ALEX's   P.O.V. 💜

        Down we go to fill the now growling empty stomachs. Arthur informs me along the way that Dan might be running late because of his work and he has asked us to head home after my shift ends.

"He was worried to death earlier this morning since he had to leave Jan, knowing lil Jan will end up crying all day," Arthur says with a sigh.

"But the work was urgent and needed his immediate attention also he asked me to thank you for helping us again today" he further adds.

"It's nothing much...I was partly responsible for Jan's outburst so it's not that I have done anything special..." I tell Arthur with a nod.

Arthur nods back but it seems as if he has more to say, however, he doesn't say anything further.

"Well well, look who we have here! Is that a little Angel with you Alex?!" Emily asks tilting her head as if genuinely curious as she claps her hands in excitement and walks towards us. 

She literally has hearts in her eyes which is the second time now... The first being when I brought a sleeping Jan with me but I guess she held back since he was sound asleep.

Jan came out of his hiding place that's my chest and looked at Emily and then back at me with his big dove eyes, as if asking for confirmation. I give him a nod with an affirmative smile. 

"Hi miss, I am January and I'm 5 years old and... I'm Lexie's friend," he says shyly fidgeting with his uniform shirt.

"Oh really? So will this lil Angel be friends with me too???" Emily asks lowering down herself to meet my Honeybear's eyes tapping on his cheeks softly.

Just like yesterday the word 'Friends' never fails to lighten up him! He looks back at Emily with a huge smile and a blush covering his chubby cheeks and nods multiple times.

"Yes!" he squeals with joy.

'How can someone grow cuter by every passing hour??!' I mentally scream as Emily and Jan seal their bond with a cute handshake.

"Alex, sweetie have your lunch with them already. I'll handle the customers till you guys are done..." Emily chirps happily satisfied at her accomplishment.

I look up at her to reply with a nod, but she is busy looking at something behind me curiously. I remember Arthur must have been standing there all along. This guy merges with the surroundings so well that keep forgetting him!

"Thank you again for helping us out Miss" Arthur bows his head a little thanking Emily for the 100th time.

He seems a bit nervous, which is a new thing for me and really fascinating too, since this man shows the least bit of reactions to normal human interactions!

Well, technically I shouldn't be one to talk since I might be the same towards random people!

"It seems we are all friends with this sweet of a young man over here, so please feel free to come in again whenever you feel like it!" Emily says, with a softer voice and a red tint covering her cheeks.

Suddenly the gears in my head start turning...

'Well done for figuring it out so soon dumbass!' my inner Devil snickers.

Yeah, I can be slow sometimes but certainly, I'm not blind to the obvious! Emily and Arthur seem to be interested in each other!!

Although I can bet Emily is a great person, I don't know much about Arthur's personality since he rarely talks... Still, one thing I can say for sure is that he'll be loyal to whoever he is with since he cares so deeply for his baby Jan and Danielle in a visible way.

Emily has been divorced for 6 years now and hasn't been in a relationship after that since she took it upon herself to raise Max well. However, in the start, she had tried to date a few, but it didn't turn out great so she just gave up along the way...she had told me while we had snacks yesterday. Emily loved talking to me for some reason, she was all professional and reserved when it came to the customers and the other part-timers though...

"You're like a second son to me,  but the cuter version which I had expected my 1st one to grow into..." She had said while giggling at her own thoughts.

Back to the situation at hand!  I decide to play the cupid and invite Emily to join us for lunch as all the customers have left already and two of the part-timers (whose names I have already forgotten...) are back from their lunch break. Emily takes up the offer with some reluctance and joins us.

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Jan has come to like Emily instantly and has ranted about how he'll bring his Mr. Pan next time to play with her. He also sang us some rhymes he learned in his kindergarten...

The little enactment along with every verse were so adorable! Even though his cute lil butt stuck to my lap while doing so and he only made cute hand gestures...

We all clapped at the awesomeness of the five year old and Emily gave him a pastry as a reward, which earned her a kiss on cheeks to which she fake fainted... 

Jan and I giggled at the silly stunt she pulled but Arthur rushed to help her back to her seat which caused both of them to turn into different shades of red!

'Get your ass out of here already you slothfuck' my inner Devil groans in annoyance at my slow wits.

"Jan needs to pee!" I say standing up abruptly and disappearing into the washroom as fast as I can.

'Seriously! What a lame ass excuse!' laughs my stupid Devil. 

"Lexie hurry! pee... pee" Jan says touching my cheek with his tiny chubby hand. 

'So this meatball did want to pee afterall!' I smirk smugly at my Devil to which he just rolls his eyes..

"Lexie uh... help me!" Jan says shifting from one leg to another impatiently when I put him down on the floor.

"Oh sorry honey, here let me help you!" I apologize for my stupidness and help him undo his pants and off he runs to the kids stall which has me laughing at his cute butt. 

We finish our business and I decide to take him to the backyard to give the couple in making some extra time.We stroll in the yard for a while....

Jan is currently intently starting at a butterfly which has landed on a daisy right in front of us. He has my trousers clutched tightly with his tiny hand while he points at the butterfly for me to look. He tries to get close to it causing the beautiful insect to flap it's wing and fly away. My Honeybear waves it a bye-bye with a toothy smile while I smile at my own beautiful Bear.

Knowing that it must be already beyond the normal 30 minute break time I head back inside holding Jan's hand in mine. 

.......⊂(｡⁠◕⁠‿⁠◕⁠｡⁠)⊃⊂⁠(◕⁠દ⁠◕)つ

I enter the Cafe with my Honeybun and head towards where the love birds are seated. 

Arthur and Emily seem to be getting along exceptionally well since I can see a series of new expressions on Arthur's face!

