Homewarming

Dressed up and with his mobile phone and house key on him, he went out the front door and locked it. Before this, he had also locked the door that led to the yard and made sure that the windows and curtains were closed. Also, he made sure to turn off the big ceiling fan.

After that, he went on his way to Mirra's house. He decided that since it was fairly close to the house that he was taking care of, it would be a good idea to simply take a walk there instead of taking a jeepney or a tricycle. Besides, he needed the exercise, and walking was one of the best ways for him to commit a route to memory.

He remembered going to his friend's house the first time and missing his stop. He had to walk back quite a distance, and he regretted not paying the jeepney more than what he already had since he was already beyond the minimum distance.

He was surprised when he first saw the household's living arrangements at the time. Aside from Mirra and her three children, there was also Victor, her boyfriend, and a few other people who also lived there and paid a minimal amount of rent.

Well, actually, the money wasn't even for "rent," but rather for food, utilities, and other needs.

All the people there had to leave their former homes for one reason or another. And usually, it had something to do with toxic families. He didn't quite expect that he would be fitting that criterion now, but he wouldn't be moving in with his friend for now.

So now, he went on his way towards the house/party venue. He had with him some directions towards Mirra's place coming from his new residence and with it, he checked the signs and landmarks that he had passed by on the way.

So far, it seemed fairly straightforward. Near the end of it, he had begun to recognize the area near the house itself.

"I see… So this path leads here… I have to take note of this," he said to himself.

After a few more minutes of walking, he soon reached the house, which was located in a secure subdivision. It was such that anyone who wanted to enter needed to give the name of the homeowner, or they'll be denied access.

He rang the doorbell and the one who went out for him was Mirra's son, Alexis.

"You're here," said the younger man. "About time."

"Yeah, I am. Thank you for having me here." Kay knew that the guy might sound mean, but he actually cared a lot. He's just not too nice about it.

The two of them went inside, and after saying hello to the others in the house, Kay was soon greeted by Mirra herself.

"Welcome! And glad to know that you've managed to move out of your parents' house!"

"Haha, thank you. I'm gonna be going independent now… I'm pretty sure I still have a lot to learn."

"At least, you'll get to learn. Some people never get to step out of their comfort zones anymore, you know."

"Yeah..."

"By the way, since it's a little spur of the moment, I hope you're okay with pizza and drinks. And also some cream puffs that we've found out about recently."

"What do you mean, 'you hope I'm okay?' I'm really happy and thankful for this."

"You know, if we had known of your moving out the day earlier, we could've prepared something for you."

Now that Kay had thought about it, Mirra did make some mean pasta sauces. He got a taste of some of her pesto once during a school event and he was hooked. He would have loved to be able to taste some of it in spaghetti.

Unfortunately…

"Sorry about that," said Kay. "I didn't want to tell you guys since I wasn't sure if I would be able to get out of there. Besides, even if I was sure, if I told you, I don't know if I'll be able to keep it in enough to keep it a secret."

"That's okay," said Mirra, who sat on the sofa in the living room. "I'm guessing they didn't agree with you. Your parents, I mean."

Kay sat down in response. "As expected, not really. They were happy when I told them the part that I have a job. But when it came to the part that I had to house-sit, my mom was all 'you weren't sent to school to become a house boy.'"

"It was still a legitimate offer, wasn't it? And isn't it called being a caretaker? It's not like your boss is going to order you around, considering they're not even there."

"Yeah… Even if I don't get paid in money, I've checked the house and it looks like I'm going to be treated well. It has a nice feel to it, and it didn't even look like it was left for a long time."

"Glad you find it good to live in. I'm sure it will be all right, since you're the type who doesn't just jump into things willy-nilly. But if things do go wrong, you can move here, okay?"

"I'll keep it in mind. Thank you."

"Well, come on, let's eat!"

Kay, Mirra, and the rest of the household had a great time eating, drinking, and chatting about the move, among other things. The young man felt at home and hoped that his workplace could also become a home as well.

Soon, it was sunset, and Kay found that he had to go back now or risk getting lost. But before he got to tell his friends goodbye...

"Hey Kay, I have a surprise for you," said Victor.

Kay's first reaction to the statement was disbelief, as he knew that his friend wasn't exactly the most generous of people. And if that friend would ever give anything, it would likely be something material, possibly not what he would actually like, but what Victor would think he would like.

Still, he wondered what it would be. He just silently hoped that it would be something that he could use, and not like, say, a bunch of keychains. He recalled his brother always buying such, but having too few keys to actually use them with.

And still, Kay thought of himself as fortunate.

He followed his friend towards his room, which was filled with all sorts of paintings in watercolor and writings in ink. He appreciated the value of art, but Victor had a bit of

"So you know that fountain pen store we've been going to, right?" Victor asked while going through some of his things. By "we", he had meant himself and his girlfriend, Mirra.

"Yeah," said Kay in reply. At this point, he was already thinking that it may be a fountain pen. However, he made all effort to hide his excitement and anticipation. After all, he shouldn't assume anything.

"Well, I thought that maybe you'd be ready to handle your own fountain pen, so I went and bought you one so you'll at least start with something decent." His friend took out a fountain pen, still in its packaging, and gave it to him. "Here, your first fountain pen."

Kay reached out to receive the gift, and was speechless for a few seconds before going, "Whoa! Really?"

"Yeah."

"Oh my God," blurted the now ecstatic young man, looking back and forth between his friend and the pen. "This means I have to name it now, huh?"

Ever since they started owning fountain pens, his friends have had this amusing little tradition of naming them, just like what they would do with computers. It was a way of establishing ownership, as well as something like a wish that they'll work well together.

"About that, you don't really have to," said Victor.

Kay was now confused. He wasn't averse to the practice in the first place, and normally, his friends would encourage it.

"Why's that?" he asked.

"That's something that you could call a 'disposable' fountain pen. It's not meant to last long. If, say, it gets broken, you don't have to make the effort to fix it. In fact, fixing it may prove to be more expensive than just buying a new one."

"What a way to spoil the moment," thought Kay. He was baffled at the thought of giving something as special as a fountain pen and getting something that's meant to be thrown away after a short life.

"Okay, I get it," he said. "But I am still going to name it. It is my first pen after all."

"Up to you."

Now he was faced with the dilemma of what to name it. He knew that he could be quite the creative person if he really put his mind to something. However, when it came to the topic of names, he was clueless.

"I'll… think about it when I get back home," he said to his friend.

"That's okay," said Victor. "Well, that's about it for the big surprise. Congratulations again on your new home."

"Thanks. Anyway, I'll really have to go now. I still left some things untidy there."

"I'll see you out."