Kai left his room and went down the stairs of the complex, his head occupied with thoughts of tomorrow. He had done well during the week, well enough to earn his Sunday off, and his mind was busy planning every single minute of it for maximum efficiency.
"Do you remember what you need to purchase at the store?" Vira asked, buzzing around him in her pixie-form.
"No, why would I? You said you were coming with."
She sighed. "I don't want to have to come with you every time. Besides, this is your diet; you should be more involved."
"What's the point? It's not like I have any input."
"If you did, would you have gone along with it, or would you have stuck to instant noodles and pizza?"
Kai grunted.
"That's what I thought."
He turned the corner, heading into the main street when a large, barking German Shepherd dashed past him and disappeared down an alley.
"Bella! Get back here!" an old man yelled, limping after the dog with a cast wrapped around his left leg. "Dammit," he winced as he took another struggling step after her, leaning on a long cane.
"Ah, great…" Kai groaned at the sight of the man and turned the other way at the intersection, taking the longer way around the block to the grocery store.
"Where are you going? That man needs your assistance—help him get his dog back."
"Yeah, right after I blow my brains out."
"Kai!"
"Look, you don't know this guy. Mr. Isaacson is a total douchebag, and I don't just say that because he is my landlord. The old man always finds something to complain about."
Then, the two of you should get along swimmingly, she thought and pulled on the back of his shirt. "Even so, you are going to help him."
He tried to continue moving, but she was surprisingly strong for a tiny pixie. "Why would I do that?" He swiped at his shirt to get her off him and turned back.
"Because…" She floated up to meet his gaze. "That's what good men do—they help people in need."
"Sure, when those people are beautiful damsels, not when they are—"
"Is that what you think being a man is about? Saving damsels in exchange for romantic favors?"
"Exactly. It's called reproduction. Our very DNA is wired to—"
"Oh, no, we are not arguing about this. Go help the old man, or you can kiss your Sunday goodbye!"
The Oathless shuddered. "Alright, alright!" He turned around and walked back. "Don't worry, I got her," he mumbled as he strode past the old man without so much as a glance and entered the same alley Bella had run down—following the sound of her barking.
***
He found the dog at a dead end, pressing herself against a chain-link fence separating the alley from the street leading to the market district, barking at something or someone on the other side. Kai came close beside her and squinted his eyes but couldn't spot anything unusual. Only a large dumpster, some pipes climbing up the wall, and a rusty fire escape leading to—
"Was that…" He trailed off, catching something in the periphery of his vision.
"I think I saw a fluffy red tail," Vira confirmed as it disappeared into an open window.
Bella growled.
"Well, nothing to be done about it now," he leaned down and picked up her leash.
The dog turned to him and whined.
"Sorry, Bella," he patted her head and couldn't help but smile. "You'll get 'em next time."
She lingered, glancing back at the blocked path, but as he tugged on her collar, she relented and followed him back to her owner.
***
"There you go, Mr. Isaacson," Kai handed over the leather leash.
"Hmph, I could have gotten her on my own," the old man said, his wrinkled face set in a stern grimace.
"Sure, I guess," the Oathless shrugged.
"Ask if he needs help walking his dog," Vira whispered in his ear, a mischievous smile on her lips. It was all proceeding exactly as she had planned… more or less.
"What? Why?" Kai whispered back, their exchange masked by Vira's telepathic veil.
"What were you thinking, eh?" The old man interrogated his dog, aggressively scratching behind her ear. "Running off like that…"
"Just do it."
"But—"
"Now!"
"Ugh…" he groaned, pursing his lips, seething, then sighed. "Do you need help walking Bella, Mr. Isaacson?"
The old man spared the Oathless a disdainful glance, then clicked his tongue. "I don't need your charity, boy."
"Good," Kai scowled. "Because I wasn't offering any."
"Kai!"
"That so?" The old man's head twitched with a mixture of surprise and irritation.
"You thought I'd walk your dog for free?" he scoffed. "I'll take cash."
"What are you doing? He is an elder—show some respect!"
Isaacson thumbed the belt under his beer belly, and his broad shoulders slanted to the side as his thick arm leaned on the long cane—his eyes staring hard at the Oathless.
Kai gulped, acknowledging that despite the old age and broken leg, the man before him was stout and strong. Maybe Vira was right; maybe he should have been kinder to the old man… the unreasonably burly old man.
"Searching for work, eh?" Isaacson reached for the inner pocket of his jacket and pulled out his wallet. "I gotta warn you, son, I'm a hard boss to please." He pulled out a bill and offered it.
The Oathless reached nervously and took what was offered. It was a good amount.
