FIRST LUNCH TOGETHER

"Angel, let's drop by at the nearest Jollibee to get lunch. I'm sure you're starving," Mad says when we are in his car.

"I'm fine; I'm not hungry, Mad. We can head straight to school; we can't be late for our class."

"No, we should take our lunch. We still have 20 minutes; it will be enough for a quick bite," Mad insists.

"Yes, let's do it then." I know he hasn't had his lunch yet. He must be hungry by now, and I'm guilty of not agreeing to his suggestion at first.

Mad shows a brief smile as he glances at me. "Max needs you; you should take care of yourself too. My mom always says that we can't take care of other people if we are not well enough."

"Thanks. You had a sweet mom." 

Finally, we approach the nearest Jollibee drive-thru after 3 minutes of driving. A service crew is happy to attend to our orders, and it only takes like 5 minutes to have our lunch in a box. Maddox insists on paying for both of our meals.

When I take it from the service crew, the box is warm, breathing its burger and spaghetti aroma, which causes me to realize that I'm starving. How can I not notice it earlier? I feel like devouring the happy meal inside the box.

"Angel, you can have your lunch; I'll have mine when we get to school," Max urged me when I set aside the boxes of meals.

"No, we can have it together; I'm not that hungry anyway." I lied.

"Well, if you say so."

It's hard for me to digest everything that the vet told me. My mind is preoccupied with what Max is going through right now. It pains me to realize Max has to be alone, and I can't be with him all the time in his treatment. Only Max and the Vet are on my mind on our way to the Harper International School that I haven't even noticed we are near the massive gate of our campus.

"So, let's eat here?" Mad exclaim. He must be starving like me.

"Sure, that's a good idea instead of heading to the school canteen."

"Yeah, we can talk here as well. I mean, if you want to," Mad says as he takes the meals I set aside. "This is for you." Mad, hand me one pack lunch.

I take it from him and open it immediately, excited to have my lunch with Maddox. Wait... God, this is my first time to have lunch with him. Since the first day I met him; I never thought he could be this humble.

I close my eyes as I sniff a mouthful burger; it smells divine. My growling stomach protests. "Smells good."

"Yeah"

"Yummy. God, I'm starving." I take my first bite, and so does Maddox.

"Now, you're hungry; I told you to have your lunch first; you didn't," Mad says, focusing on his food.

"It's better when you have a company. I can't eat alone while you're driving. I can't do that."

Maddox stays quiet, enjoying his burger. We have the same lunch. Maddox, just matching what I ordered first, burger and spaghetti. It's weird to have it together, but I'm craving it. So, why not?

"Mad, thanks for coming with me. Really appreciate you taking the time to visit my dog."

"Don't mention it. We're friends. This is what friends do, Angel. I don't wanna hear you like this again."

"But I can't help it. I'm overwhelmed."

"Get used to it," Mad says, his voice is clear and firm. Even if I can't clearly see his face covered by his curly hair, his eyes tell me the truth. I know he is sincere, so I press my lips in a thin smile in agreement. "Do you wanna talk about it?" He asks.

I got his questions; I know he is talking about Max's diagnosis. A silence lasts for a few seconds before I face Maddox again. I sigh when our eyes meet. "Mad, it's hard. I don't even know if I can discuss it with you now. But I want to let this out of my system. Can I trust you?" I ask; my voice is brittle.

"Of course, you can. But first, let's finish our lunch; let's talk when we are full enough."

I nod in response and then start having my spaghetti. One of the best things to have when I am a little bit depressed. A little spicy and sweet at the same time.

"I have an idea," Mad says as he rolls up his orbs, who seems to be thinking of an idea.

"What?"

"If you get to finish first, I'll treat you for lunch tomorrow, and if I get to finish first, you'll treat me for lunch tomorrow. Game?"

"Game," I agree and then start digging on my spaghetti. I am confident of winning since Maddox barely touches his spaghetti yet. I devour the pasta in my mouth like never before and don't even bother to check on Maddox until I announce myself a winner. "Finish," I exclaim.

Maddox's eyes widen, disappointment crosses his features. He still has one fork of spaghetti in his hand before he finishes it. So, it's confirmed that I won a lunch treat the next day.

"You are such a big eater, Angel. How did you do it?" Maddox's mouth is covered with spaghetti sauce all the way to his nose and even on his cheeks. Such a messy eater.

"Actually, I'm still a maze; you only have one twirl of spaghetti in your hand. When we start, you barely touch your spaghetti yet while mine was almost half."

"Unfair," Mad says with a scornful face. I know he is pretending to be mad.

"Yeah, but I'm still the winner. You can't take it back." I pouted like a stubborn child.

"Alright then, free lunch tomorrow, AGAIN," Maddox emphasizes the last word like he is annoyed.

I like his sense of humor. For a short time, I forget Max's health condition.

"Is it Max again?" Mad ask. He must have noticed my facial expression dulls.

"Yeah. I'll tell you what happened."

I'm all ears."

"The Vet said that Max has pulmonary fibrosis, and it hasn't been detected early, so it is acute. I don't fully understand everything he said, but I know for sure that it's not gonna be easy for Max. I'm scared. This is the first time I got scared of my boy; he was admitted before but not this worse."

"It's gonna be okay, Angel; Max will fight for you. He's a good boy and a fighter."

"I can't help but blame myself that it has come to this. Maybe Max hasn't got enough medical attention. I am not certain of anything right now. Was it the cheap clinic I used to take him to, or was it just me who was neglectful? I don't know, Mad, I don't know." My chest tightens, thinking of what might happen to Max. I can't take it; I only have Mom and Max.

Mad held my arm, which made me shift on him, locking stares into his eyes. "Don't blame yourself; I know you love Max, and that would be enough. Now, what you can do is take care of him and let's wait for the development. Dr. M's clinic is really good in handling patients."

Maddox's voice is one of the softest I have heard in my life. His voice gives assurance that everything will be fine, where in fact, I knew that it wouldn't. I forget the pain for a moment, and it seems surreal to have his hand on my arm, giving me comfort from my sorrow. I never knew that a simple gesture of touch could change me. Nobody ever showed me this kind of affection before.