Journey of Life.

Chapter 23.

After a few minutes, we notice the heavy rain. So laughing we head to take shelter. We end up in front of a Chinese restaurant. "You dance very well." He says lightning a cigarette.

Then silence falls, and we remain to observe the rain. Its drops keep us company.

He reveals his true intention. "I took the excuse of recognizing you for getting to know you better. In short, I introduced myself badly. So give me another chance to do it again, this time properly."

I am very surprised, I don't say him anything. I smile holding out my hand when he simply says, "My name is James Harrison."

The sensation of shaking his hands again warms me- protecting me from the cold wind. "Well, then nice to meet you, James Harrison. My name is Iris Jones."

I laugh.

"Are you hungry?" He asks without glancing at me.

His eyes are following the raindrops. Embarrassed, I understand that he may have heard my stomach complaining. So looking down, I nod. As a consequence, he opens the door to me as a gesture to enter. I have never tried Chinese food, so I remain surprised how crowded this place is, it must be good. Especially from his gesture. He pulls the chair for me to sit. What a gentleman...

"I have to confess that I am a mess using chopsticks." As I try to figure out how to take them, I hear him laughing.

I think for my funny face, in order not to drop the dumplings. But it's useless. I made them fall into the spicy sauce, dirtying my white tank top. For that scene we both laugh. Then I realize that with a napkin, he wipes the corner of my lips. I don't comment for what he's done. I don't know what I feel. He's so kind. Indeed all I do is felling embarrassed. I'm really clumsy. That's exactly what makes him laugh. Seeing him that way fills my heart of joy.

Consequently he reassures me by saying, "Don't worry. I also had difficulty in using them." He pauses to drink a sip of water. "In my childhood I often had to move because of my, I mean, of Thomas's job. So traveling I had to adapt to every different kitchen, and only by living in Japan I finally understood how to use them properly."

"And that scene of yours, reminds me when I dropped a sushi on my shirt staining it with soy sauce. It happened just before Thomas introduced me to some of his important colleagues." I laugh and he too.

"I can't imagine your father's reaction." I stop laughing as he becomes cold again. So I keep eating.

"I will never forget that event, because it was one of the bad fools I have had so far." I cannot hold it, so I laugh once again. His presence makes me feel safe. I don't know why but my heart feels pampered by his words.

"I guess we're both a disaster." I say looking up, catching him staring at me intensely.

"For example as a child I had expressed a pregnant lady good wishes, when instead she was only swollen with what she had eaten. I remember it was a Sunday. I was in a restaurant with my father, so as soon as he heard what I said, he pretended to scold me. And when that lady left, he laughed like a madman warning me to think before acting." I share smiling as I recall that event.

Or that day when a shoe had fallen on a roller coaster. I was crying. I never found it again, so I couldn't combine it with the other. They were my favorites, precisely because they depicted all Disney princesses. I was eight years old, and foolishly still didn't know how to tie my shoes properly. My mother had blown away, she did nothing but walk around every corner of the amusement park. But in the end, it remained one of my funniest days. Even now if I mention it, my parents laugh. I was and still really clumsy.

James also agrees in describing himself that way. He laughs, telling me always about knowing how to tie the shoes. That when he had to join his parents on the red carpet for the first time, he fell over tripping on the laces. He decided to tie them up well, without giving importance to the row of paparazzi. He shows me that event in a photo which went viral. In particular for the reactions of his parents.

"You were really adorable as a kid." I blush for saying that.

He changes expression. That seriousness returns once again. "It was the main detail for which I gained fame and success through acting." His tone is cut and dry. "I am what I am, only thanks to the successes of my parents."

Eating a spoonful of rice, I respond, "I think they only give you tools. The rest is up to you to know how to use them. What matters is that you're always truthful to yourself."

To that answer of mine, I feel him calming down, but makes him equally gloomy. As I restart eating, he questions about my childhood- about my family and what I want to study in college.

I just reply, "I had a normal childhood, nothing special."

His eyes are so deep. They stare at me with great interest. So I lose the thread of what I say. In fact I divert his gaze. I feel so nervous, I mean no one ever questioned or conversed me this way. In particular with a guy. It's weird...

"Why do I feel like you've gone through many difficulties, Iris?" At that moment I look up at him. "You must lie."

"Too bad, you are not good at it enough, so I got you out." He says as he wipes his mouth with a napkin.

"Maybe because you had to lie often too. That's why you got me out easily right?"

The noise of the restaurant increases, because we don't keep talking but we just keep gazing at each other.