It was Sunday afternoon, the time when Rita and Cynthia agreed to meet up. The venue was decided to be at Nick's place. Cynthia would definitely not go to Rita's home where her family members would also be present. Also, Nick was the person she could trust the most besides herself.
Nick had cleaned up his apartment before their arrival. He did not want them to see the messy life he led. He was not entirely comfortable with the idea of two girls visiting his place. But he was also glad to have them come over to his place as he rarely got visitors besides Tony.
At ten past five, someone rang the door. Nick opened the door and found Rita. She was wearing her reading glasses, her hair tied in a ponytail. She was also carrying a crossbody bag hanging on her right side.
"Aren't we supposed to meet at five-thirty?"
"I was around this area to take care of something else. I got done with it early so decided to directly come to your place. Is she here yet?"
"No. But you can come in and take a seat."
"Thanks!"
She sat on a couch in the living room and looked around.
"I like how you keep your place so ordered. Guys tend to get messy usually."
"Yeah, but not me." Nick bluffed. "I like to keep my apartment clean."
"Good."
Cynthia came at five forty-five.
"You are fifteen minutes late," said Nick opening the door.
"I know. This is my first time coming to this area. It took me a while to find your place."
"Come in. She's waiting."
Cynthia was wearing a clean t-shirt and a new pair of jeans, unlike how she used to appear in front of Nick for business purposes. It looked like she was a bit conscious about her appearance in front of them.
As she reached the living room, Rita got up and approached her.
"Hi, this is Rita, Rita Kendrick. Nice to meet you."
"I am Cynthia," Cynthia said awkwardly. "Which you already know I guess."
"Yeah, I have heard about you from Nick. I was impressed with the dragon you sketched on his body. That's what caught my attention first."
Cynthia felt a little embarrassed.
Rita went on, "Then I asked him about you and he told me that you are also passionate about art like myself and quite an artist yourself. That's what got me interested in meeting you."
"I thought you guys weren't very close."
"That's true," Rita replied with a shy smile. "But in the last few days, we have been texting a lot, mostly regarding you and this meeting."
Cynthia looked at Nick with an expression that reflected both anger and gratitude.
"I think it will make you more comfortable if I tell you the real intention I have. Actually, I and a few of my close artist friends manage a social media profile, through which we upload our original artworks. It started as a hobby, but the profile is gradually getting more attention. We not only share our works but promote works by other amateur artists as well. Right now we are looking for new artists with fresh perspectives and art styles to feature in our profile. Here, let me show you the profile."
Rita opened the account on her phone and handed it to Cynthia. She browsed through the profile to check the artworks and got amazed. There was a shine in her eyes that only Nick noticed.
"These are awesome!" remarked Cynthia.
"Thanks. I even brought my drawing book to share some of my drawings with you. Here."
She produced a drawing pad from her bag and gave it to Cynthia.
Cynthia flipped through the pages and got more amazed.
"You are really good!" Cynthia said.
"I am trying my best." Rita blushed. "I prefer drawing on papers over digital arts. But you can choose whatever medium you want."
Cynthia was surprised to see this stranger pursuing her passion so wholeheartedly. She wished she could do the same too.
"So, what do you think?" Rita asked.
"You want me to share some of my artworks for your profile as well?"
"Yes. Of course, it's a voluntary thing. And don't worry, we will not take credits for your works." Rita smiled.
"I know. Give me some time to think about it."
"Yesh, sure. No hurries. But if you don't mind I would like to see more of your works."
"Right now? I don't have any pictures of them with me. But I can draw one for you."
"Sure," Rita sounded delighted. "Go ahead."
Cynthia immediately looked at Nick and said, "Remove your shirt then."
Nick looked completely puzzled and said, 'Excuse me?"
"I am going to draw something on your back. It's for Rita."
"Why does it have to be on my back?" Nick said.
Rita offered her the drawing book she brought and said, "Here, use this one."
"Actually I am more comfortable with drawing on the skin or rough surfaces, like walls and floors."
Rita gave her a puzzled look so she said, "It's a bit complicated."
She could not tell her that, to save money, instead of buying papers, she used to draw on her apartment walls and floor and on her own skin. Nick knew the truth though, but she indicated him to keep his mouth shut.
"I see," Rita said being puzzled with her odd preference.
Then Cynthia told Nick, "It's either going to be your back or your wall. Choose wisely."
