Apartment 905 by Sahin, Ned (readnow .TXT) 📕

break, sir. We’ll be on our way in a jiff,” I say. I hope Toshi woke up to cover us from the truck in case they are not who they seem to be.

“Are you trying to catch a flight? Come hang out with us for a little. It’s almost dinner time. You should try Reed’s grilled cheese with bacon. Ah, and that kale salad with lemon and beans… Everyone in the Midwest knows his fame,” Harold says, pointing to the restaurant I saw on the way.

I am not sure if he is being sarcastic. I hope the meal he described is what we will eat if we accept his offer. Grilled cheese with bacon causes signals to be transmitted from my stomach to my brain to disable safety checks.

But I decide to stay cautious and reject his offer. I don’t trust anyone except Toshi and Kathleen.

“Come on, Matt. It wouldn’t hurt having a nice meal after living off on those tasteless MREs,” Kathleen says with an almost begging voice to convince me. I look back to the truck to find out what Toshi is doing. He looks at me through the little window of the living compartment. He opens the rear door and jumps out of the truck. He must have heard the conversation about the grilled cheese sandwich.

“Hi, I’m Toshi,” he says with his calm voice as usual.

I remove the pictures of Reed’s infamous meals from my mind to assess the situation logically.

“Why don’t you wear masks? Haven’t heard about the virus?” I ask.

“We are immune... I guess it’s a perk of being an old-timer,” Bernice says.

I am not fully satisfied with the answer. Elderly people were the most vulnerable group when the pandemic first hit the country. Maybe a disease these people had in their childhood left antibodies in their blood to fight these kinds of viruses. No matter what their story is, the fact that they don’t need masks to stay alive, unlike us, irks me.

I feel like I am being too skeptical. I look at Kathleen and Toshi one more time.

“Okay. But we keep our guns,” I say.

“You remind me of my son...” The mayor looks down in tears. He seems like he wants to say more, but Harold cuts him off.

“That’s alright. Keep your guns, but I should tell you... We are like a family here,” Harold says, still smiling. I wonder what the mayor wanted to say about his son, but I know there is no point in asking.

“Feel free to leave your truck here. It will be safe. There hasn’t been anybody using this road for weeks,” Harold says as he stares at the Centaur with lifted eyebrows. The truck made another great first impression again.

He heads toward the restaurant to lead the way with the mayor. Mr. Burke doesn’t seem like the person in charge here. I don’t know why Harold calls him mayor. I have a feeling I will figure it out soon.

Bernice approaches Kathleen and touches her arm while they follow Harold and Mayor. I see them getting into a mother-daughter like conversation already. Toshi locks the truck and joins me in following them.

We enter the door with the Weldon Spring Grill sign above it. On the right side, there are a bunch of tables with two of them occupied with five or six other elderly people. On the left side, there is a bar and kitchen behind it. A senior man behind the counter is putting food on plates. He is also very slim, just like Harold. Other people in the place also seem to fit in the same profile. This situation adds another question to my list. Why are all people here senior citizens, and why are they all skin and bones? There seems to be a lot of food at least in this restaurant. They have a famous chef as well.

“Here is the man! What’s going on, Mr. Reed! We have some young friends with us today.” Harold yells to the man behind the counter.

Reed looks at us with a big smile. “Well, well, welcome to the world-famous Reed’s Grill!” Reed says.

I thought he was famous in the Midwest only.

“Thanks!” Kathleen says, pausing her conversation with Bernice. They seem to have a lot to tell each other already.

“These young friends already heard about your fabulous grilled cheese with bacon!” Harold says, walking toward a long table at the corner. He waves his hand to the seniors sitting at tables on the opposite side of the place. They wave back while continuing their conversations. We sit around the table.

“You always have been a punctual stubborn man,” Reed says as he brings glasses of water and utensils to our table. I figure they have known each other for a long time.

While we are settling in our table, four more elderly people enter the place. Then two more come in. Everybody seems to be close friends with each other. Loud laughs and jokes never stop.

“The demography of this town is pretty interesting,” Toshi whispers to me and Kathleen. His kindness shows itself even in the words he chooses in uncomfortable situations.

“There is something fricking off here,” I say. He nods.

“You guys never drop your guard, do you?” Kathleen responds trying to be as quiet as possible as not to be heard by Bernice on her other side.

“So, tell me, my dear Kathleen. Do you have a boyfriend?” Bernice asks her. What an important topic in this apocalyptic world. Grandparents will never change, I guess.

Kathleen goes back to her riveting conversation with Bernice. I decide to go after more critical important information that may help us understand this town better.

“What happened to your son, if I may ask, Mr. Burke?” I ask the mayor sitting next to Harold. It’s time to get to know them better. Hopefully, we can figure out what is off about these people.

His grins and shrinks his eyes while looking at the salt and pepper shakers on the table. The wrinkles on his forehead become deeper. Before