Pavel cleaned the mess in the kitchen while Harris was teaching Cheza on how to do little things to help. Dome teaches her to wipe the table after eating. It was a good start to his morning. Never did he imagine that he would have someone to guide Cheza beside Aki. Dome knows how to handle a kid, that's for sure. He was tender and smart. And Cheza was right, he really looked like a mother figure. He smiled with that thought.
"Stop imagining things and move already. I can almost see my face on the floor, you know? How many times do you have to mop this?" He pouted after hearing Dome's words. He really has a smart mouth.
He snapped back on his thoughts and saw the pale man leaning on the table, right brow raising and arms crossed on his chest. His hair was disheveled.
"Where's Cheza?" He asked after noticing that they're the only one left at the kitchen.
"She told me that she will be in her P' Aki's store while we're at school. I asked her if she can take a bath by herself because I kinda help her if she doesn't. But she just ran to the bathroom. Hm, how about you?" Harris' rambled words make him smirk.
He gasped. "I can take a bath by myself, no worry." He said only to receive a smack on his head, again.
"Idiot! What I mean is how about you, are you going to mop the floor until midnight or care to move and get ready for school?"
Pavel just smiles thinly because of embarrassment. He touched the part of his head where Harris smacked him, he sure can hit hard.
"P'Dome, can you help me with my buns?" Cheza shouted from her room. Dome flicked Pavel's forehead and went to Cheza.
"Shia! What happened to you, Pavel?" He asked himself. He left the kitchen and got ready to go to the university too.
When he came out of his room, he tripped on what he was seeing. Dome doing Cheza's hair. He tied them up with pink curly tails. 'Was he a woman before?' He left his question in his mind because he's afraid for another smack from the pale man.
Cheza looks more cute than before because Dome really knows how to handle kids. He saw him knelt down and fixed Cheza's shoelace.
"You need to tie your shoelace tightly. Because it's your guide for the better future. If you encountered your only chance in your life and your shoelace was not tied tightly and you tripped, you might have missed that opportunity."
"But P'Dome, I can use shoes without lace instead." Cheza pointed to her shoe rack.
Pavel covered his mouth because he was about to laugh hard on Cheza's rebut. He didn't know why Dome suddenly connected the lace for her niece's future. Well, his niece was right. She had many shoes because he loves to buy them for her. It was kind of a collection.
"And that's the lesson. Not every time, you can have choices to choose. So better use wisely what you have at the moment."
Pavel was taken aback after hearing Dome's words. They really made way in his heart and mind. He jotted it down mentally. Fuck! Dome was really something. Even Cheza may not understand it well because of her age but Pavel knew that she would remember it. Especially him. Because he felt that those words were intentionally said for him.
He cleared his throat, interrupting the two. They both looked surprised but then again they ignored him and talked again as if he's not there. Poor him!
***
After dropping Cheza to Aki's store, he drove to the university with Dome. He didn't give up until the pale man agreed to come with him. He parked his car and was about to open the door for him again but Dome glared like he would kill him if he did it. So he just shrugged and waited for him to come out.
"Thank you for guiding Cheza. I never thought that she would actually listen to you. Well, Cheza was stubborn sometimes and didn't listen to anyone. But you caught her attention just for one day. Amh, just—seriously I thank you." He said with a low tone. They're walking side to side.
"No worries. I have nephews who are more stubborn than Cheza that's why."
"Cheza's parents were—"
"Don't, Pavel. I can see how hard it was for you. I mean, I saw you struggling back there in the kitchen when Cheza opened up that issue. You can tell me if you're really ready," he said. He gives a smile to assure him that it's alright.
Pavel bit his lips. Harris was a really understandable man and that's what he needs. The pale man patted his shoulder and gave him a thumbs up. Before he could say anything in return, Dome made his way out to his department.
"Woah what have we got here?" Roy and Regan surround him like he was being investigated. He punched their shoulders lightly.
"What now, idiots?"
"You've disappeared after talking to that pale man. Who is he, by the way?" Regan asked. He followed his gaze to Dome who's walking very fast.
"Dome."
"Dome? Dome what?"
"Just Dome." He said, copying the pale man's tone when he said that to him.
"So it's not something but someone. He's the one you're interested in? Well, he looks good but a little bit of a jerk. He dared to shout on you, and what? You just let it pass." Roy started with a curious face.
"Come on, give me a break. I'm still sorting things out."