An hour and a half later, after talking about his life, his siblings, and everything else—as well as pouring out his heart and venting his confusion about the money and the account that had suddenly appeared that morning—Luke fell silent for a moment, staring at Sharon's motionless face.
The atmosphere in the room was incredibly quiet and peaceful, save for the steady, rhythmic beeping of the EKG machine. Realizing how long he'd been there when he checked his watch, Luke stood up and stroked his aunt's forehead with a smile.
"Wake up soon, Auntie. There are still so many ways to make great coffee that I want to learn from you. Since it's past noon, I'm heading out. I want to open the cafe early to earn a bit extra. Noel and Ava won't be home yet, so I'd better get a head start to lighten their load. Thanks for listening to me, Auntie, I'll be back later," Luke said.
Luke kissed Sharon's forehead, but there was no reaction. He turned and walked out of the room, completely unaware of the single tear rolling down Sharon's closed eyes. As he walked down the corridor toward the exit, someone suddenly tapped him on the back. Luke spun around, his eyes widening as he nearly jumped out of his skin.
"Wait... Giselle? What are you doing here?" Luke asked, stunned.
"I should be asking you that. I just got back from hanging out with Lorna. We had a long talk," Giselle answered.
"Oh, I see. Well, anyway, I'm heading out. Gotta open the cafe. Bye," Luke said, trying to make a quick escape.
"Hey... hold on. Answer me first. What are you doing here?" Giselle pressed.
"U-um... what was I doing? Just hanging out, I guess. Anyway, I'm off. Bye!" Luke replied, bolting away at full speed.
"Hey! He ran away. Lame. I'll grill him for answers tomorrow," Giselle muttered, pouting.
Giselle walked down the corridor and opened the door to the isolation room at the very end. She peeked inside and entered. After closing the door, she approached the bed where the middle-aged woman lay weak and frail. She noticed the chair next to the bed looked like it had just been used by a visitor.
"Who was just here?" she wondered to herself.
Giselle walked over and sat in the chair, taking the hand of the frail woman. She looked at her face and noticed a tear tracking down from her closed eyes. She stood up and wiped the tear away.
"Mom, who are you crying for? I'm here, Mom. I live in this city now, and I'm going to stay with you and look after you. I love you, Mom. Please wake up soon. And Mom... I wonder who paid the hospital bills? I asked administration and they said everything was paid in full, but the staff wouldn't tell me who did it. Thank you, whoever you are, for taking care of my mother's treatment," Giselle said, leaning her forehead against the forehead of the woman who was, as it turned out, Sharon.
***
Meanwhile, back at the cafe, "Chime." The doorbell rang, signaling the door had opened.
"Welcome!"
Noel and Ava, who had apparently already opened the shop, greeted the guests, but their expressions shifted the moment they saw who had walked in. Two scrawny guys with thug-like faces, wearing t-shirts and beat-up jeans like gang members, stepped inside and headed straight for the bar. They stood right in front of Noel.
"Hey, did you forget this month's cut? You think you can just open up? Pay up first, then I'll give you permission to stay open," one of the men said.
"We already paid through my brother, Bill. Just go home, it's about to get busy," Noel said.
"You're getting a little too bold because I've been easy on you. You know I run this neighborhood," Bill shot back.
"I know, man, but we've already paid, so please leave. You're bothering the other customers who want to come in," Noel insisted.
"I want some coffee. (He turned to look at Ava) Come here, sweetie, sit on my lap, hehe," Bill chuckled, staring at Ava as he sat down on a barstool.
"No way. I'd rather die than sit there, ugh," Ava spat back.
"I like this kid. She's got a mouth on her that makes me want to put her in her place," Bill sneered.
"Chime."
Noel and Ava looked toward the door, their faces instantly flooding with relief when they saw who had arrived. The guest walked up behind the two men sitting at the counter.
"What do you think you're doing?" a man's deep voice asked from behind Bill and his friend.
