68 The Best For Me (1/2)
”I understand.” We drove in silence and I found him following me to my apartment. I looked at him suspiciously.
”Why are you following me?” I asked. He shrugged and held the door open for me after I had keyed in the password.
He looked around the apartment and then pulled out his phone. ”I'm setting up an appointment with the psychiatrist immediately. I think he will assign you to a therapist shortly. It shouldn't take more than a day.”
”Doesn't it take weeks to get an appointment?” I was surprised. He looked at me with a strange expression. ”What? Did I say something wrong?” He shook his head.
”I have contacts. It's an emergency, so I can get you a slot.” I nodded. I entered the kitchen and prepared some food for me. From the living room, I could hear the hum of his voice as he spoke.
After half an hour, he entered the kitchen, his footsteps impatient.
”What are you doing?” he asked. He was peering over my shoulder and looking at the pots and pans on the stove.
”Cooking.”
”Inviting me over for supper?” His voice had a teasing lull. I rolled my eyes.
”It's not like you will cook your food after you go back. Now that you are here, I might as well feed you.” It felt like I had adopted a child, sometimes. He quietly left the room and when I surfaced from the kitchen, I saw him patiently sitting in the living room, waiting for me to bring him food.
I pushed the plate in front of him and waited as he dug in. Only after that did I put the fork in my mouth. It was a boon that he didn't eat non-vegetarian food or else I would have to kick him out of the house every time he wanted to eat over.
I remembered suddenly the papers that I needed to read through and went to my bedroom to bring my laptop. Placing it on my lap, I ate my food and read meticulously.
”Focus on one thing at a time,” I heard him say suddenly. He had been concentrating on his food the whole time and only seemed to notice what I was doing. I looked at him with confusion. ”I know it is hard for you to concentrate on one thing and there are things running in your mind all the time, but you need to finish one task before you anxiously go on to do the next. Right now, your focus should be on sustenance. You need to eat your food and chew it properly.”
It didn't make sense. He must have gauged the same so he placed his fork on the plate and gave me a stern look.
”You are eating with me. Why don't we engage in a fruitful conversation.” I almost coughed. Did the recluse want to talk to me? What happened to not partaking in social niceties?