Making his way past the kitchen doors, Alexander’s eyes scanned across the kitchen for his father, only to see one of his apprentices leave for the day. When Alexander asked them, they said that he was with Mr. Samson, or as Alexander knew him, Tito Javier, in the office upstairs. They were busy discussing something about Christmas promotions, or so they said, so Alexander went back up front to rejoin Wendy.

By then Wendy had just about finished closing up shop before she saw the forlorn look on Alexander’s face. He was lost in his own thoughts, staring longingly at the small family portrait from many years ago, hanging prominently by the register.

Alexander looked back on that day, where his parents dragged him to the photo studio. His mother had just been discharged from the hospital one last time. Wearing a simple dress and covering her hair in a bandana, his mother’s frail body was enveloped by his father’s larger frame as they smiled toward the camera, while she rested her hands on a young Alexander. He remembered being scolded over and over again by his father to smile at the camera that day. “Smile, Alexander, smile!” he remembered his father saying.

It would be funny if Mr. Yamashita took notice of that portrait too, Alexander thought, so he would know to back off and move on. But as much as he wished that could have happened, he knew it could only go so far; his mother had been dead for years already, succumbing to cancer when Alexander was eight. He did not know that it would be the last picture they would take together as a family.

Taking Mr. Yamashita’s photo out of his wallet, Alexander looked at the message Mr. Yamashita so lovingly wrote on the back and sneered.

“I have always loved you, Iñigo,” Alexander mockingly read the words off, vitriol seething through his teeth.

As vexing as this was for Alexander, he couldn’t help but wonder what happened between Mr. Yamashita and his father. Was his father into men this whole time, or was Mr. Yamashita a one-off thing? Why did Mr. Yamashita leave his father’s life if he loved him so much? Did his mother know about this? In Alexander’s state of panic, all these questions ran through his head, one question seemed to leave a lasting impression: Why did his father keep this from him?

“Xander, breathe.” Wendy placed a hand on his shoulder, startling the man. He looked up and back at her, and she could sense his despair. “I’ve known you since we were children, and I very well know you miss your mom, but…”

“Stop right there…” Alexander warned.

“…but she’s been gone for years,” Wendy continued. As expected, Alexander just stood there motionless, staring right back at her. As much as he wanted to, there was nothing to say. He remained quiet, resigned and helpless. 

“Maybe it’s time for your dad to move on and love again.” Wendy tried to encourage, but as soon as the words came out, Alexander’s eyes began to water. He turned his back on Wendy, refusing to look her in the eye, but Wendy took him into her arms, and gave him a tight embrace.

Alexander let himself stay in her arms for a little while. All of a sudden, a man’s voice jumped in from upstairs.

“What are you still doing here?” the man asked, his easy-going voice rolling off from his tongue. As quickly as possible, Alexander rubbed his eyes with his sleeve, as Wendy turned around to face the man. When the man saw the two of them together, he tugged his lips into a soft, teasing smile. “Am I interrupting something?”

“Nothing at all, Tito Javier,” Alexander gave the man, his mother’s older brother, a half-hearted smile, but neither Javier nor Wendy could ignore the twinge of sadness lingering in his voice. Javier strode past Wendy and placed a firm, yet gentle hand on Alexander’s shoulder.

“There, there,” Javier said softly, before taking him in his arms, holding onto him so tight. Alexander tried to wriggle away, annoyed by his uncle’s overbearing embrace, though he had to admit, it was nice.

Javier was always like this to him. Alexander remembered how Javier was always the cool uncle, even more so when his sister, Alexander’s mother, died. Since that day, Javier had devoted himself to Alexander and his father. Alexander was grateful how calming his presence was in moments like this.

All of a sudden, Alexander felt Javier’s hand ruffle through his hair. Alexander wriggled himself out of Javier’s hug, pushing his uncle’s hand away from his hair. Wendy gave a soft chuckle. To this, Javier ruffled through Alexander’s again, before turning back around to the girl.

“So, would you mind telling me what really happened earlier?” Javier asked Wendy. Wendy’s smile fell, and soon, so did the smile on Javier’s face. Alexander sighed.

“Some guy rushed in earlier and left his wallet,” Alexander said. Before Javier could react, Alexander tossed him Mr. Yamashita’s wallet. 

“I hope we didn’t overstep any boundaries, Mr. Samson, but we had to look through his wallet to figure out his name,” Wendy said to Javier. Javier opened the wallet and found the man’s driver’s licence. His face immediately paled. “We were planning on having Xander pass it over to Mr. Alcantara, but it seems he’s busy at the moment.”

“Oh my,” Javier said, his voice strained. Whatever brightness he had in his voice moments ago had all but vanished. Javier seemed troubled. “Yeah, there’s no need to pass it to Mr. Alcantara, no need at all.”

“He also left this behind,” Alexander jumped in, not-so-gently handing over the photo of his father and Mr. Yamashita onto his uncle’s hands. Javier took a brief look at it and what remaining colour in his complexion had gone and disappeared. Gripping tightly at the photo, Javier turned around to read the message at the back. His expression hardened, his jaw tight in grim realization.

“Can we keep the wallet in your office for the time being until he comes back?” Wendy asked. Javier took a deep breath.

“Of course,” Javier said, his voice laced with subtle displeasure. “I can keep it for the time being. Let me know when he comes again, so I can ensure he doesn’t cause any further trouble for you.” 

Alexander could feel the tension grow in the air and wondered if Javier knew of the relationship between Mr. Yamashita and Alexander’s father.

“He was also being rather touchy with Xander earlier,” Wendy added in, and the look of displeasure in Javier’s face quickly turned into visible infuriation. Alexander took a step back.

“That is a problem, indeed,” Javier said, his voice low and firm. “I’ll be sure to handle this directly. Nobody should be making you uncomfortable, especially in your own shop, especially not him.” 

A sense of disgust seeped in his voice; the protective anger of a man who wouldn’t tolerate anyone crossing the line with his family. But before the feeling could grow further, Javier caught himself, taking a deep breath to keep himself grounded.

“You’re free to go now,” Javier said, his voice low. Sensing the shift in the room, Wendy and Alexander excused themselves. But before they could make it to the door, Javier added. “I’ll handle it from here, so there’s no need for you or Mr. Alcantara to worry about this.”

The two nodded and quickly retreated to the cold, rainy street outside, past the “Now Hiring” sign taped on the door.