Boneca [Doll]

Chapter 32: Act in haste

In the post-shower tranquility, all the emotional baggage took a nosedive down the drain. Who knew that embracing acceptance would be the liberating equivalent of a party confetti cannon? The grin on Alex's face when Luuk reluctantly accepted his sister-in-law into the family? Well, that, my friend, was a Kodak moment.

Cloaked in pajama pants with a blue towel thrown over his back like a cloak, Luuk strutted into the closet to discover Jona delicately placing the watch he'd bestowed upon him back in the village on the glass dresser. The man's damp hair, artfully covering one eye, gave him a touch of mystery. Longer hair suited Jona, much like Luuk suited his mother's designer suit.

"Hey, anjo."

"Thanks for lending it to me back then." Jona's gaze awkwardly avoided Luuk's exposed physique, encountering the full-frontal exposure for the first time.

"It's yours, baby. A keepsake from yours truly."

"You lent it to me and asked me to buy one myself once we come back to America, remember?" A polite grin, still fixated on the floor.

Luuk, unfazed, looped the watch back around Jona's wrist. "Consider it a permanent loan, then. It's yours."

Jona, ever the Japanese gentleman, opened his mouth to protest, only to find himself silenced the American way—with a tongue intervention that left him blinking.

"Let's catch some sleep. It's been one hell of a day." Luuk grabbed a white t-shirt, tossing the towel into the rattan laundry basket with the flair of an eccentric artist.

"O que é isso?" [What's this?] Jona tapped a scar above Luuk's navel. "Ah, sorry. Não queria perguntar em voz alta." [I didn't mean to ask that out loud.]

Something hollow stirred in Luuk's chest. "Well, if you don't ask out loud, how am I supposed to spill the beans?" Luuk flicked the bedside lamp on. "Venha, eu vou lhe mostrar." [Come. I'll show you.]

The bedroom's air conditioner offered a comforting hum.

"Sit." Luuk pulled Jona onto the tatami bed, taking a theatrical pose on the cold marble. Running his fingers over the five-inch scar on his left side, he spilled the beans. "This is from kidney surgery."

"You had a kidney transplant...?"

"The opposite. I was the... donor." Luuk let the word 'donor' linger, savoring its bitterness.

"You're an organ donor?" Jona eyed Luuk like he had just claimed to be the monarch of a micronation.

"Not exactly. But I'm rocking a solo kidney now."

"What? Why?" Jona looked lost.

Luuk took a deep breath, injecting a theatrical pause. "I was a victim of human trafficking."

Jona's hand shot forward, his face contorting into indescribable horror. Clasping Luuk's arms in a death grip, he trembled. "Luuk! Não digas isso com cara séria!" [Don't say that with a straight face!]

Luuk ran his fingers through Jona's hair, absorbing the palpitations like a sponge soaking up spilled soda. Telling him that wasn't hard. The man absorbed pain like a university library absorbs overdue book fines.

"What face should I make, querido? It happened the year you were born. Yeah, it royally messed up my life in every way, but it's ancient history now. Can't change it, just relate to it."

"I... Do you feel fine? Are you dyi..." Jona shook his head. "No, that's stupid. You're healthy." His painful smile peeked through as he buried his face into Luuk's chest, squeezing so tight Luuk almost coughed up a lung.