He is just so peculiar [01]

Who does she think she is? My mother?

The woman let out another impatient sigh and I decided by then that I pitied her. I mean, it’s bad enough that she’s already missing one quarter of the movie. I wouldn’t like that either if someone does this to me, no?

“Here’s your change, ma’am.” I handed her the change and expertly stated, “It’s $90.40 altogether. Enjoy your movie.”

I gave her a tight smile even though she was glaring daggers at me and grabbed her food before scurrying to the movie theatre which unfortunately happens to be another level.

I breathe out a sigh of relief then make a face when she’s gone.

“Another bitch?” I heard my colleague, Fanny, inquired while sweeping the floor that was flooded with popcorns and cheese and god, what the hell are those sticky stuffs? Eww. 

“Oh, you know, the usual.” I treaded my way carefully towards the ice machine, which is no easy feat, then stretched and jump a little to reach the bucket that was placed at the top of the machine.

Then I began to collect ice into the bucket to refill the ice at the drinks section.

Despite the loud sound that the impact of the ice and bucket make, Fanny thinks that it’s alright to have a conversation with your hearing only half-impaired. In fact, she thinks that it’s totally fine to have a conversation anywhere and everywhere, even while the both of us are using the cubicles side by side. She decided that the topic of nails were significant while we’re doing our business.

“Next time, Fye, don’t keep calm and just punch that bitch in the face.” Fanny was leaning on her broom while gesturing wildly with her hands.

It took me a century to reach the drinks section while carrying the heavy bucket. And then it took me another century to haul it up onto the table and pour the ice into the filler.

Huffing and puffing, I replied nonchalantly, “Fan, no matter how much you and I desire to do just that, you know we can’t. I know it pains you to see me being bullied by customers but face it, what are we going to do if we lose this job, huh?”

“Then we’ll find another job. I don’t see any problem with it.”

I walked back to the ice machine to gather more ice again making sure that Fanny didn’t missed the look I gave her. “It’s easy for you to say that but not for me.”

I paused for a moment and stare blindly ahead suddenly the image of my four-months-old nephew conjuring into my mind, making me more aware that I’m single-handedly caring and guardian for him. 

When I’m not working, of course I’m the only one who is taking care of him but I need money and money comes from earning an income. So, I needed a job badly to support my baby nephew. If not for my good ol’ Fanny, who got me a job here with her despite its low pay and far from home, I would be begging for food and shelter.

And when I’m working, there’s always Georgia, Fanny’s mom, a godsend to earth whom I can rely on to babysit little Jacky for me. It was a blessing that I thanked god every day for it.

My sister, Adele, and I had been living by ourselves ever since we started college. She’s only a year younger then I am but it seems like we have a huge gap between us in a point of view of experience. I was always the nerdy sister, irrelevant, unsophisticated, practical and quiet whereas Adele was the exact opposite of me. She’s the type of girl who had many boyfriends, who plays ‘Truth and Dare’ and preferred doing dares instead. Adele would always go missing and suddenly appeared at home out of nowhere after a wild party she attended while I was studying hard for the next semester exams. 

I was very worried about her. Not to mention that I was receiving anxious and furious calls from her professors and lecturers that either they have not seen her in lecture or she hadn’t hand up her projects.

And before I knew it, she got herself pregnant. Who is little Jacky’s father? I have no bloody idea and the sad thing is, neither does Adele.

The both of us suspected that it must be Adele’s current boyfriend, Nate, but he vehemently refused and rejected that the baby is his. He said what all the nonsense about them using 100% protection during sex and that Adele’s a whore, sleeping with his best friend, Sam, behind his back and also with other guys in the campus.

I fervently thought and hoped that Adele would be absolutely furious and appalled at him for accusing her without any valid evidence or support about her being so cheap and available but she was downright silence while he gave us-me- the accounts of Adele’s wild life.

I was hurt. Deeply hurt.

