I trailed a hand over the smooth wood of the plaque, warmth and unease battling inside me as I felt seen—almost unnervingly so—yet safe, like I’d been wrapped in a hug without being touched.
How long had it been since anyone had done something like this for me? Had anyoneeverdone something like this for me? Every element of the room screamed care and consideration, from the dimmed lighting to the chair I immediately wanted to live in forever.
But then unease buzzed beneath the surface. Did I even deserve this?
Probably not. But, God, I was so behind in my classes.
I scrambled forward to put the study haven to immediate use anyway.
After settling into what turned out to be a super-comfortable chair with both its rolling and turning functions locked up, I placed the weighted blanket in my lap and pulled out my own Lenovo ThinkPad to makewhat I called a “stacked to-do.”
Basically, all the projects, reports, and assigned reading I’d accumulated over the past few weeks stacked one on top of another in order of importance on my screen.
Maybe, if I focused, I’d be able to clear some of the stacks before dinner....
The next thing I knew, I was closing the last doc—an overdue Behavioral Observation Report for the shelter, which I was supposed to have posted to the Blackboard for my Animal Behavior Seminar three days ago.
At first, my heart soared with the triumph of a bunch of homework completed. But then my legs just about crumpled when I stood up from the chair. The pain shooting up my underused calves and growling tummy let me know I should’ve set an alarm before getting to work. I’d completely fallen into hyper-focus without realizing it.
What time was it anyway?
I glanced down at the Apple Watch I’d muted, and my heart nearly stopped when I saw it was after ten p.m.
Oh, no, I’d totally missed my required meal with Yom. For the second time in a row.
Cursing under my breath, I snatched the phone I’d left on mute out of my cross-body bag.
There was one voice text message waiting.
From Yom.
Dread filled my chest, but as avoidant as I could be, I made myself push the play button to see how much trouble I was in this time.
“Hello, Lydia. This is Yom. You are studying when I return home, so Pesya is leaving a plate for you in the refrigerator.”
Who is Pesya?
“Pesya is Rina’s grandmother,”the message continued, as if Yom could hear my question. “She makes all our dinners and packs lunch if you want it. Speaking of Rina, if you need anything else for your study room, she will retrieve it. And also, let her know what you want for your new bedroom upstairs. It is to left at end of hall.”
There came a long pause. Then: “Okay. Goodnight.”
I blinked when the message ended, trying to decide what was more surprising.
That I’d been working so hard that hours had gone by without me noticing.
That he’d let me miss another meal in our deal without complaint.
Or that it hadn’t even occurred to me to wonder about my suitcase or where all the things I’d left in the room that had been magically turned into a study haven on steroids had gone.
As hungry as I was, I took the time to send a voice text back.
“Thank you. I really appreciate…” I struggled to come up with the appropriate words to convey my gratitude. “Everything—everything you did for me.”
I sent the voice text. And I guess I could have stopped there, but I found myself just having to ask. “Um, why exactly are you doing all of this for me?”
No answer.
But he’d probably fallen asleep.
