Charles and Richard Chapter 29

Somehow feeling that his father was more excited than he was, Charles left to meet his friends. He squeezed into the back seat of his friend’s car and headed to Jennifer’s house. He chattered with his friends about prom and parties, topics he had no interest in. If he didn’t, his stomach would churn with anxiety and he couldn’t sit still.

By the time they arrived at Jennifer’s house, the party had already started. The moment Charles set foot inside the mansion, he turned his head to look for Richard. He didn’t seem to have arrived yet. If he had, there was no way he wouldn’t stand out. That honey-colored head would have been bobbing above everyone else’s. Charles took a cup of Sprite secretly mixed with vodka and made his way past the crowds of boys and girls swarming through the hallways and living rooms, heading out to the pool area.

There were some kids dangling their feet in the pool and fooling around, and a few couples already sitting on a single sunbed, kissing sticky-sweet, but it was still a bit better than inside. Since it was a sweltering summer day, most people were indoors with the air conditioning on. Charles lay down on a sunbed in the far corner and stared blankly up at the sky. The summer sun was slowly setting.

Charles himself wondered what he was trying to do. He had no intention of apologizing to Richard. Richard seemed tired of Charles now too. If Charles apologized to him, maybe something might change. But Charles didn’t want that. He had not the slightest intention of making up with Richard and returning to a friendship where nothing happened between them. If that was the alternative, he thought it might be better for Richard to disappear again like before. Richard was right in front of him, yet he couldn’t do anything to him—even though it was real, not a dream, there was nothing more he could do—everything felt unbearably unfair.

Charles sighed and set down his vodka-laced cup. He was tired of thinking too. He lay on the sunbed and turned to his side, just as Jennifer was coming out of the house, and their eyes met. Beside her stood a boy who was in some kind of band, the one Jennifer had been on-and-off with for years. He didn’t know if they were back together now or broken up again. Last time he’d seen her, Jennifer seemed interested in Richard.

Charles watched Jennifer approach him. She was wearing a pink sheer dress over a black bikini. Her so-called boyfriend or whatever stood a few steps behind, looking at Charles with curious eyes.

Jennifer: I didn’t think you’d come. Where’s Richie?

C: Why are you asking me?

Jennifer: Then who else should I ask?

That made sense. Instead of answering, Charles shrugged. Jennifer tilted her head.

Jennifer: Is he not coming?

C: I don’t know.

Jennifer: Richie’s not coming either, so what are you doing here?

C: I don’t know.

Jennifer: Do you still dislike me?

He hadn’t expected that retort to his string of “I don’t know” answers. Charles frowned slightly. He didn’t dislike Jennifer, but he didn’t like her either. He couldn’t say that, though. When Charles rolled his eyes without answering, Jennifer shrugged.

Jennifer: If you came to find a date, go inside. There are plenty of single people in there.

C: …Yeah. Thanks.

Jennifer left with the boy waiting behind her to join other friends. The boy wrapped his arm around Jennifer’s waist. They seemed to be together again. Charles watched her retreating figure, then got up from the sunbed. He had no intention of going to look for girls, but watching his friends fail to pick up girls might be amusing. Feeling a little better, he took a sip of vodka and went back inside.

Inside, the music was deafeningly loud, and the mirror ball and colored lights on the ceiling splashed dizzyingly vivid colors across the ceiling, walls, and floor. Charles barely found a stool and sat blankly by the fireplace. His friends were busy dancing with girls or drinking. Watching them get rejected would have been much funnier, but unfortunately for Charles, his friends had managed to find decent girls and were working hard to score points in their own way. Even so, Charles nervously scanned the tops of heads, looking for any sign of Richard appearing from somewhere. Richard didn’t show. Just as Charles gave up and decided to head back to the pool (because the music was making his head throb), a slight commotion at the living room entrance briefly stirred before settling.

Charles instinctively sensed Richard’s arrival. His prediction was correct. Richard appeared shortly after. He was only wearing a white short-sleeved shirt and black jeans, but to Charles, he looked more impressive than anyone else at the party. Moments later, Charles watched as several boys and girls began to gather around Richard. Richard was smiling, but occasionally he would lift his head and scan his surroundings. It wasn’t long before he spotted Charles.

Charles was still leaning in the shadowed corner by the fireplace, watching Richard. Their eyes met. Charles put on a cold expression. Richard looked at Charles for a brief moment with a blank face, then turned his body completely away from him. Charles felt as if oil had been poured over the still-hot embers of his betrayal-fueled anger.

4

Richard was busy exchanging greetings with familiar faces. Even though a month had already passed since his return, Richard didn’t seem to have met any of them before. He maintained a consistently gentle expression, making eye contact with each boy and girl as he talked. He shook hands with some, briefly embraced others, and even high-fived a drunk guy. With his back straight and shoulders squared, his already large frame looked even taller and more upright.

Charles’s friends soon spotted Richard too. After exchanging a few words with him upon recognizing him, they immediately sought out Charles. They all asked if he knew Richard was back, and Charles lied, saying he’d already said hello a little while ago. Charles kept watching Richard, but Richard deliberately ignored him. He never turned his head toward where Charles was, and whenever he could move, he always positioned himself with his back to Charles.

In the end, Charles bolted up from his seat. He strode out to the pool. But the sunbeds were all taken by others, so he sat sideways on the iron fence bordering the garden. The muggy summer air felt cozy against his skin, cooled by the air conditioning. By now the sun had set, and the light spilling from the house illuminated the pool area. Charles sipped his vodka, and at some point, he had drained the entire large cup. He crumpled the plastic cup and tossed it aside, and at that moment, the pool lights behind him flicked on. That wasn’t all. Lights installed all around came on brightly, and the tiny bulbs strung along the garden fences, trees, and bushes surrounding the pool also lit up.

Shortly after, some of the speakers from inside were brought outside. Charles spotted Jennifer standing by a speaker. She had shed her pink dress and was wearing just her bikini, her hair—which had been hanging down her back—tied up. Then Jennifer took her boyfriend’s hand and jumped into the pool with a loud splash. The boys and girls who had been packed inside surged out en masse. As Charles sighed, those who had been wearing swimsuits under their clothes dove into the water one after another.