Gale sighed as she once again went through the contract she and Noah agreed and signed that morning. If one would look at it, it was indeed beneficial for both sides as Craig said.

The contract was more like a partnership deal in which Noah let her have equal rights in the deal since it was still her late husband’s company and not in debt of any sorts as well.

She was still in thoughts when she heard knocking on her door followed by Craig’s voice, “Come out, please. I have cooked something. Get a bite.”

Gale smiled and answered, “Alright. I’m coming.”

She felt that she would very soon be double of her original weight if Craig did not stop cooking delicious food for her every day. She went out and suddenly felt hungry by the smell of the pasta he just cooked for the late afternoon snack.

He was again in his apron as he served the dish on the table.

“Do you somehow plan on making me fat?” Gale complained and Craig only answered her with a roguish smile.

He served her a plate and said, “This is creamy vegan sausage and spinach pasta. It’s my first time trying this one. It’s really healthy, so don’t worry about getting fat. Try it and tell me what you think about it.”

Gale excitedly tried it. Craig loved to watch her eat because she was the first woman he met who was not health conscious when it came to food. She always emptied every dish he cooked.

Like now, she complained about getting fat but immediately after she enthusiastically dug in with those large bites and enjoyed the pasta.

“Chew properly or you would get indigestion,” he reminded her as he began to eat his portion.

“Oh, this is really good…” Gale complimented before having another spoonful and Craig felt achieved.

“Why do you love cooking so much?” Gale finally asked. She wanted to ask that ever since, but she always forgot whenever she was eating his dishes.

“Hmm, why… I wonder also why. Maybe because I have always lived alone by myself. So it started very early in my life. Being an independent person, you have to learn to do a lot of things on your own and one of those is cooking. I love eating healthy things, so I learned to cook on my own to make myself healthy.”

“I see…” gale nodded then added, “By the way, you and Noah are also friends right? How did you two come to know each other?”

“Hmm, that question… Can you keep the answer a secret?” Craig suddenly asked, hesitation filled in his eyes.

“Yeah don’t worry. I will zip my mouth. What is the secret?” Gale pondered. She and Craig had become pretty comfortable with each other as days passed by living together. Noah said it would be best to stay under his roofing since Craig was also her personal bodyguard starting that day she signed the agreement with him.

“Noah… I first met him that night… When he tried to kill himself…”

“What?!” Gale burst out with food still in her mouth causing her to cough like she was getting choked.

Craig hurriedly went to her side and gently at her back.

“Here…” he handed her the water when she finally calmed down. He was still rubbing her back.

“Are you well?” Gale nodded and cleared her throat.

“That really shocked me… I mean Noah? He looks so strong and composed. So the thing you said seems absolutely unbelievable…”

“Hmm, how do you define the word strong Gale? You mean outer appearance? Because people sometimes have this weakness. Noah, at that time, was emotionally not stable. He went through something very bad at the point, so much that he thought taking his own life was the only solution left for him. Besides, he was still young.”

“I’m six years older than Noah. I’m twenty at that time, so he’s fourteen that night.”

“Oh, you look young, so I thought you two are of the same age only. But how? I mean? How did it all happen? Why did he try to kill himself?”

“I saw him approaching the end of the building. I thought, like me, he just wants some air, but I saw him reaching further up… I knew that instant that he was planning to jump off that building.” Craig started his narration.

Craig heaved a long sigh as he recalled that night. He was at the rooftop of that building to have some fresh air that time and drank a can of beer after getting kicked out from work.

He felt so down because he was working hard and was even doing a lot of overtime but the management did not acknowledge that and they included him in the people to cut off since the company could no longer maintain the private investigation agency they handled. They kept most people based with good backgrounds and back-ups, but not because of capabilities.

He was about to light his cigarette when he saw a boy arrive and directly walk towards the end of the building, but he was alarmed when he saw him going over the perimeter wall.

“Hey dude… If you want to kill yourself, can you please not do it here? Be sensible enough! I’m here and I might become a suspect since in the CCTV they will see me entering here. You can jump if there’s CCTV here on the rooftop and they will see you killing yourself but dude, that CCTV is broken so please spare me the problem?

You look like a big shot and I’m sure I will get to jail if you die tonight right here. Can you at least be a little considerate and a responsible citizen? Common! I already have a lot of problems to think of, so don’t add up on it by me becoming a suspect of your murder! Come and get off from that perimeter wall and kill yourself somewhere else… Please, I beg you!” He tried to be more convincing as much as possible.

It was all lies. The CCTV in that building was all working properly. Even on the roof

He heard him laugh like a crazy person before he moved away from the perimeter wall and Craig heaved a long sigh of relief seeing the boy slumped his body helplessly on the ground as he continued to laugh and cry at the same time.

Craig sat before him and offered him a can of his beer in the plastic.

“Here, how about you drink with me first buddy before you kill yourself? Geez, you will give me a heart attack by that emotional outburst of yours.” he mumbled and opened a can of beer and grabbed the boy’s hand and handed it to him.

The boy hesitated, so he said, “That’s okay… Try drinking first before killing yourself, buddy. At least you know how a beer tastes before dying…”