A shadow loomed over the two men. Slowly, they both turned around. Their cocky smiles returned the moment they saw Luke, who had just gotten home, standing behind them with his muscular arms folded across his chest.
"Oh, hey there, big man. How's it going?" Bill said, pale.
"I gave you money yesterday, didn't I? What are you doing here? Did you think you could just waltz in because you saw I wasn't around?" Luke asked, staring Bill down.
"No, man, we just... we wanted some coffee," Bill answered.
"And you asked my sister to sit there? You want me to sit there instead?" Luke asked, pointing at Bill's knee.
"No, man! Sorry, I was just joking," Bill pleaded.
"Fine. Get out, or I'll be the one forcing you both out," Luke replied.
"Y-yeah, man. Sorry again," Bill muttered.
Without wasting another second, Bill hopped off the stool and chime, the two of them bolted out of the cafe. Luke turned to look at Noel and Ava, then checked his watch before looking back at them.
"How are you guys home already? Shouldn't you have two more hours of school?" Luke asked, confused.
"There was an event at school, Luke. But wait... how are you home already?" Noel asked, pointing at him.
"Classes were canceled. Oh, by the way, the mortgage is paid. We're safe for this month," Luke said. "Actually, I planned on paying it tomorrow—today was supposed to be just for the hospital. If I did both at once, it would hurt too much to look at the bank balance. And until I'm absolutely sure about the money in that new account, I'd better keep it to myself for now," Luke muttered in his heart.
"Nice. That's a load off my mind," Noel said, giving a thumbs up with a smile.
"Aren't you going to change your clothes, Luke?" Ava asked, waiting with her arms crossed and a pout on her face.
"Hold on, I'm gonna grab a quick shower too. I'm all sweaty and sticky," Luke replied, sitting down in front of the bar.
"Yeah, make sure you use shampoo, Luke. Keep that hair soft so you can actually attract some girls," Ava teased.
"I don't get you two. Why are you so obsessed with me getting a girlfriend?" Luke asked, looking at his younger siblings.
"So when we eventually move out, you'll actually have someone," Noel and Ava said in unison.
"Wow... so that's it. You two are already planning on abandoning me," Luke said, sounding dejected.
"Not exactly, but if you're still single when you're old, then yeah, sorry about your luck," Ava quipped.
"Hehe, you're harsh, Ava. (He turned to Luke) Sorry, Luke. Ava's got a big mouth. I just want you to be happy. If Ava and I ever do move out, we want to know you're happy first so we can have some peace of mind. You're twenty now, soon you'll be twenty-one, then twenty-two, and so on. Before you know it, you'll be forty and scrambling to find a wife," Noel said.
"Sigh... yeah, I get it. Whatever. I'm taking a ten-minute shower," Luke said.
"Make it an hour. Ten minutes isn't enough for a body that big," Ava joked.
"Shut up," Luke shot back as he hopped off his stool and dashed into the locker room.
Once Luke was inside and the sound of him running up the stairs echoed, Noel immediately pinched and twisted Ava's ear until she spun around from the pain.
"What was that for?! That hurts!" Ava yelled, clutching her ear.
"You really need to watch your mouth. You're way too blunt," Noel said, sounding annoyed.
"It's because he still treats us like little kids. We give him solid advice and he just ignores it. It's like he's looking down on us. I've already got my interview questions ready for when he finally brings a girl home. It's frustrating," Ava replied, crossing her arms.
"Just drop it. That's just how he is. Leave him be. Nobody wants to be unhappy forever. We just have to wait for him to make a move. I'm telling you, if he wasn't so passive, girls would be all over him. He could probably have a harem if he wanted," Noel said.
"Exactly. It's just exhausting waiting for him to actually do something," Ava grumbled.
"Alright, enough. Let's get to work and leave him be. Don't be so cranky," Noel said, reaching over to ruffle his sister's hair.
"Hey! Now it's a mess again. You're the worst!" Ava yelled, grabbing her head with both hands to smooth her hair back down.
With that, they finally got to work, wiping down the back of the bar and the tables before any customers showed up at the cafe.