"Oh no, not the walls," Nick instantly refused. "It's hard to get them off the walls."
"Why can't you let it be on the wall?" asked Rita.
"My mom doesn't like that. If she returns and sees something sketched on the wall, she will be very upset with me."
"Then you have only one choice buddy," said Cynthia, her hands resting on her hips.
Nick looked at Rita who gave him a shrug that said 'This doesn't concern me.'
"Fine," he said and removed his t-shirt. The dragon Cynthia had drawn on his chest was still visible but as a faded version of the original one.
"Do you happen to have different colored markers in your house?" asked Cynthia.
"I do, unfortunately!" Nick said and fetched him the markers she needed.
"Great, now what should I draw?"
"Something small that would come off after two-three showers," said Nick.
"I was not asking you," Cynthia said and turned to Rita. "What do you want me to draw?"
"Let me think," Rita said and thought about it for a while. "What about a unicorn? Can you do that?"
"Sure. No problem." Cynthia replied with confidence.
She took just six minutes to sketch a unicorn on his back. After she was finished, Cynthia said, "Done. Now you have a dragon and a unicorn, the full set!"
"Yeah, I look like a frigging clown!" Nick remarked.
Rita was looking at the sketch in awe. "This is absolutely brilliant!" she said. "I mean if you can do this with a few markers on a person's body, I can't imagine what you are capable of making with proper equipment! This is superb, without any exaggeration."
Cynthia could not help but blush. "Thanks," she said.
"Your basic is very strong. Do you attend an art school?"
At this, Cynthia went silent. Her face and ears became red.
"I don't." She managed to reply.
"Well, you should then!"
"Yeah, you should go to an art school," said Nick.
Cynthia secretly gave him an angry look, but beneath the expression of anger was a feeling of despair.
"I can't. It's hard to explain."
Rita smiled and said, "I don't want to interfere in your private life, but it seems that you are quite talented, and it would be a complete waste of that talent if you do nothing about it."
Cynthia nodded silently.
"Anyway, give me your contact number, if you are okay with it, of course," Rita said.
"I don't mind."
"Cool," Rita said and opened her phone.
Cynthia noticed the wallpaper she had. It was a picture of herself with a guy at least three inches taller than her. They were standing close to each other, their hands behind each other's back.
Cynthia looked troubled for a moment but then she composed herself and asked, "What is your relationship with this guy?"
"He's my elder brother."
"Cool," Cynthia replied although she seemed unhappy with that piece of information.
"Do you know him?" asked Rita.
"He just seemed familiar, that's it."
Nick could tell that she was lying. Her eyes told him that Cynthia knew Rita's brother too well.
Once they were done with exchanging their numbers, Rita said, "It was really nice to meet you. But I have to leave now. We should keep in touch. Let me know if you want to showcase your talent through our profile or not."
"It was nice to meet you too. I will keep that in mind," said Cynthia with a smile.
Rita reached the doorway followed by Nick and Cynthia. As Nick unlocked the door and was about to open it, he heard a familiar voice from the outside saying, "I was just going to ring the bell! What a coincidence!"
He opened the door to reveal Tony standing outside with a backpack in his hand.
"I brought the notes you ask...." Tony stopped midsentence and stared at them with pure shock in his eyes. He looked at them as if he was seeing something he wasn't supposed to see.
It took Nick a while to realize how weird the situation appeared from Tony's perspective. He was seeing him topless with two girls standing behind him.
"I will... I will just.... just gonna leave them here," he stammered as he put the bag down. Then he paced towards the stairs to leave.
"Wait Tony, I can explain." Nick cried desperately. "It's not what it looks like."
But Tony was already running down the stairs and soon he was out of the perimeter.
Nick sighed and said, "I have some serious explaining to do tomorrow at college."
"You sure do," said Rita, and they all laughed about it.
"Well, bye then. Thanks for having us, Nick." Rita said and left.
Nick waved at her as she walked away. Rita seemed a bit shy in the first encounter, but she was more confident and friendly today.
As Rita left, Nick turned to Cynthia and said, "So, are you going to do it?"
"I don't know, Nick. I mean I liked her as a person and the proposal sounds very appealing but I don't think I can go public with my artworks. I don't own a single social media account, you know that right."
"You can do it anonymously if you want."
"Still," Cynthia seemed worried. "Let me think about it first."
