Page 11 of Waves

Kai nodded. “The one who got away?”

“No,” I said, even more enthusiastically. Kai laughed from his light ribbing, and I chuckled along with him. “I know there’s plenty of fish in the sea, but she was never the one for me.”

“I get it. You threw your catch back.”

“More or less.”

I waved my hand down the aisle, and Kai walked with me while I pushed the cart along. I figured if I made a cover story about shopping, I might as well do it. Especially if I planned to feed two people tomorrow instead of one. I stopped at a freezer, and Kai looked slightly concerned about my food choices.

“Dog food,” I quickly explained.

Kai nodded, but his shoulders lost their tension while he exhaled.

“Do you want anything while we’re here?”

Kai smiled and rubbed his fingers together to indicate he didn’t have any money.

“I’m offering to buy it for you. Just tell me what you want.”

“I’m fine with anything, honest.”

“Okay,” I said. “But the way I see it, we’re going to want to eat tomorrow. You may as well tell me what you like, so I can make something for the both of us.”

Kai stretched his arms out, then held the back of his neck while we walked down the frozen food aisle. “I like seafood, I suppose.” He paused and glanced down at me. “Is that all right?”

I had to admit, Kai appearing so concerned about my opinion on the matter slightly took me aback. It was something Thom wouldn’t have thought twice about. He even went so far as boiling live lobster when I was in the house, knowing full well how I felt about such a horrid thing.

I looked back at Kai and nodded. “Yeah, it’s okay. Ishmael eats meat, and it doesn’t bother me.”

Kai smiled wider at my answer. “I kind of want to try what you like, instead of eating the same old things. You have an interesting diet.”

I tried to hold back a chuckle, but it snuck out anyway. “Fair enough. But if you see something you want, please tell me.”

“Will do.”

Kai quietly watched while I dumped way too many single-serving frozen dinners in the cart (because I was really not as competent in the kitchen as I appeared to be earlier), and we wandered the aisles together.

Once we got to the dry goods, he continued to remain silent each time I dropped some more staple items in the cart. I figured I would only have to feed him one more meal, two at the most. That wasn’t a terrible inconvenience to me, and so far, his companionship was worth the expense. Kai seemed just so relaxed about everything. If he were in a better situation, I might even dare to say I envied his life. I wished I could go with the flow like he did and never sweat the small stuff.

Kai eventually broke his silence, asking what this or that tasted like. And I didn’t mean specialty food like kimchi. The guy must’ve been living under a rock because he never tried any of the name brands I bought. By the time we got to the produce, I concluded he must be some kind of raw food champion. No wonder his body was in such fantastic shape. He only confirmed my theory even further when he zipped around the baskets of fresh veggies and piles of fruit. I never saw a grown man so excited about produce, but maybe he felt relieved to see me adding whole foods after all the processed crap I already stuck in the cart. If I needed a sign that I should eat healthier, this was it.

After a quick checkout, Kai walked back to my silver hybrid with me. I popped the trunk to set the paper bags down, but he was way ahead of me. Kai gently rested the bag he carried in the back, then turned to me.

“I just...” Kai rolled his lips inward while he looked down and considered his words. When he glanced back up, his trusting smile returned. “I want to say thank you one more time. There aren’t many people like you out there, you know?”

Kai took the bag from my hands and set it down for me before closing the trunk. Even after he walked around to the passenger side, I lingered in the parking lot, patting my pocket for my keys while the bright lights overhead made the wet asphalt shine. I knew he was right. I had been thinking the same thing about him.

* * *

Ishmael seemed thrilled to see me back home, but I got instantly shunned in favor of his new best buddy. His bark sounded much more jubilant when Kai walked through the door, and he danced in tight circles before running into the living room. When Ishmael returned, he whined at Kai while holding his stuffed lobster in his mouth. Mr. Lobster had always been Ishmael’s favorite, and he didn’t present him to just anybody.

Kai made himself pleasantly helpful once again, assisting me unpack the groceries. Once everything got tucked away, I pulled my phone out to check the time.

“So,” I ventured, “you want to go to bed or...?”

Kai grinned at my question. “Bed?”

“Sleep,” I quickly corrected, providing no additional context. “I mean, are you tired? I’m trying to ask if you’re tired.”