It’s been a week since the runaway of Namaste Irvin. She’s still haven’t been found. Her brother Arigato is getting more and more worried.
“Here,” I said as I push the bowl of noodles toward Arigato.
Since he came to me with the case, I’ve been overseeing the case. We gathered three forces and each went to at least two places the map he gave me starred. We stayed in town to gather more information and search the close perimeters. So far, no new information and no Namaste.
“When was the last time you ate?” I asked as he just stare at the bowl.
“I forgot,” he said, but still didn’t budge to reach for the spoon.
I grabbed mine and started slurping my dinner away. It’s late, but I came to find out that Arigato is a man of guilt and regret and wouldn’t stop unless he’s forced to. Though it’s only been a week, I’ve forced him three times to sleep for at least eight hours and nine times to eat meals.
I nudged his elbow. “Eat,” I said with my mouth full. I swallowed then said, “You can’t let your sister see you when you turned into a skeleton. You’ll surely give her nightmares.”
He laughed a little. I also came to find that he likes my lame attempts at humor very much. “I have been eating.”
“I’m not seeing it,” I said then slurped my noodles loudly.
He smiled, but I can tell that he did lost weight. He reach for the spoon with a sigh. “I can’t stop thinking about her. And what you said.”
“About me blaming you for her running away?” I reached for the pepper to add a little spice into my noodles.
“Yeah,” he dipped his spoon in the bowl and scoop up some soup. “I forgot when was the last time I actually have a full conversation with her.”
I nodded. “You both just shut each other off after your father’s death, it’s a natural thing to do when you lost someone close to you.”
“But I should have know better,” he said. “I’m the eldest. I should have reached out to her.”
“Well,” I nudged his side, “Eat so you can get stronger and look like her brother when you tell her that.” I looked at him. “And so when she hugs you, you won’t feel like a pile of bones.”
He laughed slightly again. “I guess.” Then he brings the spoon to his mouth and sipped the soup. I smiled.
“You are so kind,” he said as he went for more soup, “and knows how to eat.”
I laughed this time. “It happens when you’re hungry. This is just regular noodles soup.”
We sat silently for a while as I slurped my noodles and he sipped his soup.
“I wonder if she’s eating anything right now,” he said suddenly. Then he turned to me, “Father was a great cook. He cooks for all three meals, but it was dinner that we both favorites. That’s because he would always cook the best dinner. His mashed potatoes were the best.” He lowered his head a little. “After he died, we gradually stopped eating dinner together. Our step-mom, she also have other kids, so she didn’t care much about us.”
“You have other sibling?” I asked, surprised because he never mentioned that part. He mentioned the step-mom a couple times, mostly with admiration and kindness.
“Yeah,” he nodded. “But they are all children from her previous relationship. We get along… fine.”
“Fine,” I echoed him.
He shrugged. “Do you have any sibling, Officer Carmen?”
“I already said you can stop calling me that,” I smiled. “It’s odd. Just Ken is fine.”
“Oh, right.” He smiled back. “Do you have any sibling, Ken?”
The way he said that made it sound more embarrassing than him calling me Officer Carmen after working hours. “Yes, but we’re not related by blood.”
He looked at me, waiting for me to continue.
I sat up straight and looked at the roof of the noodles stand, “I have plenty of siblings, or that’s what the director liked us to called each other.” He’s quiet but I can feel the intense stare and attention he’s giving me. “At Francis’ Orphanage, we like to act like one big family. We still stay in touch even after we were adopted. Now and then I still call and see how my closest siblings are doing.”
He smiled, this time it was a warm smile, not a silly one. “You’re an orphan too.”
I gave him a little mean laugh. “I don’t consider myself an orphan. I live my life not thinking about it when I have such a large family and a family that accepted me without judging my biological parents’ decision. And you’re not an orphan, not in the way you think. You knew your father and have a caring step-mother. You’re not alone.”
Suddenly his eyes swelled with tears, just like that first day we met. He sniffed and wiped them off. “I’m sorry.”
I pat his shoulder. “There’s nothing wrong with crying. It’s manly, you know?”
His chuckles escaped through his nose and he smiled. “Are you alone then?”
I considered the question before saying, “I’m not alone. I just live alone.”
“And eat dinner alone?” he asked playfully, but it hits the spot alright.
“I don’t eat dinner,” I said.
“But we’re eating dinner,” he stated.
I kept my eyes on him as he stared at me. Then he cock his head to the right and said, “You’re an odd one, Ken.”
“Says the guy who cried easily.”
“Hey, it’s manly to cry, ok?” he scoop some soup and drank it instead of sipping it.
I smiled as I proceed to finish my bowl of noodles. Now that I think about it. I’ve been eating dinner. Staying active all day long and up most nights have lead me to eating dinner more often than I had ever since I started living alone. Most of them, I came to realize, are with Arigato.