His eyes are filled with admiration as he listens to whatever Emily is talking while she claps her hands occasionally getting excited about the topic which I guess is one of her habits.

"Hello....sorry to disturb you guys...but Arthur can you hold Jan for me?" I ask to which Arthur immediately complies.

"I'll get back to work Emily, so you relax for a bit more we don't have many customers." I say flashing a wide smile at her. 

I give my Chocopie a peck on his forehead and whisper-remind him of our promise since he starts directing me those puppy dog eyes of his. Thankfully, he lightens up after that and nods with a bright smile.

"Don't worry Alex I'll keep him busy with something..." Arthur assures me to which I nod in appreciation.

I head towards the counter but Emily follows right behind me which makes me turn around to look at her.

"Alex dear, it's almost 4 and  Max will be here soon. So, why don't you clock out a little earlier? I had planned to do that anyway since it's your first day... And you already worked hard in the afternoon..." she suggests me which makes me delighted, but guilt overtakes me.

"But Emily.... You have already helped me today and with the job too... I can help a bit longer..." I try to express my worries.

Though whatever Emily suggested is in Jan's best interest, I'm already feeling responsible for all the hassle I caused her on my very first day of work. 

"Sweetie you have already baked enough and all that will last till closing for sure about the drinks you also separated the ingredients neatly so whipping a drink out of it is not a big deal... So, Sweetie just take it easy and enjoy the rest of the evening on my behalf with our lil Angel!" she says leaving me no space to argue.

I thank her still not sure if it's alright when she starts pulling me along with her towards the table at which Jan is munching on the cookie which Emily had handed him for being a good boy and Arthur conversed with him about something which has Jan all excited...

'Perks of being a midget... somebody praise my ass for doing nothing and crying all day too!' my inner Devil groans.

'Your ugly ass has no scope!' I revert back to him.

'Well, congrats since this ugly ass face is the exact copy of yours!' he enters the chat with a K.O.

Since I can't figure out a decent come back I decide to play the ultimate weapon which is sticking out my tongue and then muting him completely.

Hmphhh...

Emily announces the news to Arthur and Jan who have reciprocated with different levels of happiness.

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I don't know if I really deserve all the love that I have been receiving, since I'm still merely a stranger to them...

The first two days when I had touched down this foreign land, I had to search for a place to take shelter and a job to handle my new life. But, one the very first night when I had tried to find a place sleep, a creep had followed me causing me to make a run for it and I had finally stumbled upon this region of the city and my shelter... Which had me thanking the creep for a second! 

My second day went by in the process of gathering stuff to make a living for a few days, like dry wood and sheets to sleep on etc. which was difficult in this big posh city.

The place that I had managed to captured  was an old abandoned construction site without the walls. The whole area looked haunted which worked in my favour since other people feared the place and did not wander around. It was as if the building might collapse any second. I had no complains though... Since it was great to have a roof than absolutely nothing

Also the job hunting was a pain in the ass but with my few resources vanishing away rapidly, I had to do my best...

At some point I had started to doubt if the freedom was even worth it???

However with the memories that had flooded my brain following that thought had me immediately thinking otherwise...

Since it's way better to live freely in the condition I had lived rather than having to face all the brutality while being tied down at the centre.... It's better to go empty stomach than have awful potions or medicines forced down your throat and different body parts at the same time...

I wince at the recollection of the undesirable memories that I have been trying hard to suppress, however, every attempt I make turns into an utter failure...

'It's really wayyy better...Our new life is not less than a dream!' my Angel smiles with tear eyes reassuring me... I nod at her and shake off the negativity to concentrate on the present.

'Even the sun won't be able to burn all your negative thoughts boy!!' my Devil taunts finally making an appearance while laughing at his petty remark.

Sighs in affirmation...  Wish I could counter that but it's sadly the truth!

About leaving early... Max returns from college around 4:30 and my shift is supposed to end by 6 p.m. on the regular basis but with Emily's declaration I'll be able to leave around 4:20 p.m. today... 

We get ready to leave and rush upstairs to grab Jan's school bag and some other stuff that had been left in the guest room.

I might have landed on the last step down when I hear familiar voices... 

I turn my head in search of the source which land on Emily and Max bickering.

'What a grand entry Max!' I mumble to myself...

Arthur walks towards me with a hint of concern in his steady eyes... 

Thankfully Max's eyes fall on Jan and Arthur and he stops the bickering and sighs dramatically...

"Fine, I'll do it! But it's only for that cute chubbs over there" he says wiggling his brows at Jan while walking towards the counter.

He stoops down in front of Jan for a while and I hear angelic giggles as he makes funny faces in front of my Chocopie.

He ruffles Jan's hair and turns around while waving a heroic bye to me.

I give out a sigh at his dramatics and mouth a "thank you" to him when he meets my eyes from the counter to which he winks with a wide smile before getting busy with an order.

I  hug a goodbye to Emily and thank her again for all the help... After that I pick up Chocopie in my arms and she kisses his cheeks a goodbye too which has him beaming with happiness. Soon, I head towards the exit with him, leaving Arthur behind to hoping they can have a final conversation in peace...

I watch them bidding goodbyes nervously after exchanging contact info. Arthur walks out of the Cafe wiping the blush away from his face and returning to his routine mask face within a flash!

'The old man was behaving like a love-struck teenager just a second ago...Did he step on poop on the way back or something???' my inner Devil asks while judging poor Arthur.

'He's just doing his job right... unlike some ridiculous rat feasting on someone else's brain for free!' I debate to which he does his signature eye roll and vanishes.

"Let's get going kids," Arthur says opening the passenger door for us as well as bringing me back to reality. 

Jan is agrees to sit in his booster with some reluctance but gives in soon when I slide in the seat beside him and we depart to our final destination for the day...!