"This should cover tomorrow. She walks e'ry day at 08:00 AM sharp and not a minute later, and for at least thirty minutes and not a minute less. I mean that, if I catch you sauntering around here at eight twenty-nine, that minute will be redacted from your future pay, understand?"
Kai nodded.
"Don't take her too far when you walk her… nowhere out of the district. She likes the park, and she likes the beach, but don't let her swim, ye' hear? And don't feed her either; that's my responsibility, not yours."
Kai nodded again.
The old man smirked. "What happened, son? Cat got your tongue?"
"N-no, sir. I understand."
"Good," Isaacson limped closer, towering over the Oathless. "Because if anything bad happens to my Bella under your watch, I'll shove my foot so far up your ass you could taste it. Understand?"
The Oathless looked down at the old man's cast-wrapped leg.
"My other foot," the old man clarified.
"Ah, yes, right, understood, sir."
The old man lingered for another long minute before shuffling away and heading into the apartment complex. "See you tomorrow, Holloway."
"Yes, sir. Tomorrow, 08:00 AM sharp," he answered nervously. Wait, tomorrow? But tomorrow is… He turned to Vira. "You-you tricked me."
"Why, I don't know what you mean."
"Cut the crap—you forced me to ask him about his dog so you could ruin my perfect Sunday!"
The fairy chuckled. "It is more than just your Sunday, my dear godchild… you are thinking too narrowly."
His eyes went wide. "Don't tell me…"
"Broken legs can take weeks to heal, even months, especially for elderly people like good Mr. Isaacson…"
"No…"
"Yes. For the foreseeable future, you will walk Bella every single day."
"Why?" he demanded. Up until now, he had only left the house once a week to buy some noodles and energy drinks, a 10-minute excursion at most—the thought of stepping outside every day, and for thirty minutes or more, was mortifying. "Why would you do this to me?"
"Exercise, mostly. I was thinking of getting you to the gym, but I decided that this is better. It will make you money instead of costing you money, teach you to be more responsible, and keep you out in the sun for longer—which has its own health benefits, especially for a nocturnal, cave-dwelling creature like yourself." She puffed out her chest. "Another part of my ingenious plan—complete."
"I am starting to really hate your plan…"
"Oh, stop whining!" She waved off his comment. "Now let's go. We still have grocery shopping to do."
He sighed, his shoulders sagging, and started walking.
***
The day after, Kai stood before the old man's door and took a deep breath, then knocked.
"Come in," the old man yelled.
The Oathless turned the handle and walked in, somewhat surprised that his landlord had left the door unlocked. Was Isaacson ready for him? Or did he leave the door open to save himself the trouble of limping to it whenever someone knocked?
"You're early, good," the old man said as he heard the door close behind Kai. "I'm in the lounge."
The Oathless walked confidently through the hallway—the apartment being a mirror image of the one he was renting—and entered the lounge, where John Isaacson sat comfortably in his recliner, his dog resting at his feet. The place had the thick, sweaty smell of old people and was decorated with numerous hanging photos, one of which instantly drew Kai's attention.
"Who's that?" he said with a measure of appreciation, stopping before the image.
"Who's what?" The old man turned his head and followed the Oathless's gaze. It was a photo of a young woman wearing a summer dress at the beach, waving to the camera. "That's… my late wife."
"That was your wife?" Kai was knocked to his heels by the revelation. "But… she was gorgeous."
"So…?"
The Oathless opened his mouth, then hesitated. Based on the other photos, John wasn't very good-looking even when he was younger; he had a crooked nose, was shorter than his wife, and though his arms were strong and wide as tree trunks, he was definitely on the obese side of the BMI scale. "You must make a lot of money."
John scoffed. "I was a garbage man," he smirked. "I made decent money, not a lot, but good enough."
Kai pursed his lips, trying to add it all up in his head. How did an ugly, fat, cheap-ass garbage man get a girl like that?
"You think she was out of my league, eh?"
"Ah… no, I mean, you—"
"Don't judge a book by its cover, son." John turned his head back to the flat-screen TV mounted on the wall.
"Right, sorry…" The Oathless gave the photo a long, confused look, and they both remained silent for a few long moments.
"You are late," the old man said suddenly.
"Huh?"
"It's 08:01; you should have been out the door a minute ago."
"Ah, yeah, of course…" He looked around the room. "The leash?"
"Hanging on the hook by the door."
"Okay, great. Com'on Bella, let's go on a walk."
Recognizing her favorite word, the German Shepherd sprang to her feet and rushed to the apartment door.
"Easy, easy," Kai said as he struggled to connect the leash to the excited dog's collar. "Alright," he said as he managed to lock it on. "Now let's—Whaa—" the moment the door cracked open, the dog dashed out, carrying him with her. "Slow down, slow down," he protested as the door shut behind him.