PBUY Chapter 10

 10

***

"Good morning, Mr. Coleman. You're up early today. Did you sleep well?"

"A little… And you, Miss McKay?"

"I always sleep like a baby!"

Perhaps it was because of what she'd said yesterday, but Chester was already sitting upright on the sofa first thing in the morning. He even had a cup of coffee in one hand.

"Oh my, you brewed the coffee yourself?"

"What do you take me for, Miss McKay? I can manage something like this."

"Well, you always make me do it, so I thought maybe you didn't have hands."

"…Weren't you hired to help me? And besides, you drink more coffee than I do."

Chester bristled at Nellie's teasing, but she remained unfazed.

"Aha! So that's how you see it. And here I was thinking… since you're always threatening to fire me, I thought you didn't even acknowledge me as your employee. But it turns out, deep down, you do!"

With a relieved smile, Nellie clasped Chester's hands in both of hers.

Chester grimaced and tried to pull away, but Nellie deliberately held on tight, shaking their joined hands up and down.

"Well then, I suppose you haven't had breakfast yet, right? I'll make you a delicious one today, too."

Nellie quickly whipped up breakfast and then sat down at the table. It had naturally become part of their daily routine to eat together every morning.

"Mr. Coleman, could you pass me the syrup?"

"Here you go."

"I'll take George for a walk after breakfast."

"Go ahead."

"You could come with me, Mr. Coleman. Remember you said you'd start practicing walking again?"

"…Alright."

The reply, which came after quite a pause, was far from enthusiastic.

Still, since he'd agreed to step outside, Nellie was determined to make him walk no matter what. After all, the stakes were the house key. She had no intention of losing. With a weak, defeated mindset, the game was already over, Nellie McKay's victory was certain.

"Then I'll go change my clothes."

After finishing his meal, Chester got up first.

Once she was done with the dishes, Nellie sat on the sofa and waited quietly for him. But when he didn't come out for a long time, she went to knock on his door.

"Mr. Coleman! When are you coming out? At this rate, the sun will set before we leave."

After a long wait, the door finally opened, and Chester peeked out with a troubled expression.

"Miss McKay… I'm sorry, but today won't work. Please just take George and go without me."

"What? Why? What's wrong?"

When Nellie pulled on the door, Chester was easily dragged out with it.

He was wearing an overcoat, clutching a fedora tightly in his hand.

In a suit, he looked far more refined than when he was always lounging around in pajamas.

"You're already dressed. Let's go."

"I'm not sure it's a good idea to go out like this."

"What?"

"…I've lost my confidence. I don't know if it's alright for me to be out. People will definitely stare at me limping and snicker. And on top of that, I'm wearing these outdated, worn clothes… I'm sorry, Miss McKay."

"What are you talking about? Goodness. What's wrong with your clothes? Unless you're wearing your coat like trousers or putting your pants on your arms, no one is going to give you a second glance! People aren't just watching you, Mr. Coleman. Unless you walk on your hands, no one will care one bit!"

"But still, anyone can see that I..."

Nellie cut him off and tugged him outside.

"Stop spouting nonsense and just get moving! George!"

"Woof!"

At her call, George barked from the second floor as if she had been waiting for the signal.

"Let's go for a walk, George!"

***

Taking someone whose self-esteem had sunk to the bottom of Newdane's harbor out for a walk was no easy task. But Nellie McKay was a professional caregiver.

With practiced ease, she held Chester's arm with one hand and George's leash with the other.

"If walking feels uncomfortable, you can lean on me, Mr. Coleman."

"I will."

But with the arm Nellie wasn't holding, Chester gripped his cane tightly, focusing all his strength on keeping it from trembling.

Once they stepped outside, the midday sunlight washed over them.

"See? Not a single person walking around, and no one's looking at you. Right?"

"…Yes."

Gradually, Chester began to walk with a little more confidence.

"How long has it been since you last went outside?"

