All Smiles / Itadakimasu

‘Tut-a-toot, Tut-a-toot, Tut-a..’, the clock on the wall went on and on till Joel got up and plucked the plug out of the socket. He had missed the alarm, yet again, and he missed another interview. ‘I’ve got to stop sleeping in late’, he muttered to himself as he got ready for another interview which was scheduled for later that day. ‘One left today, one tomorrow, and two, the day after!’ he exhaled slowly as he bowed down to tie his laces. His pet cat, Noori, looked on as her master left again, for yet another interview in the last three months. Unemployment hadn’t gone down well with Joel, he had put on a couple ounces, and he had grown softer with time. He barely looked like his old self, an out-of-work Medico isn’t exactly the kind a Daily Newspaper would look for while scouring for journalists. His time in the civil wars as part of the NGOs he used to work for, was the only bright spot on his normal-looking resume.

‘Joel Shawn Teller, 35, Unemployed for the past three months, a trained doctor who’s worked in Gaza, Cairo, Tel Aviv and the like, Interested in Cooking! Hmm!’, the energy in the room dropped dead the moment the editor read Joel’s resume out. The interview went just fine, a lot like the other dozen he’d been to last month. Everywhere he went, there were two things common; First, that he’d always not get the job and second, she’d be there too. Just as he stepped out of his interview, he spotted her yet again, and he let out a smile he had accustomed himself to give out every time he ran into her. She smiled back too and shrugged her way into the interview room and as he saw her disappearing into the room he let out his real smile, a quaint smile and he walked out. It all started a couple of months ago, when he first walked into the office of a gossip magazine. His options were thinning down and he was just as desperate to get a job and spend his time writing, and that’s when he ran into her as he walked into the interview room. This went on for the next few weeks, and that’s when he decided to make a move, and hence he asked her if she was free for a cup of coffee later that evening. As he would have it, she said yes, and she ended up waiting for him at a coffee house as he overslept his alarm. They hadn’t exchanged numbers or names, but after that evening, he didn’t have the nerve to approach her ever again.

‘We meet again!’, she muttered this time. It was the last interview that month, and just like always, they had both applied for the same position again. ‘Can’t really help the fact that my luck kind of always runs out on me’, he let out a smile saying that. His heart was thumping harder, his pulse was racing, he hadn’t felt such a rush since he last ran his scissors and knives in the wars. She found herself at ease around him as her words rushed out without having to think twice, and before she knew it, she had already told him everything about her. They tanked that interview too, but it barely mattered to the both of them. They might have lost out on the job, but they won big on this friendship. And as they spoke over a multitude of cups of coffees, they found out more about each other and found themselves at crossroads on what they love. He had inherited a huge estate from his uncle, and along with that, a significant amount of wealth that’d keep him going while he was out of employment and a newfound tag of an orphan. She was the daughter of a diplomat and had lost her mother early in her childhood, and her father was now stuck in a civil war and couldn’t be flown out in time from the embassy. Joel had seen so much death in those wars, he knew her father didn’t stand a great chance of surviving but he kept mum about it and just kept listening to her. ‘I think I’ll get going now! Let’s meet again sometime?’, she said just as he realized how he had left her hanging the last time. ‘How about my place tomorrow for lunch? I could show you how I cook, and besides I can’t be late that way!’ he said, while his face made it plenty evident that he really wanted her to come. ‘Hm. I wouldn’t mind that. Noon it is then! Also, here’s my number.’ She said whilst writing down her name and number on a paper towel. He gave her the address and took the number and bid adieu. ‘Sonya, not too bad a name.’, ‘Joel, not that bad a name!’ they spoke to themselves in their heads as they walked out.

