When You Talk To A Door
(Sometimes The Person On The Other Side Will Respond)
Again, Heracles did not know what was going to happen, but he knocked on the front door and waited. He considered what to say if Gupta opened the door and what he would do if Gupta did not. The second was easier than the first. Except that he had thought about it a lot. Would he just walk away if Gupta did not open the door again? Maybe neither of them were as easy as he had thought they might be.
There was no response. Heracles knocked again.
"Gupta?"
It had been a week. He knew Gupta could not stay in there forever. At some point he would run out of groceries. Though he had just bought enough food for the three of them. Maybe that would last him longer than a week? Heracles had no idea. He knocked for a third time.
And the door opened.
'Opened' might have been exaggerating slightly. It had slid open maybe a crack, enough to see an eye glaring out at him. Gupta was still angry. Heracles found himself very nervous. Nervous and now definitely not certain what to say. Heracles swallowed. "Gupta... please listen to me. If... you don't like what you hear, I'll go. But will you listen to me?"
Gupta did not say anything, but the door opened a bit more, just to give him more a view of Heracles, because he obviously was not allowing him in. Heracles felt even more horrible than he did previously. Gupta looked absolutely terrible. Then again, he could not recall a moment in which Gupta had actually ever been mad at him, or anyone. Irritated, occasionally. But mad?
"Gupta?"
"Talk fast," Gupta said, hand clutched on the doorknob. Heracles threaded through his mind to find something which might fix this, anything that would mean he would not just be standing here quiet. Two options immediately came to mind. As much as Heracles would have liked to take the first option, he knew what would come from that. So he vied for the truth.
"It wasn't Sadiq's fault."
Just saying that made him want to punch himself in the temple. Gupta, however, seemed slightly surprised out of his anger. At least he was no longer glaring at him. His knuckles were no longer as white either. Heracles no longer felt afraid, simply... guilty.
"I wasn't looking where I was going."
Obviously, came the rest of the sentence in the both of their minds.
"I'm sorry."
But that's not enough, is it?
Gupta's gaze fell to the ground. Then, he nodded. Heracles felt relief sweep over him. Maybe... maybe now would be... the best time to...?
"Gupta–"
And then the door was slammed in his face. Heracles stared at the door. For an entire minute. Wait. Was that not an acceptance? He could usually read Gupta so well! That nod was him accepting his apology, Heracles knew that. But Gupta still slammed the door in his face. What did that mean?
Heracles knocked on the door again. "Gupta?"
Fifteen minutes later of having tried to get another response from the Egyptian, Heracles left the house much more confused than when he had first gone. Gupta had accepted his apology. That was what had happened. There was no question in his head about that.
Heracles had a headache.
Notes:
Just because someone accepts your apology does not mean they are no longer mad at you, Heracles. And Gupta now knows that all of his anger is supposed to be directed at you. So there.
