Captivate

The smell of rain washed through the building as water pounded the sidewalk. The gray sidewalk was pounded into a darker gray stony mass as water poured over the asphalt of the street.  The red clay of the stone corner of the sidewalk bled inky red over the blacktop.

She grunted with a dissatisfied face and pushed a blonde tuft of hair behind her ear. The blue eyes glared at the face in the reflection.

"Before you ask, no. The rain doesn't make me feel sad or sleepy."

"Why would I ask that?"

"…Just. What do you want?"

"…I was going to offer you lunch."

"…No, thanks."

"Are you sure? Peanut butter and jelly."

"…Basil, aren't you too old for peanut butter and jelly?"

"Why would I be? I like peanut butter and jelly…"

"You're incredibly immature."

"You're rather prickly today, Emilia. Bad night?"

Basil's brown eyes looked at Emilia with a dour expression. Her eyes narrowed and her nostrils flared. Immediately, Basil realized he had misspoken.

"My night is none of your business."

"…Sorry. That was not what I meant."

"…I know. Sorry."

"I was going… to ask how you slept. But I figured that would have been even more upsetting."

"You know me so well, Mr. Washington…"

"I am not your teacher anymore, Emmy."

"…It was my anniversary. Last night. I've been married for fifteen years."

"…Congratulations, Emmy."

Emilia shot him a look that was somewhere between grateful and somewhere between consternation.

"…"

"Sorry. I know it's not a celebratory event for you."

"I put up with it for fifteen years. That's a celebration. Right? Congratulations to me."

"I'm sure he loves you though."

"…Are you judging me? No. He doesn't. He tolerates me. Just barely. Married at age 20 to a rich nobleman who could care less about me. He has six or seven mistresses, five illegitimate children and I'm eighty percent sure he has a boyfriend. Dinah and Wilma told me they've actually seen him around the Pagoda. It would figure he picks the cheapest whorehouse in the area. Even in the middle of a quarantine."

"…"

"Do you understand, Basil? He doesn't care. I would feel better if he got angry at me. If he yelled. Or shouted. Then I would know he's a hypocrite. Then I wouldn't feel so… cheap. Instead, I go home to him on our anniversary. I expect maybe he's going to ask for us to have sex. You know. For pretenses or something. He tells me he's not interested. He asks how Hector is. I say he's fine. No reaction. I ask him how he knows about Hector. He looks at me, blankly. He shrugs. He… he doesn't care at all, Basil."

"…Do you want him to be angry? Or outraged?"

"I don't know. Maybe. It's better when they get angry. Or make a face of disgust. Or anger. Something."

"Is that why you yank Hector's chain?"

Basil's face was somewhat amused. Emilia cracked a smirk. Slightly. But it turned into a face of sadness again.

"Do you know what it's like to be ignored?"

"Yes…"

"I don't think you do, Basil. With all due respect, when people ignore you… you, personally, it's probably on purpose. When Paul ignores me, it's not on purpose. It's how he… It's like you're walking down the street. And you see a person. And they look different from every person you've ever seen before. And you notice how they sound. And how they smell. And maybe what they're wearing. And for a brief moment, you know that person but you keep moving and you don't remember them very much. You ignore them because they don't matter to you. And that's how Paul looks at me. I'm just a person who happens to live under his roof. And it hurts, Basil… I'm… I'm trapped."

"But you have Hector…?"

"Hector… I really love Hector. And that's what makes it worse. I can feel his mind pulling away from me sometimes. I can hear his thoughts. And I don't always mean to. But I can. And he wants to take me away from this. And be with him. And I've told him that it's not possible. He doesn't love me… But Paul would crush him to keep us together as a married couple. I'm an heiress. But Hector… I can feel him pulling away from me."

"Maybe he's just not happy."

"I know he isn't completely happy. But I can't lose him. I've never been in love. And no one's ever loved me. Why does it have to hurt like this? I can feel him… He wants to move forward. And I keep pulling him back to me. I just want him to look at me. Even if he's angry at me. Because angry looks… When someone yells at you, they yell at you because they care. The only thing that would make Paul angry is if I try to dissolve our marriage. I like it when Hector's mad at me… Is that wrong? Does that make me a bad person?"

"…Maybe. I'm no saint. Sorry if it's not a good answer."

"It's an awful answer, Basil."

"It's easier when I can make people agree with me."

Basil smirked slightly. Emilia's blue eyes shined like silver before shaking her head, amused. Basil shrugged. The smirk disappeared on the stony face. He rubbed his hand on his chin, slightly covered by stubble before he turned and pulled out his lunchbox from the briefcase. It was white with a blue cartoon character. The image was mostly faded and had the name Basil Washington written on it in small black letters. He pulled out the peanut butter and jelly sandwich, still wrapped in plastic wrap and handed it to her.

"…You don't want your sandwich?"

"Not really. I wanted a turkey club. So. I'll go out and get one."

"…Where's your umbrella?"

"……I left it at home today."

"The one day you aren't carrying that hideous thing?"

"Yellow polka dots are classic. And. Yes. It's a tough life."

"So I see."

"Stay dry, Emmy."

"You too, Basil…"

Basil gave her a kiss on the forehead and Emilia shook her head. Basil opened the door, staring at the intense downpour before leisurely strolling out into the rain for the restaurant. Emilia shook her head, unwrapping the sandwich.

Emilia couldn't help but roll her eyes seeing the crusts cut off.