Yesterday's Future 2✔️

17. The mystery man.

15:15,
20th street,
Flatbush, NY

It was a normal Friday afternoon in Adam's apartment. He had returned from the office early, picked Yara up after her class on his way back, who was now in his kitchen, unpacking the bags they had bought on their trip to the nearby grocery store and getting started on the simple cooking steps and recipes she had promised to teach him. He was in his room changing into something warmer, getting ready to be schooled in the kitchen by his new neighbor/friend while SpongeBob SquarePants played loudly on the TV in his sitting room.

Since the Sulza's house warming party, Yara and Adam had bumped into each other a couple of times; in the hallway, in the elevator, and in the lobby. It had been mostly friendly greetings until one afternoon, they were fixing a day and time for Adam's cooking tutorials. She had insisted when he told her the reason why he was always buying food, eating out or ordering in. She didn't like the sound of it at all. According to her, that was a very unnecessarily expensive life style and she went on to tell him that it would be more cost effective if he could go to the market and cook for himself once in a while. Without arguing, Adam agreed to her reason and to picking her up after her classes on Friday. Everything seemed to be going according to plan.

When he joined Yara in the kitchen she waited for him, wearing an apron on top of her crop top and pair of dungarees.

From the kitchen door where he stood, he looked at the counter. She had arranged all the stuff they bought in different bowls. He didn't even know he had those bowls in his kitchen. Looking surprised and fascinated at the same time, he rubbed his palms together as he advanced towards her.

"Interesting. So... where do we start from?"

She smiled. "Well, first I had to quickly borrow some bowls from my mums kitchen, I hope you don't mind."

"Oh not at all. Thanks."

"Okay good. How do you like your pasta and chicken gravy because that's an easy meal to start with? Right?"

"Yeah sure."

"Good. Then we'll start with that."

Five minutes later, Adam was wearing an apron too, chopping tomatoes and onions across Yara on the kitchen island.

"How long have you been in New York then?" She asked him.

Without looking up he replied, "Nine years. And six months."

"Wow. That's a long time. And you've only gone home once. Why's that?"

He was done chopping so he looked up, his eyes were teary from the onions moving towards the sink.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I don't do this often you see."

"You don't say."

Adam chortled and washed his hands. "There was a reason I left home in the first place. I had to...get away from some things and when I got here I started a new life. Now, I can't just leave even if I wanted to. It's not that simple anymore."

"But what about your family?"

"My family, my mother and little sister is all I've got back there really. And they want me back home no doubt...I'm just not ready for that. I have things here that I have to do first. And they understand that, I think."

"Things like what? I'm sorry if I'm asking too many personal questions. I guess I'm just trying to understand the 'Mystery Man'." Yara air-quoted teasingly.

"Mystery man?" His brows creased together into a frown.

"That's what everyone in the building calls you. And Roger too. He said you don't talk much or attend meetings so no one really knows much about you. I figured you must be a very very very private man."