PAY A COMPLIMENT DAY

COMPLIMENT THIS!

by JoAnn Baca

“Honestly, I can’t think of one!”

Rebecca’s skeptical glance as she looked up from dipping candles made him feel foolish.

“It’s not gonna be easy!” he insisted, falling back on pigheadedness in the face of her disapproval.

“The man is the leader of our community. I’m hopeful you can find one good quality in him to compliment.”

It was Pay a Compliment Day. Cullen had gotten Father in the community’s secret drawing for the individual he was to praise. He had to rise and offer it at that evening’s dinner, when each resident was to voice theirs.

He could see her disapproval turn to disappointment – not an attitude that would help him win her heart…which he did want to win…really, really badly.

“Yeah, maybe,” he conceded. Shrugging, he added stubbornly – why did he have to be so goddamn stubborn all the time? – “But they aren’t readily apparent…to me.”

The time was not long past when he had nearly been discarded by the community. Father’s had been a leading voice condemning his actions with respect to that cache of treasure they’d found so unexpectedly…and Cullen’s subsequent attack on Mouse to get his hands on what he’d thought of as his share. He’d had to do some heavy groveling and endure a Silence in order to even minimally assuage the man.

Even though he’d deserved all that, it still smarted that Father had initially been adamant about expelling him until a tight vote by those Below had over-ruled him. As if the man had never made a mistake in his own life! Well, Cullen knew he had. A few months ago, he’d heard about another son raised Below – a biological one – that Father had never acknowledged as his child until the guy was in his thirties, for gosh sake. Seemed like a man who’d denied his own son for decades shouldn’t be passing judgment on others for their mistakes.

Rebecca’s gaze softened. He knew that she felt he’d been roughly treated by Father, who had understandably been enraged over Mouse’s injuries. He also knew she’d hoped that the situation was resolved and that things were back to normal between the two men. He doubted that would ever happen. Still…

“Look…I’ll think on it. Got until tonight, right?”

He exited the chandlery, feeling the weight of Rebecca’s expectations. He wanted to be a better man…for her, if not for himself. In the last few months, she had shown herself to be a true friend, listening to his grousing, offering solid advice, even laughing at his stupid attempts at humor. And he’d come to rely on her good opinion of him, whether anyone else had one or not. This was a twofold test: whether he could live up to her belief in him, and whether he could dredge up some bit of kindness toward a man he disliked intensely. 

* * *

“It’s time!” Samantha crowed. “I’ll go first!” Before anyone could stop her, the youngster stood on her chair and addressed the community, aware of and relishing her momentary command of attention. She gazed at her audience before announcing, “Vincent is a wonderful hair braider.” To quell the sudden chuckles of amusement, she added, “He doesn’t pull your hair…ever…and always ties the best bows after.” She nodded to punctuate her declaration and then climbed down from her chair to applause.

The kudos continued as resident after resident commended large or small acts worthy of praise, accompanied by the blushes of those spoken about and the approval of the others. Finally, Father cleared his throat and said, “That was a lovely set of compliments. Now we should…”

Cullen thought he had been forgotten and thus was home free, but Rebecca piped up with, “I believe Cullen hasn’t taken his turn yet.”

For a moment he contemplated whether Rebecca was friend or foe. Then he saw the stricken look on Father’s face and realized that the old man had known full well who had yet to say his piece, and who the beneficiary of the compliment would be. Father had tried to avoid the situation. So…he was a bit concerned, was he? The thought that he inspired even the slightest fear in Father’s heart made him smile internally. Aloud he said, “Oh, right, my turn.”

He stood up and glanced at Rebecca, throwing her a dirty look, but she was smiling serenely, aware of what she’d done and his attitude about it. He turned from her to face Father, once more relishing the other’s discomfort – the old guy looked positively green, likely anticipating a mocking salute at best, a snide comment at worst. In fact, that had been his intention. But now…

Clearing his throat, he began. “So…Father’s who I drew. I thought long and hard about his many…attributes.”

There were a few nervous titters that were quickly hushed. The jovial atmosphere suddenly grew cold. He remembered that the vote to expel him had been very close.

The look on Father’s face… He really was just a scared old man. Cullen’s heart softened, which ticked him off. Rebecca’s influence was turning him into mush. Oh, well.

“Like I said, I was thinking about his attributes. And above all of them, I have to say that he…well, he…” He sighed. Might as well say what’s true, darn it. “He’s a good man. Sounds simple, but it’s not. He’s got a lot on his mind, a lot on his plate, and yet he’s there for anyone with a problem. So my compliment is that he’s a good guy.”

He anticipated raised eyebrows while awaiting some punch line, everyone expecting something biting to come next. But when Rebecca started clapping, the rest immediately joined in. He gave a brief wave and sat down, relieved he’d found words that felt true enough despite his antipathy toward the man.

When the room grew quiet once more, Father stood up. Cullen belatedly realized that Father had pulled his name out of the basket, and he braced himself for what felt like a jury’s verdict about to come down.

“Well, Cullen, you are the last to hear your compliment. Perhaps you aren’t too happy to know who is delivering it!”

Nobody in the dining chamber laughed. There was an uneasy silence even deeper than before Cullen had spoken. Everyone heard Vincent clearing his throat. Father flinched just the slightest bit at it, but didn’t break eye contact with Cullen.

“With respect, Cullen, and this is not impromptu, I assure you, as I had written it down earlier…” He waved a slip of paper with his elegant script clearly on it. “Let me read my remarks.” He looked down at his notes, then up again. “Cullen is…a good man. He has proven himself to me and to others, and has served as an example to us all of overcoming a bad choice and making amends. Only a good man would do that.”

Cullen was stunned. He was equally shocked at the reaction to Father’s comments. Everyone in the chamber rose to their feet and clapped. Rebecca was smiling at him, and…dammit…he had tears in his eyes!

Worst Pay a Compliment Day of his life. 

And the best.