“Nice girl,” Al observed.

“Yeah.”

“Are you… sure you don’t want to be with her?”

“Why? Do you like her? She’s available, if you want. I don’t know if she likes older guys though.”

Al gave Yui a disgusted look. “How dare you. You can just have sex with a girl and abandon her like that?”

“It’s not like I just played her and let her believe it was something more serious than it was,” Yui explained. “It was a business transaction.”

“She loves you,” Al argued.

“Mia is my friend, Al,” Yui explained, calmly. “I care about her. But I’m not in love with her. She knew it was business. I did it for her mental health. She knew I had already done business with lots of people in our village before she asked to hire me. It wasn’t like we were dating and then I left her to pursue this.”

Al was silent for a second. He felt bad for judging Yui. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Yui shrugged. “Not everyone gets it. It’s a weird job.”

“Do you ever think of going to school and getting a… normal job?”

“Sometimes,” Yui admits. “But I figure I’m helping more people this way. Or at least, I can directly see the effects of my work, this way. I can see how I put a smile on people’s faces.”

“Huh,” Al looked at Yui, as if taking him in for the first time. “So you’re seriously doing this for selfless reasons.”

“Well, it’s not like it isn’t fun for me, too,” Yui blushed. “But I mean, if I didn’t have this power, I don’t see myself going around with people like this.”

“Really?”

“Well, it wasn’t exactly my teenage dream to sleep with everyone in my village.”

Al’s mouth gaped open. “…did you?”

Yui got even redder. “…Not everyone.”

Al pursed his lips and glanced away.

“There we’re just a couple people I had my eye on,” Yui explained. “I dated them for a little bit, and then… when I discovered my power, I realized I could really help people.”

“So you started… offering your services?”

“Uh-huh,” Yui nodded.

“Even to people you weren’t interested in?” Al asked. “I wouldn’t be able to do that.”

“If I really didn’t want to do it with them, I’d turn them down,” he explained. “But it’s hard when I really want to help people.”

“Just don’t let people walk all over you,” Al advised. “It’s your choice. And your body.”

“Of course not,” Yui agreed. “They wouldn’t have forced me. I was friends with everyone in the village.”

“Well, people in the city aren’t that friendly,” Al said. “Just be careful. Not to act like a dad, but …On that note, you’re using protection, right?”

“Always!” Yui responded. “I make it a requirement on my website that my clients have to be okay with that. I’ll turn them down if they can’t accept the terms.”

“That’s smart,” Al said, as he rubbed his own shoulder. “Man, I feel old. I’m aching so much these days.”

“That’s surprising to hear, with how fast you can run! I thought I was fast!”

“Eh, I just have long legs. Anyway, I’m beat. I think I’m gonna head upstairs for a nap.”

“Oh, okay!” Yui said. “Feel free to use the bed.”

“Thanks,” Al said. He made his way upstairs.

Yui passed the time playing games on his phone. It was five thirty when Anabelle came home from work, with numerous bags of groceries in her hands.

“Need some help?” Yui asked.

“That would be great,” Anabelle said, as she trudged into the kitchen. Yui thought the groceries looked like they weighed more than her. He jumped up, grabbed some bags from her and plopped them on the table.

“Be gentle,” she warned. “There are eggs in there!”

“Oops, my bad,” Yui said. He opened the egg carton to check the contents. “Phew, all good.” He unpacked the groceries and placed them in the fridge and cabinets.

“Thank you, dear,” she said, in a maternal tone. “Oh, could you leave the beef broth and onions out? I need them for dinner.”

“No problem, Ana,” Yui said as he grabbed the specified items and closed the fridge, before placing them on the counter. He quickly turned to Anabelle and said “hey, do ya mind if I play those video games upstairs?”

“Video games?”

“Yeah, the ones in the old bedroom.”

“Oh, of course not.” She replied, casually. “I certainly won’t play them.”

“Thanks a bunch!” Yui was about to head upstairs, and then he remembered that Al was sleeping. “Guess I gotta wait ‘till later, though.” He scratched the back of his head and then stood there awkwardly in the kitchen for a moment, unsure of what to do. “How’re ya feeling?”

“Wonderful,” she said with an airy quality.

