SIERRA'S LEONE

DEXTER

"So, how's life with Thor?"

Time slipped, Sierra had a hard to accept she had already spent almost three months with Jonas.

From the start, Jonas's easy-going personality made the roommate-situation comfortable.

The man did not devour her space or make Sierra feel like a surrogate mother. Instead, he helped. Sierra could not deny the man participated in the progress of her relationship with Leone.

"It's cool. It's justㅡ," Sierra looked down at her drink while she sought her words.

"Just what?"

"It's nothing."

"Sierra," Jade urged.

"Okay, he goes out at night."

"What do you mean?" May said, flexing her eyebrows in a playful, inquisitive motion.

"I don't have an explanation. Jonas goes out and comes back at the crack of dawn. I don't know what he does during that time," Sierra switched her gaze from Jade to May.

Jade and May exchanged accomplice smiles before May added, "how long has the man been without a woman? I bet all my money he is dipping his LU cigarette biscuit somewhere."

"May," Sierra exclaimed. Sierra was older but still a little prude when sex was the subject of the conversation.

"What?"

"Aren't Chinese supposed to be Mrs. Grundys?" Jade asked.

"First, I'm Vietnamese, and you call yourself a friend? "May said in a fake whining tone. "Second, I was born and raised here as if you didn't know. Why say that, huh? The Asian girl inside me is hurt." May suddenly picked up a more aggressive tone to say, "could you shove your stereotypes in a paper plane and send them off into oblivion."

People's lack of discernment when it came to Asian people was always something that triggered May. She hated when people automatically considered her as Chinese as if it was the only Asian civilization, and it did not make her laugh even when someone joked. It was her only sensitive spot. May was all giggles and sleazy puns for the rest.

Jade's eyes grew wide, and she and May proceeded to their weekly who-can-out-glare-the-other deathmatch while Sierra drank her cream Carmel frappuccino.

Friends since college, but living and working in different French capital areas, the woman tried to maintain a bond by meeting up regularly.

Jade was a bank advisor while May was a freelance web designer, which suited her imaginative personality.

With them, Sierra learned to live life without Cecile. The relationship was not as profound, but it filled the gap.

"Wait a minute, what if he's like Dexter? At night he goes around Paris chopping up people," Jade said.

Sierra coughed; her friend's remark almost made her choke, "say what? you are crazy?"

"What? We all know how the proper one looks; the more dangerous one can be. Think Christian Bale American Psycho, Cathy Bates in Misery."

May nodded, "yeah, think Kanye West."

They all gave each other side glances before bursting into laughter.

"Please don't diss Kanye. He's a genius," Sierra said between two teary giggles.

This day out with her friends was another thing Jonas's presence allowed. The woman's mind was at rest, knowing Leone was safe with the man.

"Stop it, girls, you are scaring me," Sierra said, thinking of the probability of sharing her house with a serial killer."

"Follow him?"

"What?"

May leaned forward to whisper, "I said to follow him? It's the only way you can find out."

"I can't that'sㅡ."

"Suit yourself. That's what I would do if I were you," the woman said before cutting a bit of her chocolate chip cream cake.

Jade shook her head in disapproval, "don't listen to this girl. She'll have you arrested in no time."

The idea wasn't so improbable. There were still many dark spots concerning Jonas, or perhaps there were too many light spots.

Either way, the more time Sierra spent with Jonas, the less she imagined Cecile with the picture-perfect man.

Cecile liked the raw and broken.

Was Jonas hiding a part of a jagged-edged personality?

How did her friend end up having s child with someone like him?

At the same time, it seemed logical to choose someone as balanced as Jonas. 

Though she had all the plausible answers, Sierra needed to know more. Jonas observed her, and she did the same with him as she wondered why Cecile kept Leone's birth a secret from him.

Sierra's curiosity was more potent than her. Every time she got up in the middle of the night, and past the living room in the last week, Jonas was absent.

At first, she thought the man went for a run, but 2 AM seemed both too late and early.

So Sierra decided to stay awake. She waited for Leone to fall asleep and read The Sun and Flowers by Rupi Kaur until she heard the slamming of her apartment's door.

Already dressed, she put Leone in his hand stroller and left the apartment.

The lift was in the basement.

Why would Jonas go to the basement? Sierra wondered.

She called the elevator and went down. Sierra hated going there at night, but she needed to know if Jonas was Dexter or not.

A dim light shone; Sierra looked down at Leone, sound asleep. She slowly approached. The closer she came, the more the sound of wheels became persistent, then abruptly stopped.

What on earth was he doing? The sound of shuffling startled her. Sierra jumped and found herself facing Jonas.

"What are you doing here?" Jonas asked.

Sierra straightened up, "I-ai-I should be asking you that?"

"As you can see, I'm working. I couldn't sleep."

The man took position on the stool, and the table began to spin.

"Since when can't you sleep?"

Jonas wiped his forehead with the back of his hand and proceeded with the hand-building as he spoke, "since I,ㅡ." The man could not say it was since Sierra rented space next door to Cecile in his thoughts and invested his sleep. The man felt as though he cheated on Cecile's memory. Her death was only a few months old, and here he was with a fluttering heart.

The controversial sentiments appalled him.

In front of Jonas's lack of words, Sierra picked up the conversation, "let me guess, it's Cecile. I can't sometimes sleep too."

Neither of the two got a good night's slumber since the announcement. Doubts and fears had both tossing and turning with remorse; this went without forgetting Leone, who suffered for different reasons and sobbed in his sleep.

Jonas nodded, accepting the easy way out offered by Sierra's explanation.

"Sorry, I was curious and worried to know what you did at night. You go out late come back at daybreak, I ㅡ," Sierra sighed. Ashamed of her action, the woman decided to leave, "ㅡI'm sorry I'll leave you to it, Jonas."

"Stay."

"Pardon?"

"Please, stay, Sierra."