Chapter 9: You don't have a right!

"The center is closed now, so I can't take her home with me. For tonight, you guys have to arrange something. Bye."

The store owner said this, locked his shop, and walked away, spinning keys in his fingers.

"Now what do we do?"

"I will take her home with me," Elaine replied.

"You've arranged a home?" Liam asked.

"Yes, I have. It's an apartment. It's quite big, so Mother can easily sleep there."

"Okay, as you wish. Then let me take both of you to the apartment."

"No thanks, Liam. I'll arrange it myself."

"Why do you keep avoiding me?" Liam asked.

"Taxi! Please take us to the apartments near the local hospital."

"Come, Mother, sit."

Elaine sat in the taxi and closed the door on Liam's face.

"Now you've forced the door to talk with me."

Saying this, Liam walked in the opposite direction of the taxi.

"Stop here," Elaine said, getting out of the taxi.

"Here, $20."

"Come, Mother."

Elaine knocked on the door.

"Coming, coming!"

"Oh, it's you! What's this old woman? Is she going to live with you? Is she your friend?"

"Yes!" Elaine answered, a little surprised. "She's my friend, and tonight she's going to stay with me."

"I've got to remind you—you don't have a good taste, young lady. Come in; it's cold out there."

"Uncle, do you have extra bedsheets? I just need them for tonight."

"I have, of course, but not for your old friend."

"Please, just for tonight."

"Okay, okay. Just get it from my room. And don't bring old guests here again. I hate old people; they remind me of myself."

The old man sat on his chair and turned on his old antenna TV.

"Mother, here. You sleep on the bed. I'll sleep on the mattress on the floor."

"Oh, thank you, sweetie pie. Keep the lights on. I'm afraid of the dark," the woman mumbled.

"Okay, Mother. Wish you a good sleep."

*

"Hey, you. Yes, you. Why aren't you asleep yet?"

"You know I'm f##king killing my sleep to write this. You know why? Because I'm too lazy—always getting the work done at the last minute."

A man screamed at Liam.

"You're fired!"

"What? It's the eighth day of my job, and I'm fired? You've got to be f##king kidding me!"

"Get out of here now, Liam, and try to get work done on time for once!"

"Not again. This is the third job I've lost this month. How am I going to pay my dues with my savings now? Better find myself a daily wage job, then."

*

"Good morning, Mother. You're awake."

"Get yourself freshened up, then we'll eat breakfast."

Elaine knocked on the door.

"Uncle! Don't mind, but if you have anything to eat, can I take it?"

"Yeah, you can. There's some milk and biscuits I left in the fridge."

Elaine opened the fridge and took out a glass of milk and some Oreos.

"Wonder why Uncle left Oreos in the fridge," she thought. "It would be even better if I had peanut butter."

"Anyways, Mother, here's our breakfast for today. You eat this up, and I'll think of how to arrange lunch by then."

Saying this, Elaine walked out of the house.

"I'd better get a job before the marriage bureau construction is complete."

She flipped through a newspaper.

"Job available for male and female waiters at Hottin Fuggy."

"I can't miss this opportunity. Let's go. Hurry up, Elaine!"

"Hello, is this Hottin Fuggy? I'm here to apply for the female waiter job."

"Please wait, ma'am. As you can see, there are a lot of potential candidates. You'll have to wait."

*

"How long do I have to wait, mister? It's afternoon now, and they still haven't called me for an interview!"

The whole staff laughed mockingly.

"Ma'am, didn't I tell you earlier? There are a lot of 'young and potential' candidates. For now, they must have hired someone. You should go now."

"Hey, listen. You can get a job here. I can help you. In return, you can spend some personal time with me. Sounds like a pretty good deal, doesn't it? What do you say?"

"Shame on you!"

"What? Oh, you don't like my offer? That's okay. If you don't like me, you can give someone else some personal time here. Max, do you want to spend some personal time?"

"Hell yeah!"

"Burn in hell!"

"Shut up, woman! If you don't know how to get a job, it's not our fault. Don't take out your anger on us. Better watch your f##king mouth next time. But no, I don't believe in the one-chance principle. You should be punished now. What do you say, Mike? Should teachers scold their new students?"

"Come here, newcomer. Don't you want to greet the teacher?"

"Get aside, Elaine!"

Liam bashed the cashier's head with a steel bowl.

"You f##king bastard, my head!" the cashier growled in pain.

"Blood! Max, come here, hurry up! Kill these bastards!"

"Before Max gets here, I'll kill you, you bloody hell!" Liam stomped on the cashier's stomach.

"Better think next time before behaving like this."

Liam grabbed Elaine's hand and ran out of the restaurant.

"Taxi!" Liam whistled.

"To the park, please!"

"Why do you always—"

"Shush!" Liam softly placed his finger on her lips, silencing her.

"Here! Stop here. Thank you."

"Please, next time, don't talk about personal matters in a taxi. It'll only get you into trouble. Are you okay now?"

"Liam, why do you always get in my way? And why were you there?"

"Firstly, I don't know—it's just my luck, I guess. Secondly, I got fired from my last job, so I applied there. I got hired, and now I'm probably fired again."

"And why did you risk all of this? Nothing was going on there. I could've easily handled the situation—I'm used to it."

"Used to it? What do you mean, Elaine?"

"Nothing. I just fumbled."

"There's something going on with you. Previously, you were afraid of those property sellers, and now this."

"You don't have any right to interfere in my life, Liam!" Elaine shouted.

Her tears streamed down, glistening on her cheeks.

"I do. After what your husband and my—" Liam hesitated. "I don't know what to call him—did to you. I know I don't have a right in your life, somehow. And I blame myself for my ignorance, knowing things wouldn't run well from the start. I'm sorry, Elaine. I should've used my right at the right time."