Chapter 27-1
"...And so, if you'll look to page 86, you'll see that our profit profections, I mean, our projit projections... Dammit!" Lex grabbed a cushion off her couch and hurled it across the lounge room. Otis stuck his head in from the kitchen. "You okay in there?" "Just freaking brilliant, Otis," she snarled. Turning away, she started her speech again. "Good afternoon, esteemed share-holders. My name is..." A total gaping blackness filled her mind. "Your name is Lexi, just so you know," Otis said from behind her. "I know what my name is." "I can write it down for you, if you'd like." "Not helping, Otis," she said, in a tone that indicated exactly how close to the line he was walking. Otis, as usual, was oblivious. "Hey, I need a bag to take up to Newcastle tomorrow night - do you have one I can borrow?" "In the cupboard under the stairs," she said, trying to ignore him and study her palm cards. Public speaking was not her thing, and the thought of having to stand up in front of some incredibly powerful and judgemental people was whipping her poor brain into mush. Otis pulled open the door to the storage area, saying, "Hey, does Harry live in here?" "Who's Harry? Otis, I swear to god, you better not have started naming the cockroaches." "Seriously? Cupboard under the stairs? Platform 9 and ¾? Nothing?" Otis looked her horrified. Lex felt her back teeth clamping together. "I'm working here." "Sorry, sorry." As she started her speech over, she could hear him humming cheerfully as he pulled out a black tote bag. When she paused to allow for imaginary applause over the reveal of the last financial year's figures, he jumped in. "Hey, did I tell you that JJ wants to change my name? He doesn't think that Otis is sexy enough. My mum just really liked that movie with the cat and the dog-" "Otis!" Her unending frustration over her speech spilled over, and he was about to get splashed. "I have the most important speech of my life happening tomorrow, and you are not helping! Are you trying to sabotage me?" "No!" "Oh, so it's just a fun by-product of having the mentality of a twelve year old?" Even as she said the words, she wanted to snatch them out of the air and burn them. More and more lately, she'd been making callous remarks about Otis' age and financial standing, and she wasn't sure why. "Just... Can you just be quiet, please?" His green eyes were cool. "Sure thing, Lex." She hated it when he called her Lex, fairly certain he did it to punish her. She was his Lexi. She was the masculine role in their relationship for so many things, it was nice to have one area, one label that was feminine. "Thank you," she said sarcastically. "And so, ladies and gentlemen, with the strength of our many years of market experience..." As she continued to practice, Otis opened the black bag, emptying out a few bits and pieces from previous use. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him pull out a folded sheet of A4 paper and study it. What is that? Lex couldn't remember the last time the bag had been used. Ignore him. You're nearly done. "So, on behalf of myself and the rest of the executive team, thank you for your support, and we look forward to creating wealth and change together in the year to come. Thank you." Smiling, Lex nodded her head to pretend shareholders. Feeling elated at having made it through the damn thing, she turned back to Otis. "Okay, now you can talk. What did you think? That sounded okay, didn't it? I mean, I'm no Tony Robbins, but I'll be more interesting than Wilson to listen to. Otis?" He hadn't answered, head still low as he stared at the page in his hand. "Otis, are you even listening? Or are you sulking?" Exasperated, she flung her hands in the air. "Jesus Christ, Otis! What do you want from me? I have to get this speech right, and you have no idea how distracting you are. Fine, I'm sorry, whatever. Otis?" He finally turned, as slowly as if he was lump of clay on a pottery wheel. "Lexi, what is this?" "What's what? It's probably just rubbish, I don't even..." Her voice faded out to nothing as she saw the page, and she remembered the last time she'd taken the bag out was her visit to the clinic. The paper was a fact sheet of post-procedure instructions, with the garish heading, What to expect after a termination. "Is this... is this yours? Did you do this?" His voice was cracking as he implored her for an answer she knew he didn't really want. Lie! screamed her brain. Say anything. It's Liesl's, it's my sister's, it's from a really long time ago. But her face didn't get the message. "Otis, I need to explain-" Otis looked at her and saw the truth. "Lexi, it has your name on it, and it's dated from almost a month ago. Either you did this, or you're thinking about doing this. Which is it?" She walked closer to him, wanting to remove the paper, to hold his hand and make the grief-stricken look on his face go away. "It's nothing you have to worry about, okay? I've taken care of it."