"Why is it suddenly cloudy? Is today's weather forecast wrong?" Jose gazed at the situation outside through the thick glass in the main room of Racher Art, and he was even holding a glass cleaner. "When is the pizza I want coming?"
"Does pizza fly or walk on its own?" The voice came from a woman beside a tattooed man sitting on a sofa not far from Jose's position. A bottle of wine with three shot glasses, a pack of cigarettes, and a lighter lay on the table surface. The woman lit the cigarette's tip that was already pressed to her lips. "Maybe you should blab to the pizza guy because he's starving you."
Jose ruffled his loins at her. "You're right, Bianca. I should scold him until he cries."
Bianca smiled as she took a drag from her cigarette and leaned against the broad chest of the black T-shirt clinging to the tattooed man's body. "What are your plans for tonight?"
"Nothing." Denis lifted the sloka glass filled with a small amount of wine and gulped it down.
"Then let's meet at the 24night."
"Sure."
Jose stepped aside into another room of the two-story building owned by his friend and boss. Not long after the sound of a scooter stopped in front of Racher Art, Jose hurriedly ran out because he was ready to cuss out the pizza delivery man who stood with his back to him while removing his helmet.
"Denis, look how your employee is going to cuss out the pizza delivery guy," Bianca said as if ready to enjoy Jose's wrath. Still, Denis didn't look at his friend while Jose was already gyrating behind the pizza delivery girl who had just opened her big box.
"Hey, what took you so long? Almost thirty minutes since I ordered it on the app. Don't you prioritize your customers?" Jose began his rant. "Are you-" The man's lips pressed tightly together as Marra turned her head and smiled.
"I'm sorry, and I didn't do it on purpose. On one trip, I delivered to six places, and you got the last part. Then, on the way here, my scooter almost hit a small dog in the middle of the road. It turned out that the dog's leg was already injured. It looks like he was abused." Marra sighed heavily, wearing a regretful look as she recalled the little dog. She couldn't even bring it back home.
"I see." Jose softened. He even smiled, then rubbed the back of his neck. "I've misunderstood. I must apologize to you."
"No big deal." Marra handed him the pizza box.
"Money, huh?" Jose felt his pants pocket. "It's inside, just a minute." He rushed in and placed the pizza box on the table's surface, making Bianca's forehead furrow as Jose's expression looked happy. Where did the anger go?
"Denis, give me your money." Just as Denis pulled his wallet from his pants pocket, Jose hurriedly grabbed it. "Why is that girl so adorable."
"What? Didn't you scold her earlier? Now she's changed?" Bianca asked.
"She's too cute to scold, and she's like a lollipop." Jose came out and handed her a bill he had taken from Denis' wallet. "Just take the change."
Marra's eyes widened. "Really? You disappointed me earlier, so I had to give you the change." She reached into her jacket pocket.
"No, there's no need. I meant it. Consider it my apology for going too far."
"Hey, I told you it was no big deal." Marra smiled. She took Jose's hand and placed the change there. "Hope you enjoyed the pizza. I have to go back now." She looked up at the sky. "It's almost raining." He put on his helmet and hurried to sit on the scooter's seat, but just as he turned the key, the rain came down immediately. Marra rushed to get out of Jose's way.
"Miss pizza delivery lady, I think you should stay here for a while," Jose said. Perhaps he would enjoy this simple moment.
"I can't, and I have to return the scooter and go home. Don't you have a raincoat in there?" Marra looked back, and it was deserted. She squinted at Jose like she was suspicious of something. It was raining like this, and they were alone. She thought of the worst as she crossed her arms to protect herself. "No! No!" Marra began to fume.
"What?" Jose raised a pair of hands. "I'm not a bad guy. What are you thinking?"
"Then lend me your raincoat."
"Just a minute, I'll check inside." Jose stepped aside, indifferent to Bianca and Denis' activities on the sofa. The woman had been sitting on Denis' lap for who knows how long, draping a hand over his face while gently caressing it before passionately embracing each other's lips.
While Jose searched for something, he found Denis's raincoat in the drawer where the tattoos were executed but stared at it for a long time. "Should I lend this to that girl?" She smiled, then shook her head. "No, it's better for her to get caught in the rain here. Wouldn't it be nice if we could chat for a while? She could be the one to talk to when Denis and Bianca get hot." Jose closed the drawer. "I'm a good guy, and I won't hurt the pizza girl." He was full of confidence and walked back to Marra with a face full of regret, pretending.
