8 Feeding Leftovers

Marcel looked flatly at his brothers-in-law.

“I don’t think this is a good time to torture our brother-in-law,” Ronnie commented. “Mum and Dad said that if Marcel doesn’t want to eat, we shouldn’t force him.”

Ciko snorted.

“Gosh, that’s what mum used to say to us.” She commented. “We don’t need to tell mum ....”

“Huft, boring!” Alvon chided, he was Marcel’s brother-in-law who was neutral – never defending Marcel, but also never trying to prevent the abuse from happening in front of his eyes.

“Ron, today, I’ll just tell Marcel to clean up all the leftovers.” Shirley intervened. “No more fuss, remember, he almost killed himself yesterday because of you.”

Marcel wondered why Shirley was defending him this time, though of course that only sparked laughter from the mouths of Ronnie and Ciko.

“That’s just because your husband is mentally weak!” scoffed Ciko. “A real man wouldn’t be as weak as him!”

Marcel resisted the urge to answer his brother-in-law’s insults.

“Even his life refuses to leave his body, ha ha!” Ronnie laughed.

Marcel clenched his fists.

“That’s it, brother! That’s it!” interrupted Shirley as she beckoned Marcel to come closer to her. “Let me tell my husband to eat ....”

“Well, well, she’s starting to recognize her husband!” laughed Ciko, teasing his sister.

Alvon, who was reluctant to get involved again, immediately left the kitchen, even though he sometimes joined in the fun with his other siblings. Whether it was just watching or holding Marcel if he was in the mood.

“Well, you got lucky this time.” Ronnie looked at Marcel. “As long as you actually finish our leftovers, or else we’ll force you again.”

Marcel sighed and pretended to be the usual helpless brother-in-law.

“Yes, I’ll try to finish it ...” said Marcel in order to make all his brothers-in-law satisfied.

“Tell him to eat,” Ciko said while glancing at Shirley. “All that food was bought with money, so tell your husband to be a little grateful.”

“Yes, yes, Ciko!” said Shirley as she rolled her eyes, until Ronnie and the others left the kitchen.

Then she turned to Marcel and said, “Did you hear what my brothers told you?”

Marcel did not answer, so Shirley took a clean plate and poured all the leftovers together on it.

“This way it can be one serving,” Shirley commented with satisfaction. “Another saving.”

Marcel looked at the remnants of rice, coconut milk, fish bones that were still intact with their heads, and chicken pieces that were no longer intact.

In the past, Marcel had been willing to eat the food because he had no other choice, but now just looking at it made him feel nauseous and disgusted all in one.

“What about you?” asked Marcel as he looked at Shirley.

“What do you mean?” asked Shirley with a frown.

“You can’t swallow those leftovers?” Marcel asked back. “If you can, I’ll pay you.”

After hearing Marcel’s words, Shirley suddenly smiled dismissively.

“You’ve become so lopsided since the poisoning?” taunted Shirley with a shrug of her shoulders.

“I’m serious, I’ll pay you if you can finish the leftovers yourself,” Marcel repeated as he put his hands in his pockets. “Able, no?”

Shirley immediately glared.

“How dare you make me eat such a disgusting dish!” Shirley snapped angrily.

Marcel smiled slightly.

“You’re disgusted yourself, right?” he commented calmly. “I’d rather not have you feed me if you can only afford leftovers.”

Shirley looked at Marcel with sharp eyes.

“You’re not being a jerk, are you?” she snapped, feeling insulted. “Don’t act like you have money! You’re already poor!”

Marcel exhaled loudly.

“If you don’t want to,” he said calmly. “You can’t swallow these leftovers yourself, can you?”

Shirley looked over at the plate of leftovers she had gathered together with a look of disgust.

“My brothers will torture you,” Shirley threatened again. “Don’t you know that they’ve already intervened?”

Marcel didn’t answer and only showed a flat expression.

An annoyed Shirley left the kitchen with stomping feet, Marcel didn’t care one bit about his wife’s threats. He grabbed the plate and immediately threw it into a plastic bag to bury it in the backyard.

***

Venya tidied up some of the empty food wrappers because she didn’t want to leave any trace that she lived here. It was still fresh in her memory when the Delvino family kicked her and her father out after their attempt failed for the umpteenth time.

Marcel’s mother and father had given Venya and his father some money to live on once they decided to leave. But, of course, along the way, the money ran out as he had nothing to hold on to, let alone a job.

“... research is highly valuable, more than just money ....”

Venya turned to Meru who was suddenly talking to herself.

“... the formula experiment didn’t fail, it just hasn’t worked yet ....”

Venya sighed, at least her father wasn’t showing any signs of danger.

When Marcel arrived late in the evening, Venya gasped as the man came in carrying a bundle of money, which he handed over.

“This is for our research expenses,” Marcel said firmly. “I’ll leave it up to you, since I don’t know anything about chemical reactions and such.”

Venya nodded.

“I’ll put it to good use,” the young woman said. “Where did you get it, by the way? I mean ... don’t you not have a penny? Or did you ...?”

Marcel nodded.

“You’re right, I used the funds on the card I found.” He explained. “At least, we don’t have to think about funds anymore.”

To Marcel’s surprise, Venya seemed to be thinking hard.

“Where’s your enthusiasm from yesterday?” Marcel asked with a furrowed brow. “Here, I’ve got the funding for our research.”

“That’s exactly it,” Venya said, looking at Marcel. “What if Mr Herman finds out about the money you have?”

Marcel considered.

“I won’t tell him,” he said. “My in-laws know I don’t have any money and should be looking for sponsors out there.”

“Great, then we can start!” said Venya excitedly, as she put the money Marcel gave her into a small black box and put it away in the cupboard.

“Where should we start?” asked a clueless Marcel. “I’m blind when it comes to chemistry.”

“I’ll guide you,” Venya replied with a smile. “You just need to be careful, but also diligent ... Because not always the experiments we do will work right away.”

Marcel just nodded, Venya then organized the activities they had to do tomorrow.

“So your husband wants to use the lab again?” Ronnie asked Shirley over dinner.

“Really, I’ve always been curious about the contents of that lab!” said Ciko. “How about we go there after this?”

To Be Continued—