Two Villains

Ch. 44- Mature Conversations

Rhys made sure that I took proper rests during those five days, getting enough sleep and eating enough food to regain all the weight I had lost in the last two weeks of my duties in the hospital.

And I did. Almost.

The day Rhys pleaded with me to start afresh, I slept like a child, feeling weightless as I freed myself from my own expectations. And goodness knows how long I had slept, because when Rhys woke me up that day, I realized it was almost 1 a.m. I had slept for more than sixteen hours.

I was surprised to see very typical Bangladeshi foods on the table. Boiled rice with regular fish curries and veggies.

"I have hired a Bangladeshi chef to cook for you," Rhys informed me as we both descended into the dining space.

"How will you eat all of this? These curries are very spicy," I asked him.

His response nearly brought tears to my eyes.

"If I can make everything right between us, I know that oftentimes I have to eat these foods. And if all the stars align, maybe my kids will eat all of these foods as well," he replied, looking directly into my eyes.

"What if I don't want kids?" I asked him. Rhys smiled kindly at me.

"Your body, your choice. I am happy as long as you are happy with me," he assured me without hesitation. I took a deep breath and exposed my vulnerability to him.

"What if I turn out to be a bad mother? What if I do something that hurts my kids?"

This question caused him to look at me deeply, and he sighed.

"Kay, you don't have to worry about anything as long as I am with you, if you allow me to be around you at all. If you want kids, you don't have to worry about them. I am here for you. If you don't want kids, you don't have to worry about them. As long as I am alive, you don't have to worry about a single thing on earth."

His words left me speechless. He smiled at me and served food onto my empty plates, then onto his own.

We ate silently, and I was surprised to see him eating the spicy curries without hesitation. So, I initiated a conversation.

"You should cook something your mother used to make," I commented.

"Maria's food? You want me to cook Italian for you?" Rhys asked, visibly confused.

"No, I was asking about your own mother's cooking."

Rhys stopped eating and looked at me with visible agony and confusion, as if I were crossing a line. I took a deep breath and asked him,

"Remember the Lebanese cuisine we had the night we first kissed?"

His expression didn't change much.

"Does Anubiah's cuisine have Lebanese influence? I've never had Anubian food in my whole life. You should feed me the foods you grew up eating," I added, hoping he would respond. Rhys started to finish his leftover food without answering me. Meanwhile, I remembered the thought I had on the night we experienced the Metro blast, that his mother might have died, and how everyone from his family was surprisingly hush-hush about it.

Before I could ask anything, he left his seat and took his empty plate to the sink. I decided to push him,

"How old were you when your mother died, Sameer?"

I could feel my heart pounding so loudly that it may rip out from my chest, and he stopped at his work.

He started to hyperventilate. But he closed his eyes for a while and answered me,