New Problems

There are days when I both feel blessed and cursed at the same time. And today is no different. It shouldn't have surprised me, since Jack told me a few days before that he was going on an end-of-the-year trip with his classmates just before graduation. So, I was overjoyed at the thought of getting a few days off to rest and to only care about myself. Unless his father orders me otherwise who usually pretends like I don't exist even when we are eating at the same table, so I have nothing to worry about.

But then it dawned on me... If Jack won't be here it also means that there'll be no one to take care of his cat. This also means I have to take it in since I cannot freely enter his room whenever I want to unless I want his father to see me. Which I don't. Luckily, on the first day, I managed to sneak into his room to feed the cat without his father noticing. I tried my best to exploit the times when he wasn't at home but I won't always be this lucky. I cannot go on like this for another two days.

But the mere thought of having an animal roaming around in my room just irks me. And that smell of the litter... I can't even fathom how Jack can put up with it. I get it, it's a cute animal but still. And I can't put it anywhere else, since I certainly don't want his father to find out about it. He really doesn't seem the type, who likes cute little animals or animals in general.

My savior came in the form of Mrs. Nichols, who stopped me on the way to my room to smuggle up some food in order to feed the cat.

"I did some grocery shopping in the morning and I also bought a few things I thought you might need," she said and handed me a bag full of cat food.

"How did you...," I said and took the bag from her. She looked at me in a kind, motherly way. "When I cleaned the young master's room, I couldn't help noticing it. I can take care of it until the young master returns home if you would like."

"I would really appreciate that. I don't know how to deal with these kinds of things," I told her in a quite cryptic way in case Jack's father came upstairs after returning home and happened to hear us.

"Is it still in the young master's room?" I only nodded a little in reply and watched as she went into his room and picked up the cat. I helped her bring the cat's bowl, litter box, and the bag full of food she just bought. She used the absence of Jack's father to properly wash the cat for the first time since it was brought home. She seemed very good at doing this.

"Do you also have a cat at home?"

"Yes, but it's older. We bought it for my son when he was little."

I guess that's something parents usually do. Except his.

"Do you think his father would be angry if he finds out about this?"

"Mr. Liu? Well, I wouldn't say he would be angry. But wouldn't be happy either," she said slowly, drying the cat with a towel.

"But it's only a matter of time until he finds out."

"If you don't mind me saying, if the young master really wants to have this cat, then maybe he should tell Mr. Liu in a situation when he cannot possibly refuse it."

I stood there dumbstruck and made a mental note of this. I haven't got a single idea how to do it but maybe we can figure something out together when he returns.

But, I still need to wait for two days until then. Not that I'm waiting for him or anything. I finally have some peace and quiet. However, eating is a bit of a hassle because I have to eat earlier than usual since I don't want to eat all alone with Jack's father in the dining room. I want to avoid the dead silence or any awkward questions about my background if I can. Since the cat was now taken care of or at least for the time being, now I finally have fewer things to worry about.

Mrs. Nichols left not long after feeding the cat. She said she is taking the cat home until Jack returns. It's less risky this way. And I couldn't agree with her more.

I went upstairs and took a celebratory shower, perhaps a bit longer than I used to back at home, since this time I don't have to worry about my water bill being higher. Since nobody was home except me, I dared to go downstairs only wearing a robe, and made some popcorn. I was halfway through Now You See Me when someone called me.

The minute my phone started to ring, I immediately knew it could only be him. Who else would call me on this number? This is a new phone with a new number used only for communicating with him, while mine is out of service since I had a different phone in the past. And the current version hasn't even been produced yet. So obviously, even though my current phone is working just fine, I cannot use my own number, since I'll only have it in the future. Or at least that's how I think it should be.

I looked at the screen and it was really him. I was on the verge of not picking up and letting it ring. After all, this was supposed to be my day off. But my helpful nature just didn't let me.

When I finally picked it up, he didn't even say hello. So neither did I.

"We have a problem," he said in a quite agitated voice.

"We? I'm sitting in my room watching a movie. What problem would I have?" Except you disturbing me, I thought but didn't tell him. He might have called me because he found out something else concerning my situation.

"Alright. I have a problem. The thing is, someone stole my clothes. So you need to come here and bring me some. ASAP."

"I hate to remind you but it's still in the afternoon. And you didn't travel to the end of the world, so there might be some shops still open, where you can buy all the things you need, so you don't need to wear the same clothes two times in a row."

"But I can't."

"Why? You have money. You don't seem a gambler to me either. And even if you were, your father could send you money, I'm sure of it. Or were you robbed?"

Upon this possibility occurring to me, I sat up straight, worried about what might have happened to him. In my mind, I envisioned him standing all alone on the side of the road but then I managed to calm myself down. If he was actually robbed, he wouldn't have his phone to call me, would he? They would have taken that as well, not only his money.

"No. But I'm naked."