It was my week off; I was sitting in the hall scrolling through my phone when my dad spoke.
"You know we can't live this way forever." I sighed at his same old statement of misery. "What do you want me to do, Dad? I am doing my best, and please don't expect anything more." "You know, there is always an option, so your mom and I, by discussing and thinking a lot, came up with an idea. If we stay here, nothing is going to work out for us, so why can't we leave this country and start a new life somewhere else?" I watched his face for any sign that he was joking at the given situation.
"And with what money, Dad?" He was excited for some reason that only terrified me a little. "By selling this flat, we will try to arrange cash from somewhere, like private lenders. If we sit together and discuss, we can come up with many things." "Are you crazy? How many days are we going to survive with that money? Then what? We will be finally homeless. Is that what you want? I am not going to sell this flat at any cost; keep that in your mind." "Do you want us to die this way?" "Don't you remember you fucking invited this? Let me be clear with you, Dad, once again: I am not forcing you to stay here. If you want, you can stay, or else please take your wife and leave. Don't fucking come up with any more shitty things. Enough is enough. I am not going to give in. Please give me a fucking break." With that, I went to my room.
These two were never going to give up so easily, being at home for 24 hours without a job, using idle time, and coming up with bloody crazy ideas. How the hell was I going to make them understand reality? Why can't he get a fucking job and spare me? Once again, he was not thinking of doom alone, dragging me along with him. What the hell?
From morning to evening, I would be busy at work. On my week off, I would spend most of the time in my room because it started to creep me out facing my own parents, not to forget their innovative strategies to get rid of the present condition, and we didn't have any other option than sticking with each other.
I made my way to the restaurant. David had informed me that he was going to teach me to bake a cake, which was not on the menu. As I liked cakes, he offered to teach me to bake different types of cake, for which I nodded my head enthusiastically. When he added the sentence, 'I will make sure to be perfect for you and delicious for me,' and then it hit me. I should have thought before nodding so eagerly.
When I entered, I saw that David was busy taking orders. I came to know that one of the staff took leave. There were many customers, and today was going to be a busy day.
At noon, we were free, and finally, we could relax. After having lunch, David was full of energy. I didn't remind him about baking the cake, as his statement made me have second thoughts, but David, being David, dragged me to the kitchen. This guy won't miss any opportunity and definitely knows his way.
He started to mix the dough by adding eggs, butter, and other necessary ingredients. I was watching him keenly from a safe distance, which would get covered anytime soon, and after everything was finished, he kept it in the oven. David told me to try what he had just shown me. I followed every step he had shown me while mixing the dough; he came behind me and started to correct the way by using my hand, which was totally not necessary and damn romantic if I had a crush on him, or it would have worked out if I wanted to sleep with him so badly. Not to forget, his neck was on my shoulder, whispering the procedure in a sultry way, so damn, David, this fucking scenario should make me aroused and give in, but I felt amazed by his bloody bold moves; in the near future, he was fucking going to make me give in for sure.
This is where I have to set the boundary. "David, you are not missing any opportunity to flirt with me, and trust me, I am totally getting your signal, but I need you to know I am not ready for anything, not now at least."
He made me turn toward him. "Thank God, I thought you were too dumb to read, and hey, did you misread my signal? I am not asking for any relationship shit thing, you know, a one-night thing." "Of course, I know, but right now I am not ready for anything. I need a break; I have to overcome a few things." "About your past?" "Yes." "I know about your family, as it was all over the news. When I saw you on the first day, I got to know how much this job means to you, and no judging, I won't ask you anything. It's none of my business. If you want to share, I am always here. Please do remember that whatever it might be, I am going to be with you." "Thank you, really; this means a lot." "I am a bloody gentleman for your information, but you wounded me by rejecting me, damn. I had a record, you know, of no rejection. You broke my record; it's hurting, you know." "Are you trying to get your way by using these sympathetic lines?" "Well, did it work?" "I don't want to hurt you twice in a row." "Wow, unbelievable. Hey, if you are missing to notice, I am handsome and a damn good human being. I deserve a bloody chance. When are you going to give me a chance to taste you?" "Now you are using romantic lines; take a break, will you? I am not rejecting you; I need time. Maybe someday it will work out, as you won't miss the bloody opportunity to chase me to your bed, right?" "Gosh, am I that obvious? I guess from Day 1, I was right. Why hide it? I so want to spend a night with you, and you are making sure of it." "Yes, yes." "But you need to face the consequences of rejecting me. I am not going to help you with cleaning. Do it yourself, and make sure it is spotless. I am going to recheck tomorrow just to get back to you. "It's not fair, don't you think?" "Come on, everything would be fair if you agreed to spend a night with me. I am not that good at taking rejection with a bloody smile; you deserve this, and I am going to the pub to remove my frustration. See you, Gray."
When I entered the flat, it was dead silent. I checked on my parents, but both were not there. Finally, they thought of leaving the flat and going for a walk or something. Some progress. I made my way to the room and took my time to get fresh; after that, I scrolled through random things. It was dinner time, so I came out and noticed that my parents were not back yet. It was more than 2 hours, where the hell might they be? I made my way to the kitchen. Mom had already prepared food. I thought of waiting for them, so I made my way to the dining hall. There was a letter on the table addressed to me. When I opened the letter, I recognized the handwriting; it was written by my dad.