Episode 4

"Mm-hmm. But…" He swept his eyes searchingly around the office." Where's Nana, Daddy? I told Miss Gloria I wanted Nana's bear hugs." As he pouted, his head drooped.

Kelvin ruffled his son's silky hair, its richness was identical to his. "I told you your Nana can't be disturbed for now until she gets better."

"I know… But I still miss her."

"How many nights did I say she would be back for?"

"Eight…" He held his little hands up and started counting his fingers while they watched him with a grin slowly growing on their lips. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, and eight. Eight nights more, Daddy."

"Very good, King!"

Blinking hard, King's cheeks turned red. He glanced at his father towering on his body still laying flat on the examination table. "Can we go now, Daddy?"

"Uhh, not sure about that, son."

"I don't like coming here! It makes me puke all the time!" Scowling at his father, King folded his arms around his chest.

"Hey, little man. How are you feeling now?" Smith gingerly drew closer.

"I'm Good. I'm not… I'm not getting shots, right doctor friend?" His eyes welled with tears..

Smith flashed the little boy a soft smile. "No, little King, not today. Just try to take those colorful things your Daddy gives you, yeah? You do take them like the good boy you are, right?"

"Mm-hmm." While playing with his father's long fingers, he nodded sluggishly. "I do eat them, but… but they aren't sweet like those candies Nana gives me. I don't like them, doctor friend."

"I'm sorry you feel that way, King. I promise to make you all better so you would stop taking them."

"Will you make me stop eating those stinky stinky colorful medicines before my Nana returns after sleeping eight nights?"

The adults glanced at one another, then back at the little boy shifting his eager gaze from his father to Smith, and then the doctor in slip-on shoes. Then back again.

Kelvin cleared his throat then carefully lifted King off the table, putting his feet on the ground. They all watched as his little wobbly feet became stable.

They heaved a huge sigh of relief.

"You can go with your Daddy now. Be good, yeah?"

"Yeah." King tugged at Kelvin's jacket, then craned his neck, searching for his attention. "Pick me up, Daddy! I wanna go up there!"

He glanced down at his son with a straight face. "You should exercise a little, son. You are a big boy, you know..."

"No! Pick me up! Pick me up, Daddy! Put me up there!" He wriggled his body, pulling forcefully at Kelvin's suit jacket.

"Not here, King! You better behave yourself!"

Seeing the little boy scattering his limbs on the carpeted floor, Smith gingerly moved closer to the duo. "It would be good if you scooped him in your arms, sir. He's still a baby, and they like to cling to where they feel safe."

"Why do I always hear that fucking word everywhere I go? This son of mine is way up the chart! Beating me blue black". Kelvin hesitatingly lowered his towering self, then scooped the little boy off the floor and settled him into his arms. "Can you imagine him?" He watched King seize his whining instantly and pressed his cheek on his father's chest. "I still have ten, twenty, thirty… sixty… eighty… oh boy! More years with this brat? Fuck!"

Looking at his son who pulled his coat and covered his head with it, Kelvin shook his head. King wrapped his full arms around his father's neck as they exited the doctor's office.

Right on the road, while they sat at the back seat of their car, Kelvin cradled the little boy who slept peacefully in his arms. Slowly stroking his son's black curly hair, his eyes welled up with tears.

You are my boy… I'll do everything to get you better. Everything within my power, son! Tears streamed down his cheeks. He clenched his fists and drew his son closer to his chest. As his face contorted with grief, he covered his face with his hands and weeped silently into it.

"You never know anyone, not until you get very close to that person. And that's why I can never judge a book by its cover, until I'm sure of at least a free chapter." A silver haired man at the driver's seat watched the father and son through the rearview mirror. "Those people outside my boss's world are not privileged enough to see how soft he is inside." His hands clutched the steering wheel while his gaze shifted from the road to his boss and his adorable son cuddled in his arms.

******

At Syntia's tiny studio apartment, she sluggishly entered her room that was flooded with the full moon's tender glow. She was as naked as the day her first cry was heard. 

Sighing sharply with her head hung low, Syntia plopped on a small sofa sitting next to a heap of dirty laundry. As the raw stench oozed out from the pile of clothes, Syntia's nostrils flared as she sniffed the air. Twisting her face, she picked a cotton gown from the heap then slowly brought it to her nose, and gagged, tossing it away.

"You really must clear all of this mess, Syntia." Curled up in a ball, her eyes swept the room as she scolded herself. "You can't live like pigs because your life is shit... You better buckle up, or the buckle will lock you up forever!"

Still deep in thought, Syntia jerked up at the sharp ring of her phone held together with a rubber band. She frowned at it, then walked past the coffee table to a stool, picked up a large shirt and cladded her bare skin with it.

"Gee, could you stop calling already!" She grabbed the phone from a stool at the foot of the bed. "Who the hell is this?!"

"Oh boy…"

"You better speak now or I'm dropping the call!"

The caller who seemed to be a male, cleared his throat. "Am I on to Syntia?"

"Who wants to know?"

''You're being invited for a job interview at Clearview. Please come with your portfolio as early as first light."

"What interview?" She knotted her brow. "When did I apply? And where the heck is Clearview in this city?"

Silence rained down on them.