Upon declaring his need for alcohol should we intend to discuss the matter of his father, Theo jumps up from his seat and runs off like a squirrel after a nut into the kitchen. I hear the clatter of multiple cupboard doors opening and closing before he returns with a bottle of red wine and two glasses. He lifts a glass in my direction and cocks his head to the side as his way of offering me a glass of wine. I consider my options but figure why not? One glass won't kill me.

"Sure." I tell him, knowing that I'll have to keep my number of drinks low since I'm driving home.

He joins me back at the kitchen bench, pouring us both a glass before pushing mine over to me. I didn't get a chance to check which type of red it is, and I'm definitely no expert so can't really tell from the taste, but happily oblige to drinking a wine that can only be described as rich and silky to the best of my knowledge. I'm not sure how well the red wine will pair with everything we're eating but why not try.

He takes a large sip from his own glass before he places it down on the bench and lays his hands flat against the surface. 

"Okay, where do I begin?" he begins, taking a second to consider his options. "Well, for as long as I remember my father always planned for me to join him at the company. He didn't actually know how or if  I would fit into the company until I started making sketches one day. I was maybe fourteen and I had an art project for school and somehow wound up drawing some sketches of houses and got caught up in it from then on. Once he found out, then it was set— I would become an in-house architect for Harrington, Albert & Co. I ended up getting into Harvard but we didn't exactly have the best relationship and I didn't want his money hanging over me, so I loaned my college funds from him and did everything I could to pay him back. I applied for scholarships but got turned down because of my father's income. So I entered design competitions, I worked casually, did whatever I could to earn the money. I thought that would gain me some more independence but he was still a shadow looming over me even while I was in Boston and he was out here, and it was a story being shared between my classmates."

He continued. "So, I decided one day that I needed some more space. He was starting a new chapter with his wife and I was finding myself longing for home and to reconnect with my extended family. I got in touch with my mother's side of the family and my grandmother opened her door to me. I got into the University of Edinburgh and finished off my degree in Scotland. I worked casually and did internships and was lucky enough to get a job straight out of university down in London. I had enjoyed a chance to connect with my mother in some way again and was just happy to have gotten a job without anyone telling me it was due to my father. Then he started coming back into my life bit by bit. He first creeped in through his new family, convincing me that he wanted me to be a big part of their life. So I let him in. Eventually, he would bring up the topic of wanting me to come back to the U.S. and to come work for him. I waited until I got offered a promotion at work and told him if he could match my contract that I would come back. He did. And I've been back since."

"Wow."

That is all I have to say after he has exposed an incredibly complex history with his father. I thought my own relationship with my mother was complicated but it was nowhere near. It does pose its own similarities with his though, which does comfort me in an odd way to know I am not alone in this situation.

"Yeah." he replies, fiddling around with the spring roll he has just grabbed after putting down his almost finished glass of wine. Meanwhile, mine has barely been touched. "I gave it a go but it just hasn't been working out so I tried to take the initiative and find a job somewhere else but he seems to just weasel his way into everything somehow."

I now completely understand where he was coming from regarding his frustration with his work dynamic with his father and how it had been interpreted by others. He genuinely seems to have tried every approach when it came to his own career and his life with his father. He proved himself so that no one could doubt him and yet they still do. And, now when he has tried to take a step back from this work arrangement by working for another company his father has latched on once again to keep him from straying and he's being crucified for it again.

"So, your father remarried? You mentioned a new family." I ask, wanting to move past the discussion of him working for his father. I had heard everything I needed to hear and was on his side. He didn't seem to want to mention anything further and I didn't need to hear anymore to convince me.

"Yeah, he did. He introduced me to his first girlfriend around five years after my mother died. She turned out to be someone who worked for the company. I was a bit of a dick when I first found out, moody teenage years and all, but she's actually pretty great. Her name's Jane. They got married when I was in college. Eventually they even adopted a child together." he reveals.

"Oh yeah? You have a sibling?" I question eagerly, the thought of Theo having a little sibling intriguing me. I wonder if their sibling dynamic is anything like mine and Lexi's or if there is a little more normality to theirs.

"Yeah. Her name's Aaliyah. She just turned twelve a couple months ago. She's great. Certainly worth putting up with being in my father's presence. She's one of the reasons I was convinced to move back here." he explains, with a small trace of a smile appearing on his lips at the mention of his younger sister.

"Were they at the Christmas party?" I wonder, trying to think over that night and if I had noticed anything. Nevertheless, I was pretty distracted that night by other things such as my first real glimpse at how torn up Theo is over his relationship with his father.

"No, they weren't. Usually Jane comes but Aaliyah wasn't feeling too well that night and she didn't want to leave her with the babysitter," he clarifies. "You'd like them. Jane is this sort of soft soul. There is no one that she cannot talk to and she's always trying to be a mediator. But she's also full of all this knowledge— I don't know how she knows that much. Meanwhile, Aaliyah is this little inquisitive rascal who's always eager to learn something new and I swear is secretly a grown woman in the body of a child. She can take a little while to get out of her shell, with everything that she went through when she was younger, but once she does there's no getting away from her."

