Fall came early this year and the nights had been growing colder every day. The window in Hiro's room was freezing cold from the drop in temperature. At one point, the cold had gotten the better of me and my fingers started to cramp as I was typing. I tucked my knees in the baggy shirt and tried to retain heat.
"Here, wear this," Hiro tossed me his sweater.
"Thanks. Autumn's getting earlier and earlier every year."
"You haven't eaten anything since dinner. Are you sure you don't want any of the cakes? Fruits?" he picked up the plate of desserts.
"No, I'm good with just tea," I politely refused.
"C'mon. Let's take a short break," he grabbed my arm and dragged me out of the room.
We headed to the kitchen in our pajamas and house slippers. The rest of the house had started to heat up slowly with the automated thermostat. The house felt emptier than ever in the morning. Our steps echoed through the halls and bounced around the wacky wallpapers. Even Makoto was sleeping in his room as his master cooked breakfast.
"Do you actually know how to cook? I can help," I peered at him.
"Of course, I got this," he motioned me to sit.
"We can just eat instant noodle," I suggested.
He turned around and gave me a face. "I'll make you the best French omelet you'll ever have."
That statement would be true, since I had never eaten a French omelet before. The smell of butter and eggs cooking made my stomach grumble. His technique surprised me. He wasn't lying when he said he could cook. I started to wonder what Kenji's cooking would taste like. Maybe their family was just gifted with talents, looks, strength, and wisdom.
"Voila! Dig in," he smiled.
I took a bite of the steamy and fluffy egg. It was buttery and smooth in my mouth; you could feel the chunks melt on your mouth. I spooned mountains after mountains of it until nothing was left on the plate. He smiled from across the table with his arms crossed and a satisfied expression plastered on his face.
"Do you like it?" he rested his chin on his hand.
"Yea, thanks for cooking. Sorry I finished it," I shyly wiped my mouth with a napkin.
"No worries. I just wanted you to eat. Let's go back now," he transferred the plate into the sink.
I finished up my report as Hiro continued his own personal meeting file. He told me to wait for him as he was wrapping up his document. Drowsiness hit me as I laid on his bed with my laptop in front of me.
I kept on reading the same lines over and over again as I struggled to keep my eyes open. The warm breakfast had made me feel so full and heavy. I let my head rest on my arm and told myself that I could close my eyes for just a few minutes. Hiro's keyboard was still clacking away as I failed to stay up.
A blanket was wrapped around me as I opened my eyes to the afternoon sun peeking behind the blinds of Hiro's room. I jumped up in bewilderment as the realization hit me. I accidentally fell asleep on his bed last night.
My eyes searched the room for any sign of the rightful dweller, but he wasn't there. My laptop was properly placed on the coffee table and no sign of his snack from the previous night was there. Everything was carefully cleaned up.
I tidied up the bed I had slept in and made my way to look for Hiro somewhere in the house. As I was about to exit the room, Makoto knocked on the bedroom door.
"Ms. Anderson," he bowed.
"Where's Hiro?" I asked.
"The young master is in your guest room. I was about to wake you up for an emergency meeting."
"Is he up yet?"
"No, I was going to wake him up after. But now that you're up, can you wake him up for me? Master Kenji had assigned me with another task," he smiled.
"Sure," I eyed him suspiciously as he walked away from the south wing.
I guess you would get bored when you had served the same family over many years. Makoto seemed to get his amusement by teasing his master and making fun of him as if we were actually dating.
It would sometimes cause Hiro to blush out of embarrassment. I walked over to the guest room across and gently knocked on the door. I didn't know what kind of response I was expecting, but I heard nothing over the next few minutes.
The door was slightly ajar, which allowed me to peer inside the room. Most of his body was covered by the thick blanket except for his hair. I opened the door slightly and whispered his name. Still no response. I managed to go inside and poked his shoulder as I called out louder into his ear.
"Hiro! Makoto said that there's an emergency meeting. Wake up," I shook his shoulder.
He turned over and opened his eyes ever so slightly. He went to grab his phone and looked at the time.
"Oh god! It's one in the afternoon already?" he sat up.
"Yeah, I'm sorry I took your bed last night. I didn't mean to sleep, but I couldn't keep my eyes open," I apologized.
"It's ok, I reviewed your report. It was really concise and helpful. I presented them to Tadashi when you were sleeping. He thought that the hypothesis was highly plausible."
"Oh, that's good news. I guess we gotta get ready before Kenji drags us out himself now."
"Yeah, you're right. We can talk later. I'm just gonna, yea. I'll just, you know, go," he stuttered and stumbled out of the room into his own.
We both showered in our respective rooms and got ready for the meeting in the west wing of the house. Hiro had waited outside my door to lend me his clothes. He gave me his old button up white shirt and I wore my old jeans again. We headed to the meeting room and waited for Kenji.
"Why didn't you just wake me up in the morning?" I asked my friend.
"You looked so comfy and snug. I didn't even dare to make too much noise," he explained.
"Well, thanks for the blanket. I still feel bad that you had to sleep in the guest room."
"You could just share a bed like a real couple, you know?" a voice retorted from behind us.
"Shut up!" we disagreed in unison.
"Just kidding. Geez. Sensitive much?" Kenji took a seat.
"Shall we start then?" his little brother implied.