Jimmy sat at Wilsons’ Family Meals, a restaurant at the farther end of the city. It was his favourite place to eat, whenever he could spare the time. It was a small business, run by an old couple who used part of their own house to carry out the service. It had a very homey feel to it, and the food served was excellent.
Jim smiled satisfactorily as breakfast was laid out before him. He went over his excellent plan again, each detail crystal clear in his head. He had gotten the information of the top three social service organizations in the city and contacted their heads personally. A meagre donation on his part, and he was sent a list of some proper poor females, along with their addresses. Park and Hartley sat all night and had shortlisted three of them. These three ladies had clean records, no history of substance abuse, good work ethics and very bad financials.
Park was against the plan initially and had to be convinced to help. He obliged, albeit a bit grudgingly.
Jimmy gobbled down his breakfast and sung to himself a happy song. Now that he had a plan, he felt satisfied. He went through the details of the three females as he ate. He had looked through the list before as well, and had chosen the third girl to visit first, simply because she lived near the restaurant. It was a double advantage. Good food and, he crossed his fingers, probable marriage.
After he was done eating, he wiped his hands and walked towards the washroom. He hadn’t felt so elated in many days. He hummed again, this time a bit more loudly.
When he reached near the men’s toilet, he stopped in his tracks. He could hear someone talk inside.
“Come back Ben, what the hell are you up to?” The voice belonged to a woman. It sounded shrill, angry.
“No way mommy!” The other voice was that of a mischievous sounding kid.
A woman and a kid… What in the world were they doing in the men's toilet? Jim wondered if he ought to go in. Then again, why shouldn’t he? He was at the right place, so…11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGrLSQcFH3G
“Someone’s coming mom!” the child shrieked.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZh4n6ons2Y
“You come here first!” came the woman’s voice.
Jim pushed open the door.
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What he saw next took him by jaw-dropping surprise.
On the bathroom floor, sat kneeling a small, frail looking girl who was holding onto a much smaller boy. Her eyes were wide – with fear or surprise, he couldn’t tell – as she looked up at him. Her hair was brown, but resembled the colour of mud and strands of it fell all over her face. She was dressed in a red skirt and an oversize white shirt. There were stains of dirt on her ragged clothes, and she looked tired, without the slightest bit of make-up on her face.
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A poor person, Jim could tell. Maybe she was there to clean the place.
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He was still staring at her when she looked away and Jim realized he was being rude. He pulled his gaze away, but couldn’t help but feel that he had seen her somewhere before. Her eyes… those smouldering black eyes somehow seemed familiar.
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He pushed aside the thought quickly. There was no way he knew a person like her.
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“Why is that uncle staring at us, mom?” the little child asked, pulling at the woman’s sleeves.
“I…I don’t know,” the girl said, flustered and red, “Come, let’s go.” She picked up the child in her arms, and got ready to leave.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFZGhBkYByF
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Right then, as he saw the woman from her side, it hit Jimmy.
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She was one of the candidates for his ‘perfect’ bride! In fact, there was no mistaking it. The picture of her in the list that he had been given was her side profile. No wonder she seemed familiar, but he couldn’t recognize her! He had been going over her details just minutes before.
She also lived somewhere nearby. He had driven to this area of the city to meet her.
Jimmy smiled at what a lucky coincidence it was, to have met her right there.
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So, before she could run away, he yelled, “STOP!”
The girl obeyed. Retracting her hand from the doorknob, she looked back at him hesitantly. The child in her arms frowned.
“Y-Yes?” her voice was soft, quiet.
Now this was the hard part. Even though Jim had told her to stop, he didn’t know what to say next. He couldn’t mention his proposal to her there, in the bathroom. So he asked what was the most obvious to him instead, “Do you work here?”
“Y-Yes.”
“That child, is it yours?”
“Yes,” she answered.
“You aren’t married though, are you?”
“No.”
The woman frowned.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJZgLLkp2Gn
Jimmy smirked.
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This was so great! It wasn’t mentioned in the list, but there was even a child. That alone would make the situation so embarrassing for his father, the thought of it made Jim want to dance. The girl looked at him awkwardly, waiting for him to either say something or let her leave.
Jim noticed her awkwardness. Trying to ease the environment, he pulled his hands out of his pockets and said, “Good to meet you. My name is Jimmy, “ he refrained from mentioning his last name, “I have a business arrangement to discuss with you. Could you see me in the backyard for a few minutes?”
Business? Backyard? The woman flinched. What the hell was this man talking about?!
Jim stepped forward to offer his hand in greeting. What he didn’t notice was the water spread on the ground, that the woman hadn’t yet mopped.
“It’s ni – “ He screamed as he slipped.
His loud scream reverberated through the entire space as the fear of falling to his face gripped Jim’s mind. In urgency, he placed one hand on the basin for support. With the other, he tried to grab the woman’s arm.
Jim performed a 180 degree split perfectly with his legs and broke his fall. He heaved a sigh of relief as he succeeded in his attempt and landed on the floor with a light thud.
He smirked.
Now, it was the woman’s turn to scream.
Jim looked up at her in surprise. Had she fallen too? Only, he couldn’t see her face. Red fringes of cloth were lightly brushing his nose. And a pair of white bunny panties was –
Pant –
“PANTIES!” Jim screamed in horror, as he realized that he hadn’t grabbed the woman’s hand at all. Instead, he had grabbed her skirt.
And as he lay on the ground with his legs widespread, the woman’s skirt had slipped a little from her skeleton-thin waist. While the red fringes brushed slightly against his nose, he realised he was sitting her-knee-to-his-face. He could see her knees, and over it, her underwear.
And he was still holding her skirt.
Jim let it go, his heart beating in his mouth as sweat covered his forehead. He was about to slid back on the floor, when the child slapped the top of Jim’s hair and screamed in an angry voice, “Let my mommy go!”
“Ow!” Jim slid back on the floor as fast as possible. The woman didn’t wait for him to stand up, apologize or even explain. She turned around, horror written on her face, and ran out of the washroom with the boy as quickly as she could.
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He had the urge to run behind, but he stopped, his heart still pounding hard.
He might be desperate for a girl, but he wasn’t going to chase after one literally. Not to mention, he already had her address and was going to meet her anyway.
What bothered him a bit was that his first impression had been spoiled. Not spoiled… it had been horrible. If only she had let him explain and not run away… Usually, in business, he won over deals with his first impression alone. This time, however…
But… this woman cleaned toilets. As if he had to worry about impressions.
Forcing himself to relax, Jim got up from the floor, glad that the place had been empty while this entire tirade had taken place. Looking at the questionable state of his trousers, he was glad he had spare ones in his car too. Frowning with disgust at having fallen on the bathroom floor, he went back to his table, paid the bill, tipped the waiter handsomely and rushed back to his car to change. Once done, he looked at the list of bridal candidates again.
This time he observed the picture showing only the side face of the girl more closely. That hair… it was definitely her. He read her name out loud.
“Miya.”
Jim sighed.
What a weird name.
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and then Add to home screen.