"You have it, don't you?" asked Marra, but seeing Jose shake his head made her sigh in annoyance. "Are you serious? Did you search properly?"
"Sure, I've done it from corner to corner. So, Miss. It would be best if you hung around here for a while. Let's go in."
Marra shook her head quickly. "No way."
"I'm not alone here. My boss and his friend are here."
"All men?"
No, she's Bianca, my boss's date. They're there and ready to enjoy the pizza you brought." Jose pointed to the sofa to his right, which would be invisible from the main door of Racher Art as a two-meter-long curtain covered it, only opened if desired.
"Really? You're not lying?" asked Marra skeptically.
"You can check for yourself."
Marra took a hesitant step but ventured in any way. As she looked to her left-the girl almost cursed at the sight of a pair of humans busy making out, she moved back. "No way. What are they going to do next? You tricked me, huh?"
"Haish." Jose snorted. He girded his loins and turned his head to the right. "Hey! Can you guys stop doing that? You're making this girl uncomfortable, and she's my guest. If you want to continue - go upstairs."
Bianca looked away from Denis, and she gave Jose an exasperated look. "Since when do employees manage their bosses? Don't you see what your employees are doing, Denis?"
"Leave it alone."
Jose smiled wryly, feeling victorious now, and looked back at Marra. "They won't do that again, so come on in."
"Can I just sit there? I don't want to join them." Marra pointed to the space on the side of the thick glass.
"Sure, I'll take two chairs, just a moment." Jose perked up again, and he arranged two chairs on the side of the glass like he was in a cafe. "Sit down. Would you like some coffee?"
"You don't have any poison or drugs, do you?" The girl didn't fully believe him.
"Not at all."
Marra nodded doubtfully. She ventured back in and sat on the chair.
"I'll make some coffee for you." As Jose stepped aside, Marra turned her head to the right. Earlier, she hadn't paid much attention to the pair of humans on the sofa out of surprise, but now Marra could see that the man in the black shirt Jose called 'boss' had many tattoos covering both arms and wrists. Even the skin on his neck was almost invisible.
The man turned his head towards her, making them exchange glances for a few seconds before Marra broke the contact and focused on opening her phone.
"Hey, what are you looking at? I'm right here." Bianca directed Denis' face to look at her again. "As long as you're with me, don't look the other way. Okay?"
***
"Let's finish it, Ma'am. After this, take medicine." Marra was still kneeling in front of the wheelchair occupied by Lauren, her mother.Holding the plate and spoon, she was busy feeding her mother her daily medication and getting some rest.Marra placed the cutlery in a bucket with a pile of clothes that she would dry and then got a glass of water and some medicine for Lauren."You're smart. You're the best," Marra praised after Lauren swallowed all the medicine and water. "Now you need to rest in your room. Let's go there."She pushed the wheelchair into the modest rental house they had lived in for almost two years, with only one room, a small kitchen, bathroom, living room, and courtyard. Marra often rested in the living room on a sofa because she was used to it. It was no longer a problem for her.Lauren had had schizophrenia for years, and her husband had run away from the responsibility, leaving Marra alone to care for her mother with patience.If Marra were working, she would
"Is everything okay?"Marra put on her helmet and turned around, and the question had come from Luke, who had just put a few boxes of pizza in the large box on his employee's computer. Because she didn't answer–Luke also looked intensely at the girl in the pink jacket."Why? Are you quiet? How are you doing at work? I mean, it's been a few nights at 24Night," Luke said again. He was known to be an attentive and loyal boss."Oh, that, everything's fine.""Matthew's not giving you any trouble, is he?"Marra shook her head. "Not at all. I've been there three nights, he's a professional man, and his girlfriend is very friendly.""Lover?" Luke thought. "Ah, you mean Celine?""Right, we had some interaction. She's so beautiful." Marra smiled. "Well then, I'm going to deliver all those pizzas now. The sky is ready to cry again." The two of them looked up-discovering that the sky this afternoon was indeed starting to become unfriendly, already gray, and soon it might be joking at will."Be ca
"I bet Denis easily got the girl's number, right?" asked Selena looking at Jamie and Jose, then turning to Denis, who continued to stride past people in the dance floor area. Just stepping on his charisma was strong. So how could someone refuse his request? Denis was too charming to be missed."I'll bet my life on it," Jose said hesitantly."Are you crazy?" Jamie couldn't believe it, and he clucked dismissively. "Too confident. Denis is with you every day. You don't even understand his character.""I'm serious." Jose did mean it. Having interacted with the boundary-preserving Marra while delivering pizzas to Racher Art that day and having heard rumors that Marra had turned down many male offers, the girl must have kept to herself.Jamie and Selena should have seen the enthusiastic way Jose watched the couple's interaction at the turntables, and foreheads furrowed with curiosity.Before Denis reached Marra, the girl had already seen him from a distance–as Denis stared unblinkingly at a
