The Park Couple

The door of the pizza shop swung open, and a weary-looking couple walked in with a boy around ten years old, presumably their child.

Since Jerry was the only waiter in the shop, Yinsen said to him "Jerry, go ahead and attend to them first. We'll take a look at the menu and order in a bit."

"Sure, Mr. Ho" Jerry replied, walking over to greet the couple and leading them to a seat next to Yinsen and his companions.

"Hey, waiter, I'd like to order..." Wayne, sitting at another table behind Raiden and Yinsen, called out to Jerry.

But halfway through, Wayne seemed to remember something. He glanced at Raiden and didn't continue.

Curious, Raiden turned to look at Wayne, who had closed the menu on the table and was staring out the window seemingly lost in thought.

"Wayne? Aren't you going to order?" Raiden asked.

"Sir, I should wait until you've ordered first" Wayne replied, looking at Raiden.

Raiden smiled gesturing with his hand in a downward motion.

"It's fine, go ahead and order. We might take a while to decide."

"Really Sir? Oh then I'll go first?" Wayne asked, looking at Raiden.

Raiden nodded with a smile. After receiving Raiden approval, Wayne turned to Jerry and said.

"Could I get a serving of grilled meat, a plate of pasta, and a glass of juice, please?" After placing his order, Wayne let out a sigh of relief and immediately added.

"Sir, I didn't have dinner tonight, so..."

"It's alright, no problem," Raiden said with a smile, continuing to browse his menu.

Raiden liked Wayne. The young man was simple, perhaps because he was only in his early twenties. He didn't have many ulterior motives, and Raiden appreciated that about him.

"Jerry, I'll have a minced meat salad and a sandwich please" Yinsen said, closing his menu and giving Raiden a look that clearly said.

Why are you taking so long?

Alright, alright.

Raiden accurately received Yinsen message, closed his menu, and, almost impulsively, said

"I'll have a pizza, a sausage pizza, extra cheese, extra sausage... What flavors do you have? Can I get one of each?"

"Sir, our sausage pizza comes in many variations—with vegetables, beef, seafood, and so on. If you order one of each, you might not be able to finish them all" Jerry said apologetically, standing in front of Raiden.

Raiden tapped his fingers on the table pondered for a moment, then looked up and said

"It's fine, bring me one of each. And one with just cheese and sausage... I want to see which one tastes better."

Jerry looked at Raiden, sensing he wasn't joking, then glanced at Yinsen who nodded. Only then did Jerry head to the kitchen.

"Raiden, you won't be able to finish all that" Yinsen said.

Raiden waved his hand dismissively. "It's fine, I have a lot of neighbors."

At that moment, the boy from the family that had just arrived called out toward the kitchen

"Hello, I'd like a sausage pizza too, just sausage and cheese, and the more cheese the better."

"Alright" Jerry responded, poking half his head out from the kitchen. After exchanging a few words with the chef inside, he finally emerged. Jerry walked straight over to the table where the family of three was seated and asked.

"Sir, ma'am, is there anything else you need?"

The man looked at his child and asked "Peter, do you want anything else?"

"No, Dad, one pizza is enough" replied the boy named Peter, sitting in his chair and looking up at his father.

"Then we don't need anything else" the man said to Jerry with a smile.

"Richard, we still have a long way to go. We should eat something" the woman sitting across from him said, holding his hand.

"Alright Mary, you're right. Please bring us two more plates of pasta" Richard said, squeezing his wife hands, then turning to Jerry.

"Certainly, sir. Please wait a moment" Jerry nodded to Richard and headed back to the kitchen.

The first thing served was the pizza that Raiden had ordered.

Of course, the last thing served... was also the pizza Raiden had ordered. To be precise, by the time Peter, the boy at the next table, had almost finished his pizza Raiden pizza was only halfway done.

"Sir, can I trade my pizza with yours?" Peter asked, holding the two remaining slices from his plate as he walked up to Raiden.

"Hey Peter come back. Sorry, sir" the boy father, Richard quickly stood up and called out to Peter then apologized to Raiden.

Raiden glanced at the child and smiled at Richard

"It's alright sir. I'm glad someone is willing to help me finish some of this pizza. Clearly, I can't eat all of it. Kid, take whatever you want."

Peter happily climbed onto Raiden table. Seeing his child so delighted and with his wife nod of approval, Richard could only offer an apologetic smile to Raiden.

"Kid, which flavor do you think tastes the best?" Raiden asked Peter, feeling increasingly happy as he watched the boy enjoy his meal.

"Sir, this one... it has carrots and shrimp, but if you add a bit more cheese and sausage it would be even better" Peter pointed to one of the slices.

Raiden picked up a slice and took a bite. He had actually tried this flavor before, but hearing Peter suggestion made it taste even better.

...

Yinsen and the couple at the next table, Richard and Mary had already finished their meals and were just waiting for Peter and Raiden to finish.

After a while, Peter rubbed his stomach clearly full. In truth, Peter hadn't eaten much but he had tasted every flavor—probably just a child nature.

"Thank you for your hospitality, sir" Peter said happily to Raiden after finishing his meal and returning to his parents.

"Oh, it's no problem kid. I should thank you for helping me finish so much pizza and preventing it from going to waste" Raiden laughed.

"Thank you, sir" Richard added, expressing his gratitude to Raiden after the exchange between Raiden and Peter.

"It's nothing" Raiden waved it off.

Finally, the group left the pizza shop together. After exiting, Wayne went to fetch the car he had parked earlier to pick up Raiden, while Raiden stood at the entrance chatting with Yinsen.

Meanwhile, the Richards couple along with Peter got into their car parked in front of the pizza shop. A long skid mark trailed behind the car, clearly the result of the screeching brakes they had heard earlier.

However, once inside the Richards couple struggled to start the engine.

It seemed the earlier aggressive braking might have caused some mechanical issue. Reluctantly, the Richards couple had to step out of the car with Peter.

"Is there anything we can help with?" Raiden and Yinsen noticed and walked over to ask.

"Oh, the car broke down" Richard said, spreading his hands helplessly as he looked at Raiden.

"Is there anything we can do to assist?" Yinsen kindly inquired.

"We were planning to drop our child off at a relative house on 26th Street and then catch a flight. But now, it seems we might not make it," Mary, Richard's wife, explained.

"26th Street? I live at 15, 26th Street" Yinsen said in surprise.

"15? My sister lives at 16" Richard exclaimed.

"16? May house? May Parker home? I'm her neighbor" Yinsen chuckled.

"Oh sir, could you help us take our child to his aunt house?" Mary asked hopefully.

"Of course" Yinsen nodded. At that moment, Raiden chimed in

"Well, perhaps I can help with another issue. My driver is here, you can take his car to the airport."

Raiden pointed to Wayne, who was just driving up.

Richard and Mary exchanged a glance, a flicker of determination in their eyes, and nodded at Raiden, saying

"Thank you so much, sir."

In the end, Yinsen took Peter to 26th Street, while Wayne drove the Richards couple to the airport.

On the quiet, empty streets late at night Raiden was left alone.

"Oh, isn't it said that the night is when New York truly comes alive? Maybe I should hurry back to Manhattan" Raiden muttered to himself.

The night in Queens was desolate, cold, and unsafe.

Walking alone on the deserted streets, Raiden suddenly felt a pang of loneliness.