“I’m glad to hear it!” He paused for a moment. He felt jittery, like he had to move his limbs. But he didn’t know where. He often had excess energy that he didn’t know what to do with. He stretched out his fingers and tapped his toes against the floor. “Need help with dinner?”

“That would be lovely,” she acquiesced. “Do you know how to make French onion soup?”

“Nope!”

Anabelle giggled. “That’s okay. It’s not too difficult. Could you fetch the cheese from the fridge?”

“As you wish, Milady!” He felt very handy when women asked him to fetch things, like a loyal dog. He quickly grabbed the cheeses from the refrigerator and held them out to her.

“You can put them on the counter.”

He followed her orders, getting all of the necessary supplies out. They started cooking. Or more accurately, she did. He hovered over her shoulder, awaiting his next command.

“You’re different when you’re not working,” she noted.

“You think so?”

“The night you arrived, you were more calm and slow. And mature, I suppose,” she tilted her head back and touched the end of the wooden stirring spoon to her chin. “But now you’re rather energetic and less polite.”

“Ah, sorry to disappoint.”

“No, actually,” she added, “I like this better. You feel much more real. No one can be a romantic Prince Charming all the time. Now I know you aren’t fake.”

“Oh,” Yui was surprised at this compliment. “Thanks. I only get into flirty mode when I’m working. This is the real me.”

“I like the real you,” she smiled sweetly as she stirred the soup.

Yui had been around enough women to be able to tell what they meant when they said that. He knew Anabelle wasn’t in love with him like Mia was. Which was a relief. It wasn’t uncommon for his patients to become infatuated with him after their appointments. He didn’t want that baggage. He needed to be free to continue his calling. He appreciated that Anabelle saw him as a person, separate from the role he played in his job. “Thank you,” he finally said. 

“You’re welcome,” she replied. “Would you like to add the spices?”

“Totally!”

He grabbed the salt shaker and made an attempt to sprinkle a tiny bit of salt into the pot, but it resulted in pouring a larger amount than intended.

He froze in embarrassment. He made an expression as though he had stepped into a lion’s den. He couldn’t bear making a lady angry. “M-my bad.”

To his surprise, Anabelle giggled. “It’s fine, sweety,” she said, as she patted him on the shoulder. “It’s not too bad. It’s still edible.”

“Oh, good!” Yui sighed with relief.

They continued cooking, and as they did so, Al quietly walked down the stairs and into the living room. He stopped a good distance away from them. They were talking amongst themselves and giggling as they cooked. A smile formed on his face as he watched them. Their happiness was contagious. Or at least, Anabelle’s was. But Al felt a little off. Jealous, perhaps. He always felt like he was on the outside looking in. Like he was a third wheel that didn’t belong.

Suddenly, Yui turned and met eyes with Al. “Hey, I was just about to come get you!” His voice grew louder. “Come on and eat with us!” He grabbed Al by the hand and pulled him into the kitchen. Al was surprised by how strong he was, as his body seemed to give in to the force of Yui’s pull.

Al sat down at the little round kitchen table. “It smells great,” he said. His voice was extra gruff, since he had just woken up from his nap. He cleared his throat, self-consciously.

Anabelle placed a crock of soup in front of Al.

“Why aren’t we eating in the dining room?” Yui asked her, as he followed her lead and set down another bowl.

“I just figured this would be easier than carrying hot soup into the other room,” she explained, as she grabbed the last bowl and placed it on the table. She and Yui sat down with Al.

“How is it?” Yui asked, expectantly, after Al took a bite.

“Really good,” he replied.

“No way!” Yui exclaimed. “It’s not too salty?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Awesome!” Yui cheered, as he did a victorious fist-pump.

“Is this your first time cooking?” Al asked him.

Yui thought about it. “I’ve helped out a couple times like this with the cooks back home. But it’s been a while. I’ve still never really cooked anything myself.”

The cooks? Al wondered what that meant. It sounded like the boy was loaded and had personal chefs. But he didn’t feel like prying. 

They continued eating, serenely. Al thought it felt nice to be included like this, as if they were a little family. He’d spent so many years eating alone that he had forgotten what it was like to have company. It might’ve been his imagination, but food seemed to taste better with people around.