It was a good thing Jose had a spare key to Racher Art's main door. Otherwise, he would have had to wait for his boss to open the door even though his hands were swollen from knocking and pressing the bell repeatedly, but the owner never came out, even though Jose had called his cell phone dozens of times. Denis's baby–like mood returned, and Jose thought he could guess why. The man walked up the stairs to Denis' room, and he didn't need to knock again to find his friend's body because the rectangular object that separated the room and the outside had been wide open since Jose arrived. A distinctive aroma wafted from inside the room. Several beer cans were lying on the floor beside the bed. When Jose checked one by one, there was only a whole can of beer left, but it had also been opened. Denis's ammunition from last night–after coming home from 24Night, the man was still lying on his big bed without a T-shirt on, but others wouldn't be able to see Denis's biceps if the body had vari
"Thank you for visiting. I hope we can serve you again." The last sound was Jose's as he ushered a client out of Racher Art, a client who had successfully spent Jose's three-hour period inking a tummy tattoo to cover up post–surgery stretch marks.Three hours, sitting for so long that the man's loins rattle as he twists left and right. "Tiring, really tiring." No matter how much he grumbles, Jose is devoted to his job.The man grabbed a soft drink can from the table in the main room, sat down, and gulped down the contents to quench his thirst, while the boss was utterly carefree as he lifted a pair of legs that rested against the wall while playing with his cell phone and enjoying a lollipop."I'm hungry. What should we eat this afternoon?" Jose leaned back, a pair of legs also straight on the table surface. "What to order? Is it pizza again? I heard a new flavor has been launched.""NO!"Jose was stunned when Denis spoke up. "What, no? I thought you had no intention of talking. What
"Where have you been? Why is it so hard to find you these days? Even if your cell phone is hard to reach, you can only when you're at 24Night. Unfortunately, I can't get close because you're with another woman." The complaint came from Emily, a woman who had only known Denis for a few days after accompanying her close friend to get a tattoo at Racher Art. Emily was the next woman ready to heat Denis' bed."Ah, I've been a little busy outside these days, sorry." That man did something that no one else knew, not even Jose, and he could go from noon to evening with the excuse of meeting someone.Even when meeting women, they came to Denis without being sought out. Jose couldn't get a feel for what Denis was doing out there. He was also busy with his work at Racher Art."Really? Or do you have a date with someone else?" Emily was still protesting, following Denis from the side of her car until she entered Racher Art and sat on the sofa.Denis just nodded. He took a pack of cigarettes from
Marra panicked that her mother had been injured and hospitalized when a neighbor–Marra called her was delivering pizza without telling Luke first–she sped to the hospital, her pink work jacket still clinging to her body as she ran through the hospital looking for Lauren's hospital room.When she found Aunt Romel talking to a doctor in front of the ward, Marra approached her. Sweat dripping from her head, she took her time to catch her breath until she felt utterly calm."I'm so glad you came," Aunt Romel said, "I know this has been a huge distraction from your work, Marra. I'm sorry for putting Lauren in the hospital, and I accidentally left her on the porch because I had to turn off the stove. I'm sorry, Marra." Aunt Romel's crying, which had stopped since she exited Denis' car, had resumed.She was genuinely terrified that she had hurt someone else even though it was unintentional, especially her victim Lauren-someone she was supposed to take care of and not go unnoticed. She felt
It was uncharacteristic of Marra to have trouble focusing on her work while mastering the turntables, people were still moving their bodies on the dance floor and enjoying the music Marra was playing, but the girl couldn't be as expressive as usual. Marra rarely smiled. She looked tense and several times looked to the corner of the room–where Denis was, the man's black irises also kept watching her despite the many humans around–as if Marra was the only one with the right to control Denis's line of sight.Ever since they parted ways in the hospital hallway, Marra had been unable to get Denis out of her mind, the man's voice ringing in her head freely, even louder with a high pitch than the music Marra was now listening to for the audience.Damn it, this is more complicated than anything, Denis' offer is tempting, but the consequences Marra has to accept are also a consideration. The request is too heavy, like Marra is obliged to jump over the glass board from one to another while gues