Jamie was unable to hide the injury from Jared’s sharp eyes. There were abrasions on his arms. He didn’t have one on his knees but it was bruised.

“Fell. Accident, Jar. No biggy.”

Jared’s first thought was someone must have hurt his nephew.

Jared raised an eyebrow.

“You tell me when someone is hurting you okay? Don’t hide things from your uncle.”

Well Jamie’s opinion he was honest. He technically fell while bumping onto someone by accident.

“Hungry. Go eat, Jar. No lunch today.” Jamie fixed the seatbelt and threw his bag and umbrella at the backseat.

“Why didn’t you have lunch?”

“Smelly cafeteria.”

Jared realized that the boy’s sense of smell was very sensitive. He should have packed lunch for him. In his excitement, he forgot about it.

“Alright, let’s go home.”

A few minutes after they arrived, there was a knock at their door.

Jamie opened the door and found the handsome Daniel with two boxes of pizza and a case of soda.

“In.” Jamie retreated to allow the tall man to enter.

“How was your day nephew?” Daniel placed the boxes on the table.

“Fine. Tiring. Class too long. Imagine sit down three hours morning. Three hours afternoon. Bum sore.”

Daniel laughed at the boy’s misery.

“Well that’s first year university. You will be learning the fundamentals mostly. So long seminars are inevitable.”

Jared came out with three plates of lasagna.

“Hey, you’re here. Meeting finished quickly?”

“Yeah. There wasn’t much to do really so I decided to pop by. Hope you don’t mind.” Daniel stood up and helped him with the cutlery.

“No. Not at all. It’s great that you are here actually.” Jared smiled.

Jamie observed the two men’s conversation. There was an undeniable chemistry between them.

Jamie noticed Daniel’s subtle moves like the one where he opened a bottle of soda for Jared and putting slice of pizza on Jared’s plate.

Jamie decide to finish his snack quickly and leave the two to themselves.

“Are you finished Jamie?” Jared asked when the boy stood up.

“Yeah. I do homework.”

“But you ate to little.” Daniel frowned.

“Stomach not hold much yet. Eat more Uncle Daniel.”

Daniel recalled that the boy would have difficulty breathing when he ate too much. So, he let it go.

When the boy left to his room, Daniel heard a sigh.

“What is it?”

“Didn’t you notice the wounds?”

“Ah.” Daniel exclaimed. He listened to the man’s grievances.

“He said he fell by an accident.”

“Maybe he did. You are just over worried Jared.”

“If I am right… if I am right and something was happening on my watch and I didn’t do anything about it-“

“Jared. Jared. It’s going to be alright. I will be here. I won’t let something happen to your nephew.” Daniel placed a reassuring hand on Jared’s shoulder.

“It’s just-“

“I understand your worries. I could put a secret guard with him.” Daniel said for their peace of mind.

“You don’t have to trouble yourself.” Jared refused.

“It is no trouble. It’s for his safety and for both our reassurance.” Daniel smiled at the man and held the other one’s hand on the table.

The following day, Jamie did not wake up early. His next class would be tomorrow. Basically, he only had classes every other day from 8 am to 4 pm.

Jared supervised the renovations for the new restaurant. There were many things to do like hiring staff and purchasing new equipment and utensils. Luckily, he had Daniel to help with the legalities of the restaurant. He got the business permit and every required paper ready.

They were going to purchase plates and bowls today.

“Do you like that Jamie? Nice choice!” Jared glanced at the particular plate that his nephew was eyeing.

“Yah. It look nice. Sturdy.” Jamie examined the ceramic plate.

A salesman came and assisted them.

“We also offer custom printing for ceramics if you want.” The salesman offered when he learned that they were going to use it for a restaurant.

“That’s great.”

Jared pulled out his phone and showed the man a couple of photos.

“Yeah. We can definitely do that. You could email us the design. We will make a sample before we start mass production. It will take time though. I hope you are not rushing.” The salesman led them to the seating area.

“Is one month enough of a leeway?” Jared asked.

“Yes. It is more than enough.”

Jared and the salesman negotiated about the price. Jared saw that it seemed reasonable so he proceeded with the purchase. Since they were ordering a lot, they got a discount.

They asked to deliver the boxes of plates at a certain date. It would arrive once the renovations were done.

“Where go now, Jar?”

Jamie noticed that the road did not go to the apartment.

“We’re shopping.” Jared smiled.

“Eh. Save money, Jar. For restaurant.”

Jamie also decided to invest his money for the new restaurant. He got a nice income from selling his art works with the help of Daniel. He could now be called a share holder of the restaurant. It was his first investment and he was quite excited.

“Don’t worry about saving up. This is my gift for your first day of school. You have to do well and make us proud okay?” Jared looked at the boy before putting his eyes back on the road.

“I do best. Thanks, Jar.” Jamie had no choice but to accept.

When the shopping was done, the back seat was filled with bags of clothes, shoes, books, and art materials.

“So much, Jar.” Jamie exclaimed when he placed the last shopping bag at the back.

Jared grinned. It wasn’t much. Not for him at least. His nephew deserved all the best.