I like seeing Theo talk about his family in this way. His smile has only grown as he has continued to describe both his step-mother and sister, almost rambling with his eagerness to share more with me. It comforts me to know that he does have some family by his side in his life; that he's not alone.

"Do you get to see her much?" I ask.

"I try to, not that I really get to do that much other than work anyways. Jane is always trying to organise these weekly family gatherings but they can be rather tumultuous, depending on how mine and my father's interactions have been at work that week. I try to get some one on one time with her when I'm free. I take her places to feed that endless curiosity of hers but still try and introduce some fun and spontaneity in her life. You don't get much of that in the Harrington household— at least I didn't. Jane tries her best to balance her career and motherhood, though that's never really been my father's priority. Still, he's improved since he raised me." he elaborates.

"You didn't move back in with him when you moved back home?" I question, trying to fill in the gaps of the puzzle that is Theo's life.

"No. Even if I was letting him back in my life I knew I still needed to keep some part of my life separate. So my best friend Raj and I moved in together, and have been living together since. He's just been back in London for the last couple of months for a role and to finalise his fiancé's more over here." he explains, gesturing to a photo of him and who I can only assume are Raj and his fiancé which rests on a bookshelf nearby.

"Oh, that's pretty exciting. How'd you guys meet?" I ask, eager to hear more about Theo's very own Jess.

"He was doing a year studying in Scotland too when I came along. We became roommates and got really close. Then after graduation we made the decision to move to London together, since he was from there originally too, and when I said I was going to move back here he said he wouldn't let me go alone and that he'd been wanting a change of scenery too. So, I guess that's how I ended up with my version of Jess." he explains, taking the words right out of my mouth.

"Yeah, I guess he is." I agree. We take a second to catch up on our eating as I ponder over what my next question will be, although deep down I know what it should probably be because it's been scratching at my mind for a while now.

"So, I know you probably don't want to hear about this person but since we're clearing the air about everything I should probably just get this out of the way." I begin hesitantly, hoping that if I provide an indication of what kind of topic is coming up next then maybe he'll be less opposed to its discussion.

"Okay... I think I know where you're going with this but go ahead anyways." he says, the caution clear in his tone as he places down his chopsticks which he had been planning to use on the noodles.

"Damon."

He sighs and nods his head, his suspicions clearly confirmed as he says "Right. Damon."

"What's the deal with you two? Because there seems to be a whole lot of animosity between you and if I'm going to be stuck between it for some reason then I'd like to know just what exactly I'm getting in between." I question, the words spilling out of me with the curiosity eating away inside me for weeks now.

"That's fair enough." he responds as I wait for further explanation. "I'm sure he's told you his perspective of things, but here we go. We met at Harvard and hung out with each other a bit before I moved to Scotland. We weren't the best of friends or anything but we got along and shared the same friends. He had no idea about my father's company, all he knew was that I was working through university to try and pay back a loan for my tuition. We didn't really hear from each other once I moved and then when I came back here and started working for my father I found out that he had gotten a job at the company. He's kind of just had an issue with me ever since. I guess he's annoyed that I didn't mention who my father was the whole time, though I didn't really see how it was any of his business, and has seen me as someone who was handed everything without working for it ever since. The whole hotel merger issue was probably just the tipping point."

Now it is my time to nod as I process his version of events and match them to what Damon has already told me. And from what I've heard it all makes sense and I honestly believe that the truth lies in Theo's word, despite knowing them both for just as long. There's a rationality to Theo's words that make me trust his perspective more, where Damon is instead fuelled by an irrational jealously or irritation. Either way, I don't want their opinions on one another to impact my relations with them separately as friends, unless they feel the need to drag me in between them.

"That makes sense." I comment, wanting to settle the matter once and for all.

There's one more thing that Damon told me about Theo that I am tempted to ask about but know I shouldn't— his apparent lack of romantic commitment. Though I'm curious, I tell myself there's no real reason that I need to know that. There's no future here and, thus, no valid need for me to know. A few kisses with my sister's ex certainly doesn't earn me the right.

But god, I am so curious.

"Alright then, any more questions?" he asks, as though reading my mind.

"Okay, one last must-know." I begin, as he looks back intently at me while he awaits the concluding question. With a grave expression as I lean forward I ask, "What is your favourite movie?"

He chuckles and almost sighs in relief at the unexpected yet trivial question.

"That's a hard one...," he begins, pondering over the question as if I had just asked him to choose who would live and who would die out of two people, "... but I'm going to have to go with The Shawshank Redemption. It's a classic."

I stay silent as I nod numerous times, acting as though I am seriously contemplating his answer.

"Okay. I approve of that one. Not too much of a typical guy film and it's pretty damn good. Plus, Morgan Freeman." I tell him.

"Why, thank you for bestowing upon me the gift that is your approval. I don't know how I would have go on without it." he mockingly says, adding in a fake gasp for added effect.

And that's how I officially know that thing's are back to being perfectly fine between us— his inner smart-ass has completely returned. 

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