a salesman once, telling him very rudely where to stick his merchandise," commented James.
"That's... different. He was pushy and called at a really bad time," said Regulus, irritated with James for making a very good point. But in fact, the day had made him think about his own behavior in general. He was probably going to try to be a bit more considerate towards salesmen and perhaps even people in general in the future, but he was not about to admit that to James, who had no business telling him what to do.
"How is that different?" asked Sirius pointing at Regulus with his fork. "How the tables have turned, little brother. Think about it next time you go to work, yeah?"
o0o0o
After dinner Regulus opened his inbox to find a new e-mail from Barty.
A new boyfriend? What does he have that I don't? I was your first love – your one true love – so why won't you give me a second chance? What we had was special.
What we had was alright, but that was then. I'm in a more mature relationship now and out in the open. Forget it, Barty. How many times do I have to tell you?
You can be out in the open with me as well. I told you, I've come out. You're the only one I want. The only one I'll EVER want. Just give me a chance, Reg. I can make you happier than the one you're seeing now.
No, you can't. And you haven't even met him, so how would you know? He's the one I want, Barty, and I'm not coming back to you.
Besides, how do you know I'm the only one for you? Did you try anyone else? I suggest that you do. There's plenty of fish in the sea. Go to a gay club or something. I hear they are good places to meet gay people.
Please, Regulus! You don't understand – I'm in misery here. I can't live without you! I long to touch you again and to kiss you. How can you say that you're not the one for me when you're all I can think about every second of every day? I only want you. If I can't, I might as well be dead.
Stop with the drama. Move on, Barty. Life blows sometimes, but you will get over me. I'm asking you nicely once again - get on with your life and stop writing me.
I will not stop writing you until you agree to let me at least come and see you. I'm not giving up on you, Reg.
Obviously being nice doesn't get through to you. The answer is NO. LEAVE ME ALONE!
This is the last mail you'll get from me. Save your time and don't write any more. I'm going to block you. Good bye, Barty.
Don't block me! Please, Regulus! I love you! I LOVE you! Why can't you see that?
Remus came into the room just in time to see Regulus slamming his laptop shut." Um… we were fixin' to go out for ice cream and I wanted to ask if you wanna come. It's a lovely night out." He sent him a smile and leaned against the door frame
"Yeah, alright," said Regulus. It would be good to get out. Get his mind off Barty.
Remus smiled and stepped up to Regulus. "I'm sorry you had a bad day at work but I'll give you a nice back rub before bedtime if you want, and shower you with kisses... help you get your mind off it." He tilted his head and leaned in to kiss Regulus softly on the lips.
"Yeah," said Regulus, hugging Remus. There was a time his heart was aching to get Barty back, so badly that he thought his chest might crack, but that was over now. He didn't regret one second turning Barty away and choosing Remus instead.
Remus rested his chin on Regulus' hair, letting out a sigh. He could sense that something was troubling his boyfriend, but he didn't want to pry. Regulus would tell him about it if he wanted him to know. "Would be nice to have a few days to ourselves, huh?" he smiled and kissed the top of his head. "Maybe go to the beach and just relax by the water."
"Yeah," sighed Regulus. "But where would we go? We have no money."
"We might could borrow Jamie's parents' beach house for a weekend."
Regulus' head popped up. "Really? You think they'd let us?"
"I'm sure they will, if no one's using it. Jamie's parents are great."
"That would be brilliant! See if you can sort it, yeah?"
"I'll ask Jamie about it tomorrow."
o0o0o
Work did not pan out for Regulus the next day. He controlled himself for the first part of the shift but after lunch he lost his temper with an unpleasant costumer.
"Regulus!" The manager shouted. "That was the final straw! Pack your things! You're fired!"
Benji sent Regulus a sympathetic look and sank into his chair as if afraid it was his turn next.
"What? You expect me to swallow every piece of shite thrown at me? I do have dignity, you know!"
"As I said before," said the manager. "Your job is to smile and be polite no matter what. You do not lose your temper with a customer!"
"They can't see me smile through the phone, can they? Come on, mate - I've sold pretty well, haven't I?"
"You have also insulted customers. Twice! It's bad publicity. Now get outta here!"
"Well, this job bloody blows, anyway! I don't know why the hell I even bothered trying!"
o0o0o
Regulus slammed the front door and kicked off his shoes while grumbling to himself.
"What's with the door-slamming?" asked Sirius, sticking his head out from the kitchen. "You're bringing the house down. Bad day at work?"
Regulus trudged into the kitchen, steering straight for the kettle so he could boil some water. He needed a strong cup of tea. "Got fired," he mumbled. "That cock sucking wanker couldn't take the tone. Just because I didn't say 'thank you for insulting me' to a rude costumer."
"What? You got fired again? How hard can it be to keep a job for more than two flaming days?"
"Come on Sirius," said Remus. "It ain't exactly an easy job, especially if you got a temper. I'm pretty sure it would be a challenge for you as well."
"How can you get fired from two jobs in one month?" asked Sirius, ignoring Remus' comment.
"Telemarketing sucks, anyway," said Regulus, sitting down with a steaming cup. "Rotten job. I wasn't put on earth to do that kind of work."
"Oh? And what kind of work where you put on earth to do, then?"
"Something dignifying. I don't want to serve people or kiss their boots. I want to be respected."
"Well, tell me when you find such a job when you don't have an education," said Sirius and went over to grab his jacket. "Now if you will excuse me, I have to go degrade myself at work!"