“Smells good, is it ready?” he asked.

“Go sit down, we’ll bring it to you,” Cade snapped.

As Cade spooned the sauce into a small bowl, he tossed his head to the side, looked up, and smiled. As he turned to face Ethan, the smile turned to a scowl.

“Go! Get out of the way,” he snarled toward Ethan.

“Whatever, dude,” Ethan grunted at he turned and walked toward the dining table.

Cade picked up one of the plates and the two bowls of sauce. After nodding his head in the direction of the other two plates, I picked them up and followed him to the dining table. As he placed the bowls and plate on the table, he turned toward the kitchen.

“I’ll get us some water, sit down Rain,” he said over his shoulder.

Cade had already placed napkins and silverware on the table. Although I realized I hadn’t cooked the entire meal, as I sat down, I wondered what it would taste like, and how Ethan would react when he ate it. The wontons and the peanut sauce were my main worries, and any criticisms about the rice, sauce Cade had prepared, or the chicken wouldn’t bother me too much. As Cade handed me my glass of water, he nodded his head toward my plate.

“Well, let’s try it, shall we?” he said.

“Good bread, good meat, there may or may not be a God, but let’s eat,” Ethan said under his breath.

“Sometimes you disgust me,” Cade sighed.

“You always disgust me,” Ethan responded as he picked up a piece of chicken and smelled it.

After spooning some of the peanut sauce onto his plate, Ethan placed the spoon back into the bowl. I reached for the spoon and did the same as I continued to watch him. He carefully pulled the hot chicken from the skewer, set it down on his plate, and cut it in sections with his fork. He then piercing a piece with the tines of his fork, dipped it in the sauce, and took a bite.

“Holy fuck, that’s good,” he said as he chewed the chicken.

I pulled the meat from my skewer, cut it into pieces, and dipped it in the peanut sauce. Cade wagged his eyebrows and tilted his head toward Ethan as I lifted the chicken to my mouth.

“Oh, thank you,” I responded.

Holy shit, that’s good sauce.

I continued to chew my chicken and watched as Ethan raised a spoonful of the fried rice to his mouth. After chewing it and swallowing it, he dropped the spoon onto his plate, cupped his hands together, and glanced at Cade before turning to face me.

“What’s in the rice? The little pieces of meat?” Ethan asked.

I thought of what Cade had put in the skillet before he added the rice; onions, garlic, oil, and ham.

“Ham,” I responded.

“You could learn a lot from this girl, Cade. This rice beats the shit out of what you normally cook; you put bacon in it, right?” Ethan asked as he shook his head and scooped another spoonful of rice into his mouth.

“You normally use bacon?” I asked as I turned toward Cade.

He closed his eyes and lowered his chin slightly in confirmation. I glanced down at my plate and stared at the food. After shifting my eyes to Ethan, I watched as he spooned some of the garlic pepper sauce over his bowl of wontons. He then dipped a wonton in the sauce, lifted it to his mouth with his fork, and ate it in one bite. As he chewed the food, I reached for the hot pepper sauce. After spooning the sauce over my wontons, I poked one and lifted it to my mouth.

Oh my God, that’s good.

“Jesus, these wontons are the fucking bomb. Rain, this is really good. Hell, you should open an Asian restaurant,” Ethan said as he poked another with his fork.

As much as Cade obviously wanted me to take credit for the meal, I didn’t feel it was right to continue without recognizing him for having helped, or at least giving him a little of the credit. Ethan’s continuous praise was making me feel somewhat guilty.

“Well, I just did what Cade told me to. Without him giving me instructions, we’d be eating peanut butter sandwiches,” I responded.

“Well, either way, it’s fucking good,” Ethan said as he continued to gobble down the food, “This shit’s one of my favorites, and Cade knows it.”

“She did all the work,” Cade sighed.

I glanced at Cade and made my best effort to wink.

You’re precious.

I sat up in my chair and smiled. As much as I felt I had no real business being in their home, these two men were slowly making me feel as if I belonged with them. Our ten or so nights together eating dinner had become enough of a ritual that it was difficult for me to imagine not seeing them for a night. As I continued to eat and watch the two of them intently, I realized I had no right to feel the way I felt about them or the situation I was in with them. I needed to learn to live in the moment, be grateful for what I had, and not worry so much about what the future may or may not bring. As the three of us sat and quietly enjoyed the food, I realized I had truly been blessed by having them in my life.

“So,” Cade said loudly, interrupting the long silence and gathering Ethan’s and my attention.

“Yes,” Ethan said sarcastically, stringing the word along for some time.

Cade looked up from his plate as he brushed his hair out of his eyes, “Well, this morning when I was going to work, there was a sheet of paper posted on the inside wall of the elevator.”

“Wasn’t anything when I came home,” Ethan shrugged.

Cade shook his head as he carefully placed his fork on his plate, “It’s because I tore it down and kept it so no one else would see it. Let me finish, you goon.”

“Finish,” Ethan sighed as he poked another wonton in his mouth.

“The guy down the hall, the handicapped guy? He needs someone to prepare his meals for him, help him get dressed in the morning, and he needs bathed at night. It said the pay is fifteen dollars an hour in cash, and it would take a total of six hours a day. That’s almost $100 a day,” Cade explained as he alternated glances between Ethan and me.

“Getting a second job?” Ethan chuckled as he poked another wonton.

Cade shook his head from side to side, and finally focused on me.

“No, asshole, I was thinking of Rain,” Cade sighed as he shifted his gaze toward Ethan, “Maybe she should see if they’d hire her. And in thinking that, it got me wondering…”

“I think we should let her stay here. You know, stay all night instead of sleeping on the bench or by the dumpster. It really bothers me that she sleeps outside, it’s cruel to treat someone you like in the manner we’ve been treating her. And I think we should let her stay here instead of leaving when we’re gone to work. What do you think?”

As Cade spoke, I couldn’t believe my ears. My heart began to race and I started to feel almost ill. To think, even for one minute, that my life could possibly change so drastically was more than I was able to make sense of. As I sat and hoped Ethan agreed with Cade, Ethan responded.

Ethan set his fork onto his plate and brushed his hair over his ears, “Well, I like it. And, as far as I’m concerned, doesn’t matter much if she gets the job or not. If she wants, she can stay here. If she gets the job, it’ll just help her out that much more.”

I attempted to swallow. As I glanced back and forth between the two men, my eyes began to feel swollen and heavy. In a week and a half, I had grown to like these two more than anyone else I had ever met in my life. Now, I was beginning to think my feelings were justified, and not simply wishful thinking. I opened my mouth and spilled my thoughts and emotions onto the table.

“This can’t be happening,” I said as I raised my hands to my mouth.

I glanced at Ethan.

He grinned and nodded his head.

I turned toward Cade.

He smiled and shrugged his shoulders, “Well…?”

“I just…really? You’re…” I paused and rubbed my eyes with my index fingers.