The Interview

Chapter Twenty-Four

Worried sick, Glinda arrived at Fiyero's place. It didn't matter that he'd assured her that he was okay; there could be no trivial reason behind his sudden cry for support and comfort. She had to admit though that, besides Fiyero's apparent distress, this call-out was not an entirely unwelcome distraction from that bizarre business with Chuffrey.

"Hey, babe," her friend greeted her, his expression unreadable. "Thanks for coming so quickly."

"Of course," replied Glinda, mustering a small smile.

He led her inside and got her a glass of water from the tap. There was something strange and mechanic about the way he moved. He hardly talked, unless she encouraged him to, and even then his answers were brief and lukewarm.

"Do you want to talk about whatever it is that prompted you to summon me?" Glinda ventured eventually, walking over to where he stood, his arms propping him up against the kitchen counter.

"I, um..."

She hated to see him struggle like this, and her heart went out for him.

"It's me. You can tell me anything, right? If you want to that is. Otherwise, just say so and I'll think of something silly to just cheer—"

"My father called," he blurted out all of a sudden, taking her by surprise.

"Oh," was all she managed to say at first, staring at him with wide eyes. "That's... unusual."

"Yeah."

Chewing the inside of her cheek, she contemplated how to proceed. The last time Fiyero had spoken to any of his family had been almost two years ago. The fallout hadn't been pretty, but Glinda had been there for him, and after the initial breakdown, Fiyero's outlook on his kinless future had changed completely. She hated to even think about the potential damage his father's initiation of contact might have done to his emotional wellbeing.

"Listen, Fi," she said quietly, gently rubbing his back, "whatever he—"

"He apologised." Fiyero told her, shaking his head. Glinda's hand dropped as she was rendered perfectly speechless from the shock. Fiyero shook his head again and, after taking a deep breath, continued. "He also asked if... if there was anything I needed. Overall, he sounded quite genuine. Surprisingly."

Brushing a strand of hair behind her ear, Glinda cleared her throat. She still couldn't find the words to express what she was thinking. Neither did she know what exactly it was that Fiyero needed from her right now.

"So, what did you say?" she probed carefully.

"My first thought was to just blow him off. I mean, after everything that has happened between us... There is no chance in hell that they can simply pay their way out of the hurt they have caused. But in the end, I figured that a little financial support would really help me keep up my work. And, I mean, they can afford it. There's no need to feel bad or anything. So I told him that. I also made sure to stress that this would definitely not be a shortcut to redemption. If we do this, nobody should go into this with false expectations."

"That's a good idea," agreed Glinda.

"Besides, activism begins at home, right?" He flashed her a pained grin. "If I can improve my relationship with my family, I wouldn't be doing it just for myself. I don't want to sound delusional, but if there's even a tiny chance to make them understand, it could have a bit of a small domino effect, right?"

"Perhaps unlikely, but not impossible. You shouldn't make this your priority, I think."

"I know. It's just another side benefit. Or rather potential benefit, I suppose. At any rate, the more I ponder over this, the less guilty I feel about even just taking their money for as long as they are willing to give it and not do much in return. As long as they behave, I'll play nice, but if they ever do so much as question my choices, they're out."