"Probably…"

Chester thought for a moment before answering.

"Two days, I think."

"What?"

Nellie had expected it to be at least a month or two, and she stared at him blankly.

It wasn't as long as she'd thought, in fact, it meant he had even gone out while she was working. Other than the time they went to the cinema, she had never seen him leave the house.

When on earth had he gone out?

Chester quickly solved the mystery for her.

"Who do you think mows the lawn in the yard?"

"What? You… you mow it yourself?"

"And how do you think I know there are no snakes in the backyard?"

"Oh my goodness, Mr. Coleman! It must have been so hard for you with your condition…"

George tilted her head and looked back at Nellie. To think that the neatly kept lawns in both the front and back yards had been maintained by Chester himself all this time.

"It's not that hard when you have a lawnmower."

Chester's tone carried a quiet pride.

"I always thought you had a gardener, Mr. Coleman. That's really impressive!"

"It's nothing. Once you get used to it, it's not such a difficult task."

"Still! There aren't many homeowners who tend their own lawns. It's such a hassle."

"That's true. If you skip even a week, it shows right away."

"This is a good sign. It means your leg can get better even faster. And it will, absolutely!"

With her enthusiastic praise, Chester looked embarrassed yet secretly pleased.

"Woof, woof!"

"Seems George agrees with you, Miss McKay."

"…I suppose so."

After a slow lap around the neighborhood, Chester's face was drenched in sweat. Walking with weakened leg muscles was no easy feat.

Aside from mowing the lawn, he hadn't gone out at all, which had only caused his muscles to weaken further. Nellie, who had been holding onto him to keep him from stumbling, felt her own arm aching.

"Here, use this to wipe off the sweat, Mr. Coleman."

"Thank you, Miss McKay."

Nellie took a handkerchief and gently wiped the sweat from his forehead. Chester turned his head to glance back.

"We've come quite far. Shall we head back now?"

"Alright. Let's gradually increase the distance bit by bit. George! Let's go back!"

As soon as they returned home, Chester shrugged off his sweat-dampened coat.

"I'll make sure this gets washed properly. You should go wash up too, Mr. Coleman."

"Understood. I'll leave it to you."

Chester handed her the coat. Nellie, with a mischievous look, asked,

"Shall I help you bathe as well?"

"I'd rather not."

Chester immediately rejected her joke.

"With all that sweat, your clothes must be hard to take off, though. And we've already shared a house key, haven't we?"

"If I can't take them off… I'll just rip them. Pass me the scissors."

Chester's expression was firm. Nellie replied with an innocent face.

"Oh dear. Then an expensive piece of clothing will go straight to the trash."

"Better that than asking you for help, Miss McKay."

"…Somehow, that doesn't sound very nice."

"Is that so? My apologies, Miss McKay. Please think of it as my last shred of pride."

"If you put it like that, it makes it hard for me to keep joking, Mr. Coleman."

"So it was a joke? That's a relief."

"Try to tell the difference between jokes and the truth."

"If you warn me ahead of time that it's a joke, I'll laugh for you."

"Well, it's a joke, so laugh, Mr. Coleman!"

"Ha ha."

Chester let out a theatrical "ha ha," which only made Nellie more exasperated.

Telling someone to laugh because it's a joke, and having them respond with a forced "ha ha", what was that supposed to be?

"You really can't lie to save your life, can you?"

Chester, looking slightly awkward, picked up a towel.

"I'll go wash up now."

Once Chester went into the bathroom, Nellie began emptying the coat pockets to wash it. Just as Chester had said, it smelled musty, as if it had been left in storage for a long time.

When she turned the inside pocket inside out, her fingers brushed against something round.

"What's this?"

She pulled it out, it was a ring. A gold ring with a small diamond set in the center.

It didn't look brand new; there were scratches on it, as if it had been worn before.

And…

There was an engraving, 'Past, Present, Future-C&B.'

It was clearly a ring that had once been shared between two people.