But life goes on for the both of us, I manage to finish my college and barely pass my final exams even though it’s over for Adele. I had to; not only for me but for Adele and her unborn baby. She gave birth to a beautiful baby boy and sadly, I was the only one there for her. While I carried the bundle of joy in my arms, I was filled with a sudden intense possessiveness and tenderness towards this baby.

I need to protect him from all the dangers and ugly truths of the world and that this little guy here needs guidance when growing up. I made a promise to myself right then that I would do whatever it takes to support and protect Adele and her baby.

But things start to go downhill once we returned home. I really thought that Adele has changed for the better ever since she was pregnant but I was wrong. Absolutely wrong. Adele returned back to old self after meeting a guy at a pub who claims to be the descendant of Queen Elizabeth. She told me that she had fallen in love at first sight. Or maybe fallen in love with his money. I don’t know which one of them I should believe.

Two weeks and three days later, Adele was gone. But she was kind enough to leave me a note:

Dan always wanted to travel the world and so, on impulse, I decided to follow him. I’m sorry. Truly, I am. I know you’ll be angry at me for this but I feel that I need this vacation to think about myself and Jack. I’m not sure when I’ll be back but I will definitely come back home after I’m done thinking. Promise. Please, I hope you’ll understand. And tell Jacky that I’ll be back for him. Once again, I’m so sorry…

Love, Adele

Anger doesn’t begin to describe how absolutely stupid and foolish she was. Hasn’t she learnt her lesson? Doesn’t she know the full responsibility, hard work and resilience it took to become a mother or parent? Does she know that Jacky needs her more then she realize? She is old enough to know what’s wrong and right but apparently, she doesn’t give a care about any of it. Unfortunately, that includes me and her baby.

She has always been the type of person who goes headlong into danger without any protection or caution and does things without careful consideration or second thoughts. It had land her in a permanent and unavoidable situation now, and Adele finds it too overwhelming for her to handle thus, she’s handing it all to me and only me.  

But I have to admit that I learned so much about babies after she left Jacky under my care. The bond between nephew and aunt became so frighteningly strong that I felt as if I was the one who born Jacky instead of Adele.

That little pudding is now mine.

My nephew. My son.

 “Fye? Fye? FYE!”

I jerked back to reality, shaking my head and blinking rapidly, realizing that Fanny had been calling me for quite some time.

She pointedly looked at the counter and mouth out “customer” to me. I sighed heavily and put down the bucket, trudging my heavy ass to the counter to face another customer.

“Hi. What may I get for you, sir?” I asked expertly in a matter-of-fact tone.

“May I have a waffle cone of Cookies n Cream ice cream?” His voice was unexpectedly low, deep and not unpleasant.

“A- wait. Hold on. I’m sorry but we don’t sell-“ I looked up at the guy I was serving to and my legs decide that it couldn’t stand any longer.

The guy was tall. Absurdly tall. And he’s quite young, around late 20s maybe? He has such a handsome face though he’s leaning towards to chisel than classical. His protruded jaws are firm and tight, filled with fine bristles while showing off his unmistakably confidence and arrogance. His cheekbones are finely defined and chiselled. His eyebrows are black and thick but fine, matching his intense icy pale eyes. I couldn’t decide whether it’s blue or silver; in between, I guess. His hair is sombre dark, lying naturally tousled on top of his head. My gaze travelled down to his broad and wide span of his shoulders and chest. His biceps are muscular, making my eyes wider than it already is. And I was pleased to find a lean abdomen. So much masculine radiating from this beast, I wondered how can a woman stand to be in the same room with him and not want to rip his clothes off him.

Not bad. Not bad at all.

I blinked, realizing that I was checking him out indiscreetly. I stare back up at him, noticing he was checking his fill of me too. Our eyes collide once again; his eyes filled with amusement and mild curiosity.

The way he looked at me, as if he intend to make me know that he knew I was checking out on him. Maybe he did. My face turned beet red.

I cleared my throat and proceeded to say my piece, not daring to look him in the eye, “I-I’m sorry sir, but we don’t sell any ice-creams here. Why don’t you try that café over there?”

