“Now, if we’re done here, I wash my hands of this place,” finished Galahad as he rose to his feet to exit the false home. The family was too stunned by his change in demeanor to protest any further and just watched as he was about to leave their lives forever. He almost made it to the door before a familiar voice called from behind him.
“Galahad, wait…” It was Tara who addressed him. Looking rather small and frail, she pleaded, “Please Galahad, don’t leave just yet. This is the first time anyone has seen you in years, don’t ruin the night like this.”
“Tara,” he began slowly.
Interrupting him, Tara continued, “You don’t know what it’s been like since you left so suddenly all those years ago. Mommy and Daddy White had a huge argument over why you left, and ever since then Daddy White has been hitting the bottle more frequently than he used to and Mommy White has been shopping a lot to ease the pain. And Nicholas…”
“What about Nicholas?” Honestly, he was not at the very least surprised to hear of his mother and father resorting to those methods. Both of them had been using those “activities” as stress relievers for as long as Galahad could remember, and it was debatable which one had the more financially burdensome behavior. What he was surprised to hear was that Tara had never noticed it before, especially considering that he even told her as much before they started dating. More importantly, he was also genuinely curious and concerned over what detrimental habit his brother had acquired in the few years he had been gone.
Holding back tears, Tara said, “I think he blames me for you leaving. He used to treat me so kindly before, but after you left he became distant and quick to anger. He’s also become harder to please and becomes violent when he drinks with his father. I really don’t know what to do Galahad…” The further she got into her explanation the closer she got to Galahad, and by the time she said his name her face was just inches away from his. Leaning up against him, she looked up cried softly, “Please Galahad, don’t leave me again. Please stay…”
Galahad was about ready to promise her as much when a thought came to mind: Wait, isn’t Nicholas alcohol intolerant? Thinking back to dinner, he remembered that out of the whole party, Nicholas was the only one who did not have wine in his glass. With that, there were only two possibilities to assume: either Tara was telling the truth and Nicholas was endangering his life and abusing his wife, or that she was lying and trying to bait him into something, but what? Galahad had a pretty good idea what was on her mind, but he dared not say anything without proof. Acting as though this doubt never crossed his mind, he asked softly in return, “What would you have me do, Tara? I’m not welcome here.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that,” started Tara with more spirit in her tone, “I’ll talk to Nicholas. He’s been meaning for you to move back in with us anyway, so it shouldn’t be too hard to convince him to forgive you for what happened at dinner.” Smiling sweetly she added, “After that, we can catch up on old times, if you know what I mean.”
That settled it for Galahad; now he knew, without a doubt, that Tara was only looking to use him again as sport, just like back then. Pushing her away, Galahad smiled and asked, “My dear Tara, I wonder how many people you’ve fooled with that angelic smile?”
“What are you talking about?” she asked innocently.