‘Oh, her name’s Noori! She’s a Bay Cat. Probably the last of her kind. Be careful though, she bites!’ he responded to Sonya’s inquiries. ‘Are you done with the preparation yet? I guess I’m a little too hungry right now.’, she said, as her face showed hints of grave hunger and just then, Noori bit her but she didn’t say anything though she was bleeding. ‘Come here! I’ll show you how it’s made, and maybe then you can yell at me for delaying it for so long.’, he said playfully. As she entered the kitchen she found a new person in there! Joel looked all cleaned up in his avatar as the chef. And with surgical precision he ran the knives along the meat to give them just the right amount of gashes in the right intensities. She was in awe, he was working like a machine, just when he was done with one item, he moved onto another with perfection, the transitions felt seamless, he was so good at it that she barely noticed that it went on for an hour and that she was hungry. ‘You have been served!’ he said, as kept all the dishes on the dining table. Just as she was done eating, her phone rang and she ran out with muffed tears after lifting the call. She ran out with her coat and he didn’t waste a moment to dart out after her. Call in Ill fate or just destiny, he tripped over a stone and fell, and when he rose there was no sign of her. He didn’t expect her to leave like that, but he couldn’t do much and that feeling of helplessness riled him up. He got home, only to find Noori tugging at her scarf, ‘You like her too?’ he said, wiping off the blood from her whiskers. He expected to see her at the next interview, but that didn’t happen, and it went on that way for the whole month. He was agitated, he felt the anguish building up within him. He had gotten used to seeing her all the time before every interview and the sudden withdrawal definitely affected him a lot for some strange reason.

‘So, can it be done or not?’, Joel yelled over the phone. He had contacted a black market insider to get him Sonya’s listed address from the phone number she had given him as it was a diplomat’s line and the telecom company wouldn’t tell him her address. ‘It’ll cost you a lot more if you plan on yelling like that mister!’ the voice on the phone said and Joel apologized and made a deal. He was clearly shaken and wanted to see her face again. His phone buzzed and he picked up his coat and ran to his car and pulled it out of the garage as the tires screeched. He found his hearth thumping and his pulse racing again. He felt like he was in a war again, or maybe he really was in one. And as the tires screeched again, to a halt this time, he stepped out and ran to the door and knocked without second thoughts. Out she came and his world was at peace again. ‘Joel! What are you doing here? How’d you know I lived here? I’m really sorry about tha..’ she was speaking alright, but he was busy just looking at her as he finally started thinking straight. ‘I was just worried about you, so I pulled a few strings and got your address. I could leave right now if you want me to.’ He said, fully hoping that she’d not say that. He really wanted to stay. ‘Nothing like that. Haha. Stay! Come on in, I’ll make you a cup of coffee.’ She said taking his coat.

‘My father came back home that day, but he wasn’t conscious when they got him in. They told me he had a stroke, so I ran to the hospital. He’s been in the hospital ever since, and I’ve been taking care of him. He just got better a couple of days back, and I guess he’ll be home tomorrow.’, she said as he sipped down his cup of coffee. ‘So that means no more interviews I guess? Haha, Just take care and stay safe.’ He said while getting up and ready to leave. ‘Nothing of that sort, Dad might get better in a few months, so I’ll probably get back to getting rejected then.’ She smiled and handed him back the coat. He prayed to the lord that she’d get back to the interviews this time, especially as he had been getting accepted off late, and he kept rejecting those offers in the hope that he’d see her in the next interview. His prayers were answered, as she showed up at the next interview. He went into the interview and spoke gibberish and got himself rejected and waited patiently for her to be done with her interview. ‘Oh there you are, How was the interview, and How’s your father doing?’ he asked while giving her a hug. ‘Oh, I got the job, and my dad? He died later that day. Apparently some nurse gave him the wrong sedative and that reduced his pulse rate a little too much and with no experienced doctors by the side, some doctor used the defibrillator and gave too hard a counter-shock and he passed away.’, her face was emotionless while she said it.

A month had passed now, and a knock on the door woke up Joel. ‘Morning Sir! We’re here to ask you something about the disappearance of Miss Sonya. We believe you knew her? Her call records show that she called you a couple of times last month before she disappeared.’ The police officers at his front door looked like they meant business. ‘Well, We are just acquaintances, we met at a couple of interviews, and I told her I was a doctor before, and she told me about what happened with her father. I suspected foul play and suggested that she file a police complaint seeking an enquiry into the death of her father. And if my memory serves me right she last called me a month ago telling me that she’s going to a Police Station at Church Street and thanked me for my help.’, he told them, while serving them some coffee. ‘Well, that corroborates with the evidence we’ve found so far. Thanks Mr. Teller. Some excellent coffee by the way.’ They shook hands and Joel walked them out, and as they were leaving Noori climbed onto his shoulder and coughed something onto his neck. ‘A finger? Now where’d you find that! Bad cat Noori.’ He smiled as he walked up to his refrigerator. He smiled again, a quaint smile, and shut the deep freezer and went to his interview. He was all smiles, why wouldn’t he be happy, he saw the same face that he was used to seeing before interviews, only this time it was severed and in his freezer.

Itadakimasu.