“I change my mind. Suddenly I don’t feel like having any ice cream.” He commented smoothly, leaning down on the counter.

I swallowed and gritted my teeth before daring myself to look him in the eye.

He was gazing intensely at me, his gaze certain and unwavering. It pricks on my skin while a shiver ran down from the top of my spine to rock bottom. He’s eyeing me like a predator who finally found his prey.

 “Then what else may I get for you, sir?” I stilled myself to stand on my ground.

His gaze dropped to my mouth as if he’s enthralled by every word I spoke. A few seconds past before he averted his gaze back to my face and I noticed that his eyes has turn a shade darker appearing almost piercing blue.

He stretched his lips into a half-smile and said with that ridiculously sexy voice of his, “What do you think I should I get?”

I blinked at his unexpected question. “I-I’m probably not the best person to ask about this kind of things. Why don’t I’ll let you talk to one of my seniors-“

“No, love. I didn’t ask for them. I ask for you.”

I stared blindly and mutely at him. Not thinking clearly at all. Well, at least there’s finally someone who thinks about me before their own.

 I shrugged slightly. “Well… the popcorns are usually the popular ones and then there’s-“

He placed a finger on my lips, freezing and silencing me at the same time. My heart almost burst out from my ribcage and my body was so tense that I couldn’t move or blink a muscle.

“Tsk, tsk…” he grazed my bottom lip lightly with his thumb and murmured, “again, sweetheart. I didn’t ask for them. I ask for you. Only you.”

“M-M-Mine?” My lips trembled.

“Yes, love.” He gave me a slow smile. “Tell me what I should get.”

“I-I don’t know. Truly.” I lowered my gaze to his thumb.

He let go his hand and leaned closer to me, his eyes glinting under the lightning and whispered. “What food do you frequently steal here?”

I blinked. “Wha- I mean- how- I- No, I mean you-“

 He winked at me and gave a little laugh at my priceless expression.

“I’m putting my bet on… Cheezy Sausage. I’m sure you love those stuffs.” He said, his eyes sparkling with pure amusement.

I was dumbfounded. Not only did he guessed correctly that we always “steal” those sausages but he was right on the mark that that is my favourite food here. How could a stranger know so much about me? This is creepy. Absolutely and infinitely creepy.

“Okay… and how many of these sausages do you want?”

He cocked a handsome eyebrow. “Can I have ten of them?”

This time it was my turn to have my eyebrow up at him and teasingly said, “Only ten?”

“Why… is that not enough for a man my size, my fair lady?” He crossed his bulging arms across his chest. “Alright then, give me twenty.”

Both of my eyebrows went up.

He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Okay, fine. I’ll indulge you. Give me the whole damn freezer filled with those sausages if that pleases you.”

Laughter escape from my throat, making me grinned like an idiot. I almost categorized him as one of my creepiest encounters I had in my life but I’m beginning to see that he’s truly not that unpleasant or creepy. Especially with a guy who is so damnably good-looking.

“I don’t think I can allow you to do that. We need the freezer as badly as you want those sausages.” I replied, getting more comfortable with him.

“Thank you very much but I have a devil of a sausage permanently attached to me that has a mind of its own and one is enough for me,” he grinned mischievously down at me.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. Guys. Seriously.

“Twenty sausages, it is then?” I asked while I key them into the system.

“Yes, love.”

My eyes snapped up at him at the endearment he gave me and frowned before leaving my position for the moment to take his confounded sausages.

I felt my colleagues staring at me while I was taking those twenty sausages behind my back. I scowled deeply and purposely took a sudden turn to catch them looking intently at me before pretending that they were looking at another direction. I then collect his sausages and placed them in a plastic bag. Tilting my chin up high as I walked back to the counter, daring anyone to say anything about it. About him.

“Here you go. That’ll be-“

“Here. Keep the change for yourself.” He handed me a thousand bill note.

