Chapter 6

Thursday, 9.30 p.m.

Luckily, the days had been becoming shorter again which means that it had already turned dark quite a while ago when the teachers left The Green Dragon. Even Mr. Townsend had to admit that vegetarian Chinese cuisine had been better than expected.

"I am very sorry that it went so long," the principal said. He was intoxicated and could barely walk a straight line. "May I remind you that we only have a limited number of TVs in school."

It was typical for teachers with a hangover to show videos in class to avoid having to teach.

"And I am sorry that your wives and husbands have had to wait for so long," the principal babbled while departing from the group to walk to the taxi stand. Mr. Townsend had taken his keys from him half a bottle of wine ago.

"You okay to drive?," Theresa asked Hannibal.

"I did not drink much, and I am European," he responded.

They got into the car and drove back to the suburbs.

"Where are you actually from?" Theresa asked. "You speak Russian and Italian, but you look like being from neither country."

"You can differentiate an Italian from a Russian?"

"I'm not American, that's why."

Hannibal was never sure when Theresa made a joke or not. She never smiled or smirked after giving a sarcastic reply. Actually, he had never heard her make a non-serious statement before. Maybe she was thawing after spending time with him. He wondered whether he reminded her of her father, but maybe a less brutal and cruel version of her father.

"Where are you actually from? Because your father is Australian, I can hear that. But you don't seem to be a native speaker."

"My mum was from Germany. She raised me while my father was away a lot. We lived in Spain for a long time, so when my dad returned and spoke English with me, it was too late for me to get rid of my accent."

"Das heißt, Deutsch ist deine Muttersprache?" Hannibal asked. (/That means German is your native language?)

"Haben Sie nicht vor ein paar Wochen Mrs. Sarandon gesagt, dass Sie kein Deutsch sprechen?" (/Didn't you tell Mrs. Sarandon a few weeks ago that you don't speak any German?")

"Ja," Hannibal said and laughed. He also heard Theresa briefly laugh. It felt good to hear the young woman's laughter, and he knew that she would never laugh in the presence of her father who was causing her so much pain.

"When did you move here?" Hannibal asked.

"We used to live in the city center when we came to the US. We moved to the suburbs five years ago."

Hannibal noticed how she always said "mum" but "father". This showed that she must have had a closer connection to her mother. Her father had probably been mistreating her mother as well. "Isn't it inconvenient for you to travel to school when you don't have a car?" he wanted to keep the conversation going.

"Yes, but it is calmer here. And I agreed to a change of scenery after my mum died." Her voice became lost in silence. She was obviously still sad about it.

"Maybe you could afford a flat share in the city," he suggested. "Or you move city entirely if there are too many memories here."

"You sound like a therapist," Theresa commented.

"Don't you think I'd be a good one?"

"Maybe…"

Hannibal noticed that Theresa wanted to say something but then decided against it. They turned into the street where Theresa lived. Hannibal parked the car at the opposite side of the street.

"I'll walk you to the door," he said.

"No, that won't be necessary," Theresa replied. Hannibal had seen the brief frightened look on her face when she had realized that the lights were still lit in her house.

"Your dad seems to have been waiting for you to come home," Hannibal remarked.

Theresa's face dropped any expressions.

"I'll walk you to the door," Hannibal insisted and opened the car door.

"I said I'm fine," Theresa responded harshly but Hannibal was already out the door. Theresa rushed behind him.

When she caught up with him, he had already stepped on the sidewalk. "Does your dad usually leave the door open?" Hannibal asked and nodded to the entry. The door to the house was indeed slightly ajar.

"No," Theresa said confused.

Hannibal let her pass and followed her to the door. Theresa cautiously opened the door. Hannibal could see that she was trembling.

"Father?" Theresa shouted.

No response.

Theresa walked to the living room where the light was on. She pushed the ajar door open and froze. Hannibal gently pushed her inside the room and saw the scene for himself. He was truly proud of Will.