Counterpoint

Chapter 27

   "You have neglected to give my questions any sort of fitting response."

   "I want to hear your response before I give you mine."

   "I don't know." I tilt my head to the side slightly as I watch his expression. "I don't know if I would invite you back to my home with me." 

   "That's pretty cold Hamilton." I reply with a faint smirk, concealing the sharp sting that is striking inside of my chest. The tremor resonating in my ribs causing my chest to ache dully.

   "I don't know if I would invite you back with me, because you would never find yourself in such a situation as I did." 

   "You can't be certain of that." 

   "You were born into money, and you earned even more for yourself." I leaned forward in interest as he continues to respond. "Even if you had found yourself in a similar situation and I had happened upon you, there would have been no need for me to offer my assistance. You would have had the assets to acquire an hotel for the night or even a new apartment, you would have been able to care for myself and probably would have completely ignored my offer. It is with that knowledge that makes me uncertain on how I would respond." 

   "You really do think in paragraphs, don't you?" I find myself smiling as his face colors in indignation. His eyes avert away from mine as he struggles to find a way to respond to my statement simply, he is attempting to fight against his own nature to try and prove me wrong. It is strangely endearing. "I may have the assets as you say, but if you had offered me a place to stay I would not have declined you." He glances at me out of the corner of his eye and I smile at him as he leans back against the settee. "Does that surprise you?"

   "Confuse would be the more precise term." he mumbles as he crosses his arms across his chest. "I don't understand it." 

   "What don't you understand?" I murmur with a slight smile. 

   "What would motivate you to accept such an offer. It would surely be a downgrade from the lifestyle you have lavished in your whole life. Wouldn't you find the experience to be degrading to live in such squalor when you are privileged enough to live with such wealth and other privileges?"

   "They are just things Alexander." I reply softly. "Things can be replaced, they do not define me."

   "If you are able to simply ignore the privileges that have been granted to you then explain to me why you would still choose to accept the invitation of a poor man."

   "You want to know why I would accept your invitation?" I laugh lightly as he glares at me in confusion. "I would accept your offer simply because you had the kindness to offer. We are all human Alexander, wealth and status mean nothing when we break down our existence to the basics. I do not determine the worth of someone's kindness based off of their wealth or their belongings, I judge on their heart and their sincerity. If our roles were reversed, and I was the one in need of a place to stay, I would have gladly and gratefully accepted your offer." 

   We sit in silence and I watch as he interlaces his fingers and stares directly at me. His expression is unreadable and I am unsure as to what I can assume from such an expression. 

   "I invited you here because I would not be able to live with myself knowing that I had left you alone in that gas station knowing what I know." I confess. "Even if I had somehow found the indecency to leave you there I would have come back to retrieve you, and if you had left I would have looked for you."

   "Why?" He murmurs. 

   "No one deserves to feel alone and afraid. To worry about your options and what you will do to grant yourself shelter or feed yourself. I didn't want that for you."

   "I don't understand you." He whispers. "I don't understand your actions. How can you be the way you are in the office and then be completely different outside of that space? You cannot be two people, you are only one man."

   "Who said anything about being two people? I simply am as I am. The way you choose to view me is dependent upon your own perception and your narrow scope of my actions." He stares at me keenly as he grips onto his hands tightly. "I am sorry that you believe me to be so cold and unfeeling." 

   "That wasn't what I was implying."

   "It is alright. Perceptions and understandings of people change over time. I hope that one day I will be able to change your perception of me." I smile. Perhaps when that day comes, even your stubborn heart will change how it views me. 

   "I apologize for seeming ungrateful." 

   "I didn't view it that way." 

   "I struggle to understand the generosity of those who have been graced with so many gifts. I had to fight my whole life to get where I am, so seeing someone opening their home and their many assets to someone who doesn't possess them confuses me."

   "Life is short. It is true that we have to sometimes fight like hell to get what we want, but if we are unable to spread the wealth that we possess then perhaps we never deserved it." He offers me a slight smile as he leans his head back and closes his eyes. He seems to have run out of questions, or perhaps I have answered them to his satisfaction. Either way he appears satisfied, and for the first time since he has arrived here he looks completely relaxed. His muscles have gone slack and his eyes remain blissfully closed. He looks like he belongs here with me. I want to keep him looking this way, for as long as I am able to make it last.