Alan stood at the other end of the door, grinning a deceptive grin.
"Now with that call out of the way, may I come in?" he asked. Tom moved to the side, and Alan made himself comfortable on one of the chairs in the small main room.
"You smoke Tom?" he asked.
"No, I quit a couple years ago. Besides, there's no smoking in the dor-".
Alan pulled out a cigar.
"Rules only apply to those who don't enforce 'em, Tom."
He lit the cigar and blowed smoke out into the air. "Have a seat man, c'mon."
Tom took a seat in the small chair across from the R.A. Alan nonchalantly blew some smoke in Tom's face.
"So, point of curiosity - does my sister make good grilled cheese sandwiches?"
Tom looked at him in confusion.
"Why would I know that?".
"Because you're doin' her? What, she doesn't make you a sandwich afterwards? I thought all you white knights were in it for that."
Tom looked at Alan completely dumbfounded.
"There is... so much wrong with that I don't even know where to start."
Alan blew more smoke.
"Could you not?" Tom said, waving the smoke away from his face. "The ventilation in here's crap."
Alan exhaled and sighed, then pulled out a small piece of tin from his pocket, which he used to extinguish the cigar.
"Dick." he said.
"Eh, pot meet kettle." said Tom "So what're you here for? Sydney made it pretty clear she'd start talking about the dinner party if you harassed me."
Alan's eyebrows shot upward.
"Why, has she said anything?"
"Was it the story with the reindeer? And the dijon mu-"
Alan began frantically shushing him.
"OK OK so she's told you, fuck!"
Tom laughed.
"I don't see why you're all that nervous. Plenty of guys are guilty of that."
Alan's face turned bright red with anger.
"You say that, but then the part with the bicycle happened."
The two men looked at each other in silence.
"She... didn't tell you about the bicycle did she?". Tom looked at him stunned.
"No... but that makes a lot of sense. That's... that's kind of fucked up, actually."
Alan cleared his throat.
"Whatever. I really just wanted to see what you were all about. Since talking to you, mother's been on about some limey named Corbain, and father's been talking about leaving the board of trustees and handing over large amounts of stock to his employees. So I'd like to sit down and to talk to the dirty red himself."
Tom's eyes twitched.
"Good God, I thought the rest of Sydney's family was bad. This man is the epitome of the bourgeoisie." he thought "What do you wanna know?".
"What's it like to hate America?"
"It sure is a thing."
"Why do you socialists wanna expand government?"
"I don't, I want to do away with it."
"Why do you hate the rich?"
"Because they hate me."
"Why do you hate free speech?"
"I don't, I hate Nazis."
"Why don't you move to China?"
"I don't have the money and I don't speak Chinese."
"Am I triggering you?"
"Not at all, I'm lucky enough to not have PTSD. Is this going anywhere?"
Tom smiled, while Alan continued getting frustrated.
"Man, I thought the alt-left were easy to make angry." he thought.
Tom got up and fetched some air freshner, which he applied charitably to the room.
"Real cheap cigars you got, Alan. I figured the rich had access to better things."
Alan crossed his legs and rested his chin on his hand, still trying to figure a way to make Tom upset. He'd broken all the rest of his sister's would-be partners, there's no way he'd fail on this one.
"You mind if I ask you something, Alan?" Tom said "Why do you hate your sister so?"
"Why, I have no such hostility!" Alan insisted "But in your particular case, I take issue! My stunning, immaculate sister, much like any women of the Brednar line, is simply too good for most people, but most especially a horrific, lower class man like yourself!"