A Piece of Your Heart

“Have you eaten yet?”

“No.”

“Would you like to have dinner with me?”

I was already on my way to the kitchen when Nathan’s suggestion made me freeze in place.

Dinner?

Five days had passed since the beginning of this… trial period. It was an arrangement that I had never imagined myself getting into.

But to my surprise, I was beginning to feel comfortable with it, even though two weeks or a month hadn’t even passed. It was as if talking to Nathan every day was a natural occurrence, one that did not seem like a random appointment in my daily schedule. Not to mention that I talked to him more than I talked to my own family.

Not that that was unusual. After all, Ken was very busy with his first year of residency, which I heard was quite demanding, while Louisa was in the middle of a job search. She had always wanted to be a kindergarten or elementary school teacher, but after graduation, she wanted to help our parents out first. She was truly a sweet girl.

I made a mental note to buy her a nice gift for her birthday. It was only a few months away.

“My treat, of course,” Nathan said, snapping me out of my thoughts. “I just have something I’d like to talk to you about, if that’s okay. I mean, if you’re free.”

I couldn’t help but smile a little. Despite our short time together so far, I could tell that he was an interesting kind of man. Maybe it was because of all the romance novels and TV dramas I used to watch, but I always had this preconceived notion that rich men were always arrogant and selfish.

It was fun to read about the drama and passionate romance in stories like that, but I knew deep inside that reality did not work like that. Fiction was fiction, and real life was real life.

But Nathan, despite his obvious wealth, was nothing like those men. Instead, he was kind, almost suspiciously so. But he didn’t seem manipulative at all.

Instead, he interacted with me genuinely, always asking for permission or consent. He wasn’t one of those people who couldn’t take no for an answer, and he also respected my space and schedule.

Granted, this is how friendships work most of the time, but we were in a transactional relationship at the time, so it just took me by surprise. He had the opportunity to use his power over me, but he continued to treat me as an equal.

Like a friend.

Also, the trial period was almost over. I was about 90% sure that this relationship was going to continue, so it was inevitable that we would meet in person.

I had no reason to refuse his invitation at this point.

“…Okay,” I conceded.

***

After getting dressed, I went to the restaurant downtown. Nathan had proposed that we meet up there and look for a table together.

“That way, we can both decide where to sit,” he had told me over the phone earlier. “I don’t know if you prefer the table by the window or maybe somewhere isolated…”

“All right. Thank you,” I said softly.

I was surprised at the considerate gesture. Where we sat didn’t really matter to me.

Back then, Tom and Ben always reserved the table and waited for me to arrive. Sometimes Tom would even choose a table in the middle of the restaurant, which made me feel uncomfortable, but I chose not to mention it to him.

After all, it was just a table. We only needed to eat, talk, and then leave. I tried not to think too much about it and swallowed my discomfort each time.

It was a small thing, but I appreciated Nathan seeking my opinion.

I arrived at the restaurant wearing a creamy white blouse with cuffs at the wrists. It was the fanciest one I had in my closet. As for my pants, I chose a black pair with a simple black belt around my waist.

The restaurant wasn’t particularly elegant or expensive, but this was my first dinner meeting in a long time, so I wanted to dress accordingly. Not too simple and casual, but not too fancy either.

We chose a table by the window. I liked to look outside from time to time, being someone who usually loved to gaze at sceneries. I supposed that it had something to do with my drawing hobby, but things like this always made me feel calm inside.

Nathan seemed satisfied with the table position as well.

As the two of us ordered, he initiated the conversation like always. After all, the only reason why I spent time with him was so I would listen to him.

Like a friend.

It was funny how one-sided it was thanks to the relationship being transactional, but if Nathan was content with this arrangement, then I had no objections.

“I found my dad’s old PC today,” Nathan said as he set down the menu after the waiter took down our orders. “It’s an old model. I remember having so much fun playing games on it when I was a kid.”

“So you like playing games?” I asked. He was like Ken then if that was the case.

Nathan seemed to hesitate for a moment before nodding. “Yeah. Nothing fancy, just games like playing cards, exploding mines, stuff like that.”

I smiled. “Sounds familiar.” Ken used to watch me play those games on our old computer, after all.

Nathan looked at me. The hesitation returned to his eyes.

It was a bit puzzling. Did he think I would disapprove of a grown man playing games? No, that was ridiculous.

But… why did he also look a little guilty?

“What is it?” I decided to ask.

There was a pause on his end. “Do you play games, Julia?” he asked.

“I haven’t played one for a long time. Like you, I used to love playing card games on our old PC,” I responded. “But my brother loves to play video games, the ones on consoles. I would buy him a new game every Christmas.”

Ken really loved them, especially the ones from NA Games, Inc. Based on what I saw while Ken played, that company’s games were indeed amazing. The graphics were impressive, and the gameplay and cutscenes were good as well.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

He once asked me to try it out for myself, but I declined. It wasn’t that I thought it was childish. Rather, it was out of fear. Fear that I might love playing so much that I would eventually neglect my responsibilities.

It was easy to fall into the addiction of gaming. When I was a child, I remembered playing on my dad’s computer all the time. So it was a lot like what Nathan said, something we obviously had in common. But then again, that was normal for kids my age, right? Computers were pretty amazing to us kids back then.

Back then, there weren’t any fancy consoles like today, and games with amazing, almost realistic graphics. Back then, characters were small and 2D at best, especially in role-playing games.

But action and adventure games were also super fun. I used to play a lot of multiplayer games with my dad on the old console he bought me for my birthday. I remember him telling me that he wanted it to be something that we could both enjoy from time to time, and that he had saved money to buy it specifically so that we could bond over the hobby.

But that was the only console we had back then because of my parents’ financial difficulties. The games were simple and straightforward with no complex storyline.

The old PC was never upgraded, either. Ken and Louisa were very little at that time, so my parents focused on raising all three of us to the best of their abilities. Soon enough, there was no more time to bond over games.

Now, it was time for me to pay back the favor. To give back to my parents for all of their hard work.

Not because I was obligated to as the eldest, but simply because I loved my family very much.

“That sounds nice,” Nathan said, and his face seemed to light up a little. “What kind of games does your brother like?”

“Hmm… He likes fighting and shooting games like the ones you can play at the arcade,” I said. “But he loves adventure, fantasy, and role-playing games the most.”

“Oh? He sounds like a cool guy.”

“He is,” I responded with a smile. I was always proud to talk about my siblings in any way. “My brother, Ken, will be starting his residency at Meadowbrook Hospital next year. He’s a good and intelligent kid. He loves games, but he makes sure to manage his time well between leisure and studying.”

Nathan smiled softly. “That’s great to know. He’s been brought up well. I’m sure he’ll grow up to be a fine man in the many years to come, one that you’d be very proud of.”

It was silly, but his words almost brought tears to my eyes. Thinking about all of the hard work and sacrifices that my parents made for us siblings, about all the things I did to secure Ken and Louisa’s futures…

To have him acknowledge that with those simple words made my heart swell.

“Thank you,” I said sincerely.