"Sorry, it's my work problem tonight. I'll let the front desk know later, Miss Yuliana doesn't need to pay,"
Theodore said, lowering his gaze and pulling out a new towel from the cart to cover Yamilet's shoulders and back.
He habitually checked if the lower towel was properly covering her, but instead, he felt a soft and firm flesh that was completely different from the breasts he had touched earlier.
His hand felt like it had been burned by a hot iron, and Theodore couldn't even begin to think about why Miss Yuliana was naked from the waist down. The bathroom should have disposable items available for use.
He dared not touch there again and quickly shook out a new towel, covering her from shoulders to waist.
After saying goodbye awkwardly, he opened his cane and hurriedly left.
Although he usually remembered the route clearly, perhaps his steps were too hurried today, he even bumped into a wall while turning. The cane tapped anxiously on the floor, and he finally returned to the resting room.
Other blinds were waiting to be assigned work in the resting room, and they were startled by the sound of the door opening.
"It's me, sorry to scare you guys," Theodore gasped and introduced himself.
Those who worked here were familiar with each other's voices, and when they heard it was Theodore, someone joked, "Theo, is there a tiger chasing you from behind? You're running so fast."
Theodore forced out two laughs and took a deep breath before walking towards his own workstation.
"Theo, are you okay?" Shalimar, who was sitting next to him, asked with a hint of concern in her voice.
She could sense Theodore's emotional fluctuations, as she had congenital blindness and was more sensitive to perceptions.
Theodore sat down and put away his cane. "It's okay. I just spilled some essential oil earlier, and I might receive complaints from the customers."
"Oh, don't worry. The customers who come to our store are usually very understanding. If there are any complaints, I'll help you explain to Amanda. Just say that you weren't feeling well today," Shalimar patiently comforted him.
Theodore smiled, even though he knew Shalimar couldn't see him. "Thank you."
Colleagues entered and left the resting room one after another. Theodore put on his headphones and played "13 jours en France" on repeat, the song that Miss Yuliana hummed while getting a massage. He remembered it, and used the humming recognition function in the music app at home to find it.
Thirteen days in France.
Thirteen.
Was it just a coincidence?
No, this was too absurd!
Theodore quickly dismissed his thoughts. Since he became blind, he should have known that he couldn't rely on hope. He didn't deserve to have hope.
But what had just happened was not his hallucination. The warm and soft touch memory was still lingering in the palm of his hand, and he even remembered how the nipple brushed against his finger joints.
"...Thirteen?"
Theodore, immersed in the music, was suddenly tapped on the shoulder. He quickly took off his headphones and turned his head, his eyes looking blankly upward.
"Hey, I've been calling you for a while... Don't play your music too loud, you know you can't..."
Theodore ignored the sharpness and sarcasm in Amanda's words and forced a smile. "Amanda, sorry, do you need me to start working?"
"No, the customer in room 113 just left early."
Thunk. The persimmon in his heart sank.
"Did the customer complain about me?" he asked, his throat tightening.
"No complaints. The customer praised your work and said that she accidentally spilled the essential oil and explained it to me. She hopes that you won't be held responsible."
Amanda , the head masseuse of "Glimmer", hugged her arms and looked at the handsome man in front of her, feeling once again that it was such a pity. He was so good-looking, yet he was blind. She looked around and, seeing that no one was paying attention, took out a few paper money from her skirt.
After counting them, she kept six and handed the remaining four to Theodore. "The customer gave an eighty dollar tip. According to the rules, you keep half and the other half goes to the company."
Thunk. Another persimmon sank in his heart.
"I know, thank you, Amanda," he said.
Theodore lowered his head and felt the braille on the corner of the bills, the persimmons on the branches falling down one by one, hitting the ground with a crackling sound and leaving it full of holes.
Before tonight, he didn't know what he was hoping for, but when he actually encountered it, he pushed it away with his own hands.
Theodore didn't know if he could hope for anything in the future. What he regretted was that he didn't mention it to her tonight: He wasn't "Thirteen," he was Theodore.
**
Liang watched as the man in the rearview mirror dozed off and decided to wake up the sleeping demon when they arrived home.
He cleared his throat and said, "Boss, we're home."
Luis lifted his eyelids and looked at his watch. He let go of the arms that were crossed in front of his chest and replied, "Kay."
He got out of the car, and Liang waited for him to enter the elevator before driving out of the garage.
The elevator went up and stopped on the first floor.
The door opened, and Luis saw the person who came in. He pressed the door open button and greeted with a smile, "Mrs. Wong, you're still walking your dog so late?"
"Oh my, Mr. Luis!" Mrs. Wong was holding a portable fan in one hand and a dog leash in the other. She walked into the elevator and said, "You're closing up shop late again?"
She was a local Hong Kong resident and had been Luis's neighbor for a while.
"Yes, there have been a lot of good days recently, and many people are getting married," Luis replied.
Wong wanted to chat a bit more but suddenly realized that her little Peter hadn't followed her into the elevator. Instead, he was standing at the elevator entrance, baring his sharp teeth, whimpering softly, and his fur standing on end.
"Peter! Come in! Luis, I'm sorry, could you please press the elevator button?" Wong was anxious and quickly walked out of the elevator, holding the brown poodle in her arms, and scolded, "How rude! This is Mr.Luis on the 23rd floor. Don't you remember him?"
The poodle, with his black bean-like eyes, stared fixedly at the humans in front of him, growling in a low frequency, but not daring to bark loudly.
Luis chuckled and pressed the button for the 21st floor.
This tiny creature is quite clever.
When they arrived at the 21st floor, Luis said goodbye to Wong and gave a glare at the small dog lying on her shoulder.
In the next second, the poodle shrank its neck and hid in its owner's arms.
Luis unlocked the door and entered the house. The living room was dark, but the kitchen light was on.
He walked into the kitchen and saw the electric pressure cooker with the insulation light on. When he opened the lid, a strong scent of dried tangerine peel hit him. The soup was a brown color, with a thin layer of oil on the surface, and even the cooked winter melon had turned dark from soaking in the soup for so long.
Fallon inherited her cooking skills from her Hong Kong mother, and she always added a lot of dried tangerine peel or ginger to her soups, saying that it balanced out the cooling effect of the soup.
Luis always felt conflicted about it.
Why use cooling winter melon to relieve heatiness, but then add warming dried tangerine peel or hot ginger to neutralize it? What is the point of relieving heatiness then?
He scooped up a bowl of soup and poured it down the kitchen sink.
After washing the bowl, he placed it upside down on the dish rack, turned off the kitchen light, and walked out of the kitchen.
The house wasn't big, just a three-bedroom, two-living-room apartment, less than 150 square meters, but Fallon had decorated it quite warmly, with many small items from IKEA.
Although none of these styles were Luis's favorite aesthetics, he didn't mind.
Daisy was going to start first grade in September and was currently learning to sleep independently in her own room.
There was a small blackboard on her door with "Daisy's room" written on it, and a 3D sticker of Elsa and Anna beside it.
In American and Hong Kong dramas, there would always be a scene where a father would enter his child's room after coming home late, kiss their forehead, and tuck them in before leaving.
But Luis didn't do that. He went straight to the master bedroom.
As soon as he entered, the bathroom door opened. Fallon, with her hair wrapped in a towel, just walked out and was startled when she saw someone suddenly appear in the bedroom. She was relieved when she realized it was Luis and said, "Honey, you're back."
Luis unbuttoned his shirt and replied, "Yeah, I just got back. I had some soup in the kitchen."
"Was it good?"
He smiled affectionately, "Your soup is always the best."