<><><> OCTOBER <><><>
After a couple of weeks confined in that sumptuous home and receiving the DNA test confirming his consanguinity with that man, Tadeus appears before Edwin Singer – Yenedith must return to the house to live with us. With me and my grandmother — Tadeus demands.
— The girl will live here with me and can go wherever she wants as long as she's escorted. Your old lady can go halfway around the world, to the very fucking shithole if she wants. I'll put her in the nursing home of your choice if you just tell me the name.
— No, I need them with me — Tadeus says. To which Edwin grimaces in disgust.
— Okay — he sighs, leaning back in his chair — There's going to be a party on a private island next weekend. You're going as the escort of a state senator.
— Why don't you get me a separate invitation? — Tadeus asks.
— I'm not going to let you go alone — Edwin says — Besides, no one knows who you are. You're not rich enough to pay for an entrance fee — his father replies — I've already done the work of paying several people to speak highly of you. Luckily, you're a public figure, so it's possible that several people will recognize you, and you can use that to your advantage.
— What am I supposed to say? — Tadeus asks listlessly.
— Nothing, just stay quiet and let people approach you first.
— What about my job?
— I sent your resignation letter a couple of days ago. You don't have to worry about that anymore — Edwin says — You work for me now, and as far as anyone else is concerned, you'll be a mere companion.
Tadeus protests this decision for several minutes, but his words are useless.
A couple of days later, Tadeus is transported to the capital, where he stays in a hotel and shares meals with a group of little-known politicians from various cities across the country – So, the Coyote's son, huh? — says one of them, Senator Gustaph Pine — It really is like going back twenty years — the man says, placing his plate on the table and sitting down.
— I'm having dinner with someone — Tadeus responds to this action.
— You have to be more sociable; you won't get any support if you behave like this — Pine says with a smile — What do you say we have some whiskey in my room later?
Tadeus takes his plate and leaves the table without a word. At dawn on Saturday, everyone travels by plane to the island, where they are strictly searched. Tadeus, being a guest, is not allowed to enter the party with weapons and is escorted along with other men to their respective rooms. Tadeus sighs and looks through his bedroom window, which overlooks the backyard. The first thing he sees is a couple of men in gray suits, and a few feet away from a man in a white suit talking on his phone. He seems to be having a rather heated conversation as he paces and circles. Suddenly, the man ends his call and scans the surroundings until he finds Tadeus' window. They look at each other for several seconds, as if having a conversation, until Pine knocks on Tadeus' bedroom door. — What do you want? — He asks without opening the door.
— I just came to let you know that the party will start at 9:00 O'clock, but you should go down an hour later when the Animal joins the room for drinks at the bar.
— Okay — Tadeus replies.
After several hours confined to his room, Tadeus decides to take a shower and get ready for the party. Although he'd rather not go out and waste a night, the least he should do is try. He puts on a pair of orange-red Arab pants and over them, several gold belts. Around his neck, he wears a choker made of orange-red fabric, which runs from the top of his neck to an inverted triangle that covers his entire collarbone. This choker has rhinestones on the edges of the fabric, held by gold chains, as well as a gold belt studded with jewels that fits around the nape of his neck over the fabric and also attaches to it. On his upper arms, a pair of gold bracelets studded with rhinestones and chains like a rain of diamonds, orange-red fabric, resting on his skin down to his wrist, which is then covered with thin gold bracelets. On his right hand, he wears a glove of the same color. His left hand is adorned with gold rings with different colorful stones from his index finger to the pinky finger. Tadeus then wears a pair of prominent, matching gold drop earrings.
After several minutes of trying to find something else to cover up, he goes down to sit next to Gustaph, who introduces him to others. He suddenly feels a little more confident seeing the many transparent fabrics and exposed skin around him. Each person wears a different costume, but various themes can be seen such as animals, professions, or characters from popular TV shows.
A woman recognizes him from television, and they have a pleasant conversation until another of the senators with whom Tadeus arrived on the island interrupts their conversation to introduce him to his group. For now, the strategy of having the senators spread out among various social groups and introduce Tadeus as a companion seems to be working. Many were interested in starting a conversation, which caught the attention of several guests looking to spend some time alone with him.
That night, The Animal joined later than expected, around midnight, but he didn't seem interested in socializing with anyone other than a stripper for much of the early morning, and his bodyguards wouldn't let anyone interrupt their conversation until he decided to join the dance floor himself.
— You should go closer — Gustaph says, leaning to Tadeus' ear — This is the moment, his partner is dancing with someone else.
— Okay, but what should I say? — Tadeus asks.
— Improvise, don't overthink it — Gustaph says — If he's attracted to you, he'll come to you himself.
Tadeus nods at this statement and slowly approaches between the dance steps. For a moment, he forgets his goal and lets himself be carried away by the music, which catches the attention of many who cheer him on, but this doesn't work to get the Animal to even turn to look at him.
The music stops around four, and after thirty minutes, the mayority of people are in their respective rooms.
After a couple hours of sleep, Tadeus wakes up to go to the bathroom. He still feels a bit dizzy from all the liquor he consumed. In fact, he doesn't even remember drinking that much. Of course, this is based on his own judgment about how much alcohol should intoxicate him.
He checks the small refrigerator in his room, but it's empty, and he's not sure the tap water is safe to drink. He puts on a robe over his pajamas and walks down the hallway to the stairs, where he's a little surprised to see some of the lights still on.