Living with the Bad Boys

Thirteen

"Ezra?" I exclaimed in surprise.

"Feyrah Bonheur. I can't believe you're actually here." He said walking up with a surprised face.

"Wait.. Ezra Walker... Like.... First grade?" I said laughing.

"Yeah, I can't believe it. I almost didn't believe it at first. You changed so much!" He said, glancing at me.

"Yeah, it's been so long. Do you live here?" I asked.

"Yeah. I moved here after eighth grade. Why are you here? Especially in a hospital?" He asked, sitting on the bench.

"I could ask the same. I'm actually here for Noah." I explained.

"Oh, Noah, how's he doing?" Ezra asked.

"Well, I'm guessing he's doing pretty fine, more or less." I said, muttering the last part.

"I'm here for my mom. She.... caught cancer last year, and it's been a bit hard." He said grimacing.

"Oh my goodness. How? She was in perfect condition the last time I saw her." I said in alert.

"Well, people can change in twelve years. My parents got a divorce a year or two later, and she became ruined. Started smoking a pack every day, and next thing we know, lung cancer. Scary thing, isn't it?" he said, softly.

"I'm.... truly sorry for what you've been through." I said placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Well, life is an asshole, right? I mean, Jenna took everything worse." He said, mentioning his little sister.

"Jenna, how's she doing? Well, overall." I said.

"Well, she's starting to calm down a bit. Same grade as Noah right?" He said, tilting his head.

"Yeah. Remember when they used to hold hands and secretly kiss each other." I smiled.

He chuckled lightly.

"Well, I better jet. This..." He said, writing his number down on a napkin, "is my number. Call me, so we can hang out while you're here." He said, waving at me while disappearing.

"A childhood friend?" A voice asked behind me.

"Oh,.....you were there?" I asked, as the president slid onto the bench beside me.

"Sorry to have eavesdrop, but I came a bit early and I didn't want to go back to my father. Oh, and my father loved  it. He wouldn't even give me back the bowl until he licked it clean." He laughed.

"Oh. That's great to hear. At least he's eating." I said.

"Hey, Feyrah, can I ask you something?" He asked, staring at the floor.

"Sure." I said, leaning back.

" If you were given choices that could one day help you, but absolutely hate, would you do it?" He asked.

I thought for a while.

"Well.... If I knew that it would help me in the future, I would force myself to like the choices. Or, I would make choices that I and the person who gave me the choices would like." I said.

He bit his lip. "Even if you knew that in the future, you would be stuck with the choices forever?" He asked.

"What is this about?" I asked.

"Well, my father says that I'm old enough to take a wife. A wealthy wife with a good face in the rich people world." He says stressed.

"Business is business, right? I... would do what would be necessary. I would look into a few wealthy women, and hang out with them. Befriend them? Then choose of the best." I said.