Gift of New Beginnings

Gift of New Beginnings

The first thing I noticed after waking up was what smelled like pancakes. Gradually, I opened my eyes before I proceeded to sit up in my bed and stretch, letting out a large yawn afterwards. The next thing I noticed was how quiet it was. As early in the day as it was, usually I’d at least hear Aisha watching the TV. Even so, the lights were on, and the smell from before was still wafting in the air, so it was clear that there was at least one other person here, and that they were cooking breakfast. Still groggy, I got up out of bed and made my way downstairs. To my surprise, I found Jim in the kitchen, placing about a dozen pancakes onto a plate. “Jim?”

“Good morning, Hanmyo!” Jim greeted me cheerfully. Like me, he was still in his pajamas, but I got the feeling that he’d been awake for a while already. That wasn’t good. For at least the past week, he’d been working even harder than usual, getting up early and going to bed late, taking on several jobs a day, and really only taking quick breaks to eat and go to the bathroom. And whenever he wasn’t out on a job, he was constantly typing away on his computer.

“Jim, you shouldn’t be up so early, let alone working in the kitchen. You haven’t been getting enough sleep lately, and I’m getting worried,” I scolded him.

Jim smiled apologetically. “I guess you’re right. Even Aniki and Mel were getting on my case this morning.” He then snorted. “Never thought I’d see the day Gene would be lecturing me on working too hard.”

“All the more reason for you to go to sleep early tonight!”

“If that’s what you want, Hanmyo, then alright.”

“Really?”

“Promise!” Wow, Jim’s serious! Satisfied with his response, I asked about something else that had been bugging me this morning.

“By the way, where is everyone?”

“Out doing errands.” His answer didn’t make any sense to me. If it had just been Melfina, or even Suzuka, I’d understand, but Gene and Aisha as well? And at this hour? I looked at Jim, and I saw no trace of dishonesty in his eye. But I couldn’t shake off the feeling that there was something he wasn’t telling me. This wasn’t like him, but at the same, I knew I could trust him. So I just let it drop. I took a seat at the table and Jim put a plate with half of the pancakes he’d been preparing in front of me.

“It’s been a while since I cooked something like this without any help. I hope they still turned out alright, though.” I could tell Jim was worried, but I knew better than to sugarcoat things like this with him. Fortunately, one bite was enough to know that I wouldn’t have to.

“They’re a bit gooey, but still pretty tasty! Thank you, Jim!” Blushing slightly, Jim finally relaxed enough to take a seat and join me.

Once we had finished eating and put our dishes away, Jim had another surprise for me. “Hey, Hanmyo? Do you feel like going to the park today?” I blinked in shock, not sure I’d heard him correctly. He’d been working himself to the bone for the last week, only to now want to take the day off and spend it with me?