Chapter 168 True Partners

They took their food and walked to a small park down the road where they could sit on a bench and eat. At first, Brandon was too reluctant to sit. He thought the bench was too dirty. He only decided to sit after Bella had wiped it clean with a piece of tissue.

“Sit down,” she said. “You don’t want your food to get too cold.”

She grabbed a potato stick and tried to stuff it down his throat.

He wanted to resist first but decided it was not worth spoiling her good mood. Slowly he opened his mouth and let her feed him. The soft touch and smooth taste immediately filled his mouth.

“Isn’t it delicious?”

“It’s great,” lied the kid. He didn’t want to disappoint her after seeing how much she was trying to please him.

Bella smiled satisfactorily and looked at him with excitement. “These are the best fries in the district. It is said that this recipe is three generations old.”

Bella ate one herself before she put another one in his mouth. He swallowed it without great enthusiasm. He realized that the first step was the most difficult one. For her sake, he would have to get accustomed to eating junk food.

He could clearly see the sweat on Bella’s forehead. Maybe he was not much different, because Bella took out a blue hankie from her pocket, and wiped his forehead and face. Then she took out a white one and wiped his lips. Her eyes were so gentle while she was doing this.

“How many different hankies do you have?” he asked.

“Just these two. I use one for wiping off sweat and one for after meals.”

“Did you happen to visit the Arctic region fifteen years ago?” he asked all of a sudden.

“Never been there,” answered Bella with a smile.

Brandon was disappointed by her reply. What was he expecting? The one who saved him that time was Katherine, not Bella.

What’s wrong with you? Did you plan to defy the truth just because of the color of a hankie?

Bella did not noticed his sudden emotional shift and kept feeding him fries until the bag was empty.

“Now it’s time for you to eat the hotdog.”

He took a bite out of it and found it much better than the fries. If only it had less ketchup!

“It’s good,” he said to please her.

“Can I ask you a favor?” she asked.

“What favor?”

“I need to leave for a moment.”

“Can I come with you?”

“Sorry, it’s not permitted. You will have to wait for me here.”

“How long will you be away?”

“I’ll be back by the time you finish that hotdog.”

“All right,” he said.

Bella got up and rushed to the food court where she bought an extra-size chocolate milk shake for Brandon. Upon her return, she noticed the boy was nowhere to be seen. She asked a young man smoking a cigarette on a nearby bench. He said that he had not seen any boy.

Bella looked around in a panicked state.

She saw a janitor outside a building. Maybe he had seen something.

“Excuse me, did you happen to see a boy, eighty or nine years old? He is probably this tall. His eyes are gray and he’s wearing a white shirt and black pants.” From the way she spoke, he could clearly feel her anxiety and fear.

“Yeah, I’ve seen him.”

“Really? Where?”

“Right behind you.”

She turned around and there he was. She rushed and put her arms around him.

“You won’t believe how much you scared me.”

“I’m sorry,” he said.

“Where did you go?”

“To throw away the rubbish. I did not expect you to be back so soon.”

Brandon stood there and allowed her tears to wet his clothes. He felt guilty and rubbed her hair to comfort her. 

Bella wiped her tears and smiled at him, “Sorry if I got you scared.” She stood up, held his hand and they walked together to the fountain.

“Here,” she said and gave him the plastic cup. “This is your chocolate milkshake.”

“I seldom drink chocolate,” said Brandon.

“Is that because you don’t like it or because your parents can’t afford it?”

“I don’t like it much.”

“That’s funny,” said Bella. “The Master of the house also dislikes chocolate.”

“The devil you mean?”

“Yep, the devil.”

“May I ask why are you so good to me?” asked Brandon.

Bella looked ahead as if she was thinking about how to give the proper reply. After a while, she shook her head.

“I don't know. I have the impression that we’ve met before, no matter how crazy that sounds.”

“I also feel that way.”

“Will you believe me it if I told you that our situations are not much different? I’m pretty much an orphan myself, with the difference that my mother is still alive, only she’s in a coma.”

“How sad,” said Brandon and stroked her hand with his finger.

“I believe that at this stage in our lives we’re going to need each other,” said Bella, “Do you want us to become true companions?”