Ch.119Complicated! (4)
by fnovelpia
#119
“Emily, that thing, how dare she at the workplace.”
This was Jesse’s indignant remark after hearing about what happened today while having dinner with Dexter.
“What’s wrong with that?”
“She kissed you when I was alone during the day!”
Dexter thought it was strange what Jesse was angry about.
Wasn’t Jesse the one who clung tightly to his side while sleeping, something even Himena couldn’t do?
Emily could only spend time with Dexter during work hours, and even then, for just a few limited hours.
“Emily is still in prison. There are other things to be jealous of.”
Dexter said this while pouring water into a glass for Jesse and pushing it toward her, signaling her to get a grip.
Seeing this, Jesse drained the glass in one go and sighed deeply before speaking.
“But still. If I start working now, I might not be able to make dinner, and if I can’t see you while I’m working, it’s no different from prison.”
“Work? What work?”
At Dexter’s question, Jesse laughed lightly as if he was asking something obvious.
“You know, what Himena told us about before.”
“Ah, that maintenance department. They’re going to hire you?”
“Yeah. They actually called this morning and asked if I’d be okay with a department that has very few women.”
“Really? Hmm.”
Dexter said while spreading butter on bread.
“If you start working there, won’t those mechanics be unable to do their jobs?”
At Dexter’s seemingly concerned voice, Jesse looked at him worriedly and said:
“Why? Is there something wrong? Is it because I’m an ex-convict on parole?”
“I’m used to it, but I think they’ll forget what they’re doing because they’ll be distracted by you.”
Jesse just blinked, not understanding what he meant, but after a few seconds, she realized it was Dexter’s unique way of complimenting her and burst into laughter.
“What! I thought something had happened at the maintenance department!”
Dexter chuckled at Jesse’s reaction, then took a bite of bread and said:
“After we eat, is there anything else you want to buy? Like clothes or cosmetics.”
“No, Himena bought me most of what I need.”
“Really? That’s good then.”
Dexter stuffed the rest of the bread into his mouth, chewed thoroughly, swallowed, took a sip of water, and then said:
“Oh, right. How about we eat out tomorrow?”
“Eat out? Why?”
“You’ve basically got the job, right? I’ll treat you to celebrate your employment.”
“Come on, they still need to see my face before I’m officially hired.”
“Is that so? Still, if Himena recommended you, they wouldn’t dare reject someone she vouched for.”
Jesse was a bit puzzled to hear that she wouldn’t be rejected just because she was recommended by Himena, who seemed pretty but didn’t appear to have any special abilities that would make Dexter choose her.
“Is Himena that impressive?”
“I’m not sure if this is a good example, but Himena said she could probably buy Honeygood Prison outright with her pocket money.”
As soon as Jesse heard Dexter’s comparison, she froze for a moment and then audibly gulped down the food in her mouth.
“…A prison with pocket money? Himena must be incredible.”
“She’s not someone who works because she needs to. She’s just the type who enjoys the fact that she works at OSA.”
When Dexter had asked Himena how much wealth she had, she joked that even if she spent $10,000 a day, the assets allocated to her would last for 100 years.
“When it comes to money-related issues, not many people can beat Himena.”
“Yeah, I guess that’s true…”
Seeing Jesse looking slightly intimidated, Dexter chuckled and said:
“Love is more important than money. After all, it’s me who’s with both you and Himena.”
“Right. That’s true.”
Though Jesse responded to Dexter’s words, her face wasn’t particularly bright.
Of course, Dexter, who was watching her face, poked Jesse with his finger as she sat on the sofa after dinner and the dishes were done.
“Ouch, what?”
“Come on. Let’s go for a drive.”
“Now? At this hour?”
“What does time matter for a drive? Hurry up and get dressed. Or you can come as you are.”
Dexter looked Jesse up and down and grinned as he spoke.
She was wearing only a thin sleeveless shirt and short shorts, which would be a bit embarrassing to go out in by anyone’s standards.
“…Wait just a little bit.”
Soon, Jesse came out of the room having changed into a light coat and slightly longer shorts, and linked arms with Dexter as they headed to the newly built garage.
“Have you driven that car before?”
“Of course! Our Stingray is so beautiful, it needs to breathe some outside air.”
At Jesse’s words, Dexter chuckled and pointed to the Stingray in the garage.
“Then, shall we take this friend out today?”
“Shall we?”
At Dexter’s suggestion, the gloomy expression from earlier completely disappeared, and only a smile remained on Jesse’s face.
-Vroooom…!
When Dexter started the engine after getting into the Stingray, a sharp warning sound like that of a fierce beast echoed.
“Huh. That’s fun.”
The engine sound was impressive enough to surprise even Dexter, who didn’t have much interest in cars.
“Right? It’s no joke.”
“Yeah, I thought it would sound heavy, but it’s actually quite light.”
It was as magnificent as what could be considered the essence of a sports car.
“Where should we go? Should we just drive to Primm?”
“Primm? That’s almost at the California border, isn’t it?”
“Primm is a decent city in its own right. Not quite the Las Vegas Strip, but still.”
“Alright, let’s go to Primm then!”
Dexter put the car in gear and headed straight for Primm.
Every time Dexter stepped on the accelerator, Jesse smiled broadly at the engine and exhaust sounds resonating from the Stingray’s engine compartment.
“This is it! This is what a Stingray is all about!”
After passing through the desolate wasteland and Honeygood Prison where Dexter worked, they approached North Las Vegas, where traffic lights and cars blocking the road ahead prevented them from maintaining their previous speed.
But Jesse seemed to enjoy even this, smiling with her eyes closed.
“You like it that much?”
“Of course I do. In Ohio, no one ever sat in the passenger seat.”
Jesse seemed to like the very fact that someone was sitting next to her in the car.
Dexter held Jesse’s hand, as long as it didn’t interfere with his driving, and said:
“I have one friend in this universe.”
“Who is it?”
“His name is Eliya, an incredibly handsome guy. Do you know what he does?”
“What?”
“Nicely put, he runs a solid lending company; not so nicely put, he’s a loan shark who’d take the last cent from a child.”
Jesse recalled the brief conversation between Himena and Dexter when she first entered Dexter’s spaceship.
“…Is that the company from that weird advertisement they showed on the spaceship?”
“Correct. He’s the head of that company. I lived with someone rich enough to casually operate such a ship for about 10 years, and do you know what I realized?”
“What?”
Dexter felt Jesse’s gaze fixed on him as he spoke.
“That an enormous number of people live and die because of money.”
“That’s the same here.”
“Exactly. It’s the same whether in space or on Earth.”
Dexter gently caressed Jesse’s hand with his thumb and continued:
“But do you know what Eliya, one of the people who has amassed the most money in the universe, says?”
“What does he say?”
“That people are more important than money.”
Dexter said with a slight smile.
“Eliya’s parents passed away when he was fifteen or seventeen, I think. He said he was fine for about three years.”
Dexter recalled what a drunk Eliya had once rambled about.
“But when people heard that the next head of the company wasn’t even ten years old, people ranging from thirty or forty to one or two hundred years old swarmed around, trying to take advantage of him.”
“……”
“Then when he was about twenty-three, something happened. They all came after Eliya with expensive android assassins to kill him.”
Dexter shuddered slightly at the memory.
“Coincidentally, it was less than a week after Eliya hired me as his personal bodyguard, saying he’d never seen an Earthling before, while I was working as a mercenary from an outer planet.”
Dexter, who occasionally dreamed about that day, shook his head lightly and said:
“…You