Noah sighed, waking up to the usually dull atmosphere, his mouth effusing cold breath as of an idle person. He didn't have any paying work to do, not even a reasonable duty.
"Hi, Mr. Cooper!" He greeted his father-in-law, who had accommodated him in his family house.
"Hope you slept well, Noah?" Mr. Cooper returned, closing and opening his eyes intermittently to shake off some dust off his face.
"Yes, sir." Noah answered, hoping to escape and go outside to perhaps walk around. He feared Mr. Cooper's threat, especially whenever he was angry and was pointing at him, hurling potent words at him.
"Come over…" Mr. Cooper interposed, not letting Noah move a step. "Have you ever seen the person you love today? Let me start from there."
"Oh, sincerely…" Noah replied, trying to snub the right response. "But, she hasn't woken up. Lily often wakes up late, these days, sir."
"Okay!" Mr. Cooper exclaimed, deciding to free Noah, but then another question dropped in his mind. "Let's leave that for now. Have you watered the exterior garden today? I'm sure you are going somewhere. Without doing anything in the house, does it make sense to go out, as a man that you are?"
"I just wanted to see some of my friends out there for a short moment, sir…" Noah explained, his mood changing immediately. "I might not bother to do so, again."
"No problem, then." Mr. Cooper said, calming himself down. He was already old, and was growing older, and had been advised to reduce raising a noise on anybody in order to avoid hypertension.
So soon, he coughed.
"Sorry, sir." Noah pleaded, nearly hitting his head on a wall, as he rushed to get water from the refrigerator for Mr. Cooper.
"No, don't bother." Mr. Cooper rebuffed the offer, and swiped his hands on his chest, and held onto a newspaper, thereafter.
"Make sure you are fine, father!" Noah said, wishing Mr. Cooper well, without any evil intention as he turned back to reposition the mug of water.
"You can go." Mr. Cooper said, permitting him to leave. But, as he moved his head around to watch the TV, his eyes caught something that attracted him. He was an old man given to war movies, and even while Noah walked back in, he didn't know.
Noah sneezed, and tried to hide the noise it would raise, so he exclaimed, making Mr. Cooper shiver suddenly. "Ah, good news!"
"What's that noise for?" Mr. Cooper questioned, wondering if it was Lily who shouted. He had heard a masculine voice though. "But, didn't Noah walk out now? Who is in there please?"
Rushing back to the sitting room, to meet Mr. Cooper, Noah quickly bent low. "Sir, I was soon back, but you were enthralled by the war movie you were seeing." Noah was frustrated that he lied. "I even greeted you, but you didn't answer me."
"Oh!" Mr. Cooper interjected, his mind calming down slowly, as he touched his chest. "I even thought it was one of those black thieves… sorry for not responding to you. But, whenever else you enter, let me know you are back in, understood?"
"Yes, sir…" Noah replied, waiting for either another word from him, or money for him to stroll to the mall to get food items into the house.
Mr. Cooper noticed him fast, and removed his eyeglasses. "What else are you waiting for? Anything is the problem, Noah?"
"Nothing much, sir." Noah said, as he peered around, expecting Mr. Cooper to understand why he waited, even if he didn't tell him. "I think we…"
To his surprise, Mr. Cooper got him!
"There are not many food items in the house right now, and the refrigerator is almost empty." Mr. Cooper explained, wearing his glasses on his dim eyes again. "I guess Lily will arrive soon, so that she will go get them…"
Not allowing him to complete what he was saying, Noah complained, "I can actually do that. Who knows if I might add money to what I will buy there?"
"Which money?" Mr. Cooper challenged him, about standing up. He coughed and scrubbed his face. "Where do you get money? You have no job other than to buy food and other materials with my money, so what are you saying?"
"Sorry for that, Mr. Cooper." Noah pleaded, and explained, "I remember what you always tell me; that I ought to look for a job and make my own money."
"Well, that is true." Mr. Cooper remarked, sitting down again, eased by how Noah pleaded. "Next time, you can go. But, I really want Lily to go there today; she is the one who knows what we eat in this house."
Dulled to speak and further the conversation, Noah agreed. "Alright, no problem. Anything you think is good for me." He made to leave, and go into his small room. "Can I be in my study room now, sir? I have some plans for searching for jobs, early tomorrow morning."
"Tomorrow?" Mr. Cooper suddenly took interest in what Noah said. "Okay, have you by any chance found a job at all? Let us talk."
"Not yet, sir." Noah replied, retarding delay from Mr. Cooper. "I actually want to sketch out my to-do list and work on the ones I've seen out there. I will also draft out the application format they desire."
"Okay!" Mr. Cooper said, shrugged and faced the TV again, attracted by a sudden gunshot scene in the movie.
"I don't know if malls like Beltons Mall can honour my application…" Noah said, pointing his finger up in the air, thinking so deeply.
"Bell… what?" Mr. Cooper turned his head back, looking at Noah straight in the eye, and he paused the movie.
"Beltons Mall." Noah replied, nearly making Mr. Cooper cough again. His father-in-law usually developed a rapid chest pain whenever something baffles or annoys him.
"Don't ever think of that." Mr. Cooper stated loudly, as if he was giving Noah an instruction. "Bluesky is not for somebody like you."
"To my room, now…" Noah said, requesting to leave.
"Wait, you said you were checking around for jobs tomorrow? I like your passion!" Mr. Cooper appreciated Noah's determination to work, but with a tone that sounded sarcastic to Noah. "You can work that out, let's see if you will be the next person to buy the stuff we need in the house."
"Maybe…!" Noah exclaimed smiling, almost unconsciously, trying to refuse the last statement Mr Cooper made, "I am going into my room now."