Suddenly his phone started to ring. "Wait, someone's calling me," he said and took out his phone. It was Sydney Colbert, the manager of Glen's, the place his mother used to work at. In his mother's absence, he used to fill in for the spot regularly at his free hours, until two weeks ago, when he started going to the diner occasionally. He immediately assumed that Sydney wanted him to come for work that night.
"Hello Sydney, what's up?"
"Hey kid, I hope you are doing well."
"I am," he replied hoping she would cut to the chase.
"We are a little understaffed tonight. Vicky won't show up till Wednesday and that stupid Mindy broke her goddamn leg. Could you come now for a couple of hours at least?"
He sighed and replied, "I will be there in half an hour."
"I knew I could count on you, kid!" she said and hung up.
"It seems they need me at the diner now," Nick told Cynthia.
"I will be leaving then."
"Wait," Nick said and disappeared inside. He came back shortly with a huge notebook in his hand. "Here, try drawing on papers from now on."
Cynthia accepted the notebook reluctantly and said, "I enjoy doodling on your skin though."
"Unfortunately, there's only so much skin that you are allowed to get access to. Make this damn notebook a substitute for my body."
"I will try," she smiled and left.
Nick reached Glen's in time as he had promised. Sydney was behind the cash register as usual. She waved at him delightfully as soon as she spotted him. Then she indicated him to go inside and change into the work attire.
Like any other Sunday, the diner was overflowed with customers. It was quite hectic for him to manage so many people at the same time for being understaffed. People started getting angry at some point and complained about the delay in their orders. The manager had to apologize to the customers several times. He was relieved when the rush hours got over.
He was wiping a table when a huge man came in. Everything about him seemed huge. He had a huge face, a huge body, a huge belly not to mention the huge jacket he was wearing, and the huge hat he had on his head. The diner was almost empty when he came in.
He occupied a seat near the door and removed his hat to reveal his bald head. Although his face was huge, he looked childish for his face being clean-shaved, reddish, and smooth.
He somehow seemed familiar but he couldn't recall where he had seen him before.
He approached the man with a notepad and said, "Have you decided on your order yet?"
The man carefully browsed through the menu before saying, "Squid pasta - sounds interesting."
"This is one of our specials, Sir."
"I bet it is," he said, rather roared. "And a glass of coke with it."
"One plate squid pasta and a glass of coke. Coming right up." He jotted down the order and left.
As he delivered him the food he had ordered, the man seemed pleased and said, "That was sooner than expected."
"It's almost our closing time so we have very little orders to manage now," Nick said with a smile.
"Good job, Nicholas Fowler."
Nick froze in his spot hearing his name from a total stranger.
"You know me?" Nick asked.
He took a sip from the glass of coke and wiped his mouth. Then he said, "Pardon me for not introducing myself yet. My name is Anthony Donovan. And yes, I know you."
Nick narrowed his eyebrows and tried to recall anyone by that name, but nothing came to his mind. It seemed he heard the name for the first time.
"You are probably wondering how do I know you," he said taking another sip from the glass. "I used to be an acquaintance of David Fowler if I must say."
Nick shuddered as he heard his father's name from a person whom he struggled to recognize.
"You might have seen me in the medical shop," he added.
He could not remember seeing him at his father's workplace, but if he was speaking the truth, it would explain why he seemed familiar in the beginning.
"David was a nice person, one of the nicest I have ever seen." He said. "Too bad he went missing."
He said the last part more with mockery than regret.
"Do you know anything about his disappearance?" Nick asked with a straight face, although he was getting worked up inside.
"I wish I did," He said while playing with the food using a fork. "Your mother, she is sick, isn't she."
He clenched his jaw and remained quiet. The way he was revealing facts about Nick's life made him creepy and suspicious.
"Take care of your mother, Nick," said the man. "Family takes priority over everything. Now get me the bill."
He brought him the bill at once. As the man put down his payment on the table, Nick protested saying, "The bill says 25.74. But that's a 500 dollars note!"
"The rest is your tip, Fowler." He said as he got up. He put on his hat and said, "Be a great man when you grow up, like your father." Then he walked towards the exit.
Nick did not stop him even though his head was full of questions he wanted to ask him. Then he noticed that he had not touched the pasta at all.
"Sir, are you not going to finish your food?" he shouted.
The man briefly paused and turned around.
"I am afraid I am allergic to seafood," he said and walked away.