Chapter 2

Gauche Suede

For the past half hour it had felt like there was an extra 70 pounds on my shoulders. I checked my watch every few minutes waiting for my shift to be over while, stacking the new cans onto the half empty shelves.

When the final five minutes were over, I rushed my way to the back office, hoping no one had found the small boy I had been hiding in there. Of course he was. He had no where to go and no one to trust except me. When I opened the door he was siting there, aimlessly scribbling in a circular pattern on a piece of loose leaf.

''Did that seem as long for you as it did for me?" I ask jokingly. I smirked at him as he jumped slightly out of his chair, looking more alert than before.

"Ugh, even longer, I'll bet," he replies with a grimace on his face.

"Let's get going then!" I laugh, gesturing him to head out the door.

I hold the door open while he jumps out of his chair and stretches; I could hear his back cracking from across the room.

"That chair was worse to sit on than the cold concrete," he looks up at me, smiling, "but thanks for doing this for me... uh," he trails off.

"What is it?" I ask quickly, worried about what was wrong.

"You never told me your name."

"Oh! It's Gauche Suede. Sorry, I'm used to people knowing my name around the store from my name tag," I apologize to him, feeling guilty for not introducing myself properly.

"I should have known to look at your name tag, I fell silly," he tells me, "Thank you, ."

"You probably couldn't see it from down there," I reply rubbing his white hair, "You can just call me Gauche, if you like. And you're welcome, I'm always happy to help."

We start to walk through to the other side of the store, Lag asking me questions about everything. I answered them all except for what was for dinner, I wanted it to be a surprise, along with a few other things which he had no clue i was planning.

"Gauche, why are you doing this for me?" He asks me after a long moment of silence. I thought about it for a moment. I didn't really know until that moment.

"I guess it would be because in a certain way I know how you feel. Lag, I had a life similar to yours . When my younger sister was born, my mother died while giving birth. I had to take care of her from then on. Although I had a lot of support and help, I still had to deal with my sisters disability on my own. No one can afford to pay the medical bills. So I finished high school and started looking for a job. Unfortunately, this was the only place that would hire me. We live on our own, so I have to pay all the bills. Sometimes I get help, money-wise, from my family. I am trying to save enough for my Sylevette's leg surgery," I explained as we were about to arrive at home.

"Oh, thank you so much," Lag stopped and gave me a hug around my thighs.

"Lag, how old are you?" I ask, leaning down and wrapping my arms around his thin body.

"I'm 12," he replied tilting his head up to look into my eyes.

'Wow!' was the first thought that went through my head. He was the same age as my sister. Though he was much shorter than my sister would be standing. He also held a very childish atmosphere around him, though his mental being was very much matured from everything he had been through, even if it was just a month, it was a lot for a little boy to take.

We walked through the door to my small house. I led him through to the kitchen to meet Sylevette. She was very surprised to see our guest. She greeted him kindly then took the ingredients for supper, quickly getting to work, though she still had plenty of time to cook it.

I took Lag on a tour of where I lived. He was fascinated with all sorts of little nick- knacks and pictures. We went for a short walk down to the park and back after he was done looking around the house. It was nice having a reason to just come down and sit at the park. It was hard to get Sylevette to leave the house because she didn't want to be a burden. Getting her wheelchair down even the few steps outside are house was hard, and though she would never admit it, I knew it upset her to see all the boys and girls running around while she was stuck sitting and watching. She was still quite young.

We had spent a lot longer there than I had expected. Sylevette had just finished setting out all the things for dinner.

"I almost thought you weren't going to make it," she said letting out a sigh of relief, "I didn't want it all to go to waste."

"I would never miss one of your amazing meals," I replied, grinning. She always cooked great dishes, except for one that no one but I could stand. And I could only eat it because it had been served to me so many times that I had gotten used to it. It always looked delicious but the cream of vegetable soup always tasted sour no matter what she did to it. Though as amusing as it was to see how people tried there best to choke it down for Sylevettes sake it, always made her feel bad for attempting it again.

But tonight dinner was pork chops, rice, peas, and of course the bag of buns Lag had attempted to steal. It was wonderful. Everyone ate until they couldn't eat anymore. When we were finished, I gathered everything off the table, scraped the dishes into the garbage and put them into the sink to be washed.

"Sylevette," I callel from the sink, "may I speak with you in the hall for a moment, please?"

I could hear her wheelchair rolls towards the exit from the kitchen. I followed , turning to Lag and asking him to sit and wait while I entered the hall.

"Sylevette, I'm hoping this is okay with you, because you're the one whom manages the house, but Lag has no home and-"

"Gauche, I already figured that much out, you have a kind heart. You really do care. He can stay here as long as he wants," she said, startling me.

"Thank you so much," I replied grinning.

We entered the kitchen once again. Lag was fidgeting in his chair. He had so much energy, even after a meal like that he wanted to be up and moving.

"Gauche, Sylevette, thank you so much for the meal. But it's getting late. I should be going, I don't want to be too much of a pain," he said, looking at us and getting up out of his chair, starting for the door.

"Lag, please sit down," I demanded before he got too far. He surprisingly obeyed,"Sylevette discussed this and we would like to know if you want to live here."

We sat in silence for a long moment. I watched his face turn from surprised to happy to a look of great discomfort. The wait was killing me.

"I am very grateful for all you have done for me but I have nothing to give in return, I wouldn't want to be a burden to you guys. I'm sorry, but I don't think I can accept your offer," he let out in a huff.

I couldn't understand where he was coming from. I had told him he was welcome here and yet he still thought of himself as a pain in the ass? Did he perhaps not like us as much as it seemed? We had such a great time together that day, how could he not want to be here?

"Maybe when I am old enough to work and pay rent," he continued, "but for now I am in debt for your kindness, thank you."

I just sat there staring. Soon he left. I would probably never see him again.