“What? I can’t do that! What do you mean I keep the change? Don’t you want your money back?” I exclaimed.

“Yes, you can. The rest of the money is for you after I key in my payment for this sausages. And no, I do not want the change back. You’re holding the money now, so it’s yours. I’m gonna scream murder if you’re giving it back to me.” He sounded so believable that I wonder if he escaped from a mental asylum.

“I don’t want any of your charity.” I gritted my teeth as I held out the money to him.

“If it’s charity, sweetheart, you’ll get a whole packed of clothes and food from me too.” He raised a cocky eyebrow that mocks me. “Let’s just take this as an act of kindness from a stranger, hmm?”

I gazed at him long and hard before finally letting go of his gaze, (very much) reluctantly accepting his offer.

“Ah, finally.” He muttered.

Without warning or whatsoever, he took my hand and brought it to his lips. I gasped and stood frozen on the spot, my eyes as wide as an owl.

“Methinks my lady doth protest too much.”

He gives another kiss on my knuckles, his eyes flickering with sinful promises and boldness, and then he walked off.

I was still standing, frozen at the same spot and position a few minutes later until Fanny came to me to bring me back to reality again. In my daze confusion, I realized I was being pulled to the store room at the back where we usually keep our stocks by Fanny and I knew what was coming.

“Okay.” Fanny held out both of her hands, palm out. “Oh my god! What. The. Freaking. Hell. Just. Happened?”

“Oh, I don’t know. I guess he was just interested on my hand instead of me. I’m sorry that you’re disappointed that he kissed my hand instead of me, Fan.” I replied back sardonically, a fist on my hips.

Fanny makes a face and then narrowed her eyes at me. “Do you know him personally?”

I opened my mouth to say my piece but talkative Fanny has always been talkative.

“If so, how come I didn’t know anything about him? Is he your new neighbour? Or perhaps he’s your new secret lover that you’ve kept hidden from me? Is he rich? Well, he looks important but he could be a beggar wearing good clothes. Anyway does he-“

“STOP IT!” I exclaimed as loudly as I could without raising suspicion from my other colleagues.

Fanny pursed her lips, annoyed and furious that she was cut off from her enquiries but I didn’t care. She knows me too well to continue her talking after I cut her off.

“Firstly,” I used my fingers to tick off my points, “I DO NOT bloody hell know who the bloody hell he is. Secondly, he is not my neighbour. Thirdly, how in the blazes of hell is he supposed to be my lover when my virginity is still very much intact? Lastly, I don’t freaking care if he’s rich or a beggar, he isn’t my problem and that will be the last time I’ll ever see him again for goodness sake. His life is not mine to judge or live.”

She stared at me for a moment, eyes narrowed regarding me suspiciously and her lips pursing from side to side. Finally, she sighed and rolled her eyes in defeat.

“Alright, fine, whatever. You know I always knew whenever you’re lying to me. And my gut instincts told me it’s the truth and so it shall be. But one thing, honey.”

I grinned back at her. “What?”

“You just gotta stop acting like a ninny in front of a guy. Damn to hell but that guy is really one sexy momma and did you see his butt when he walked off? Oh my freaking god, he is just so fucking hot, I can’t-“

“Fanny! I know. I get it.” I laughed, my mood improving delightfully. “Why don’t you chase after him? I’m sure he’ll be more delighted to be with you then me.”

 “No, thank you. My Robby is certainly enough for me. Very much, in fact. Though I hope he comes back for you.” Fanny tapped my cheek lightly and smiled.

I pursed my lips. “Nah, I bet you Queen Elizabeth’s coronation crowns and jewels that he had already forgotten about me the second he turns away from me. That’s nothing but idle flirtation to him and besides, his type is usually taken.”

“Oh, don’t bet on it, hun. The unexpected always happens when you least expected it.” Fanny warned silently.

We started walking back to the front to continue our work and I replied defiantly to her before entering, “It sure does but never to me.”

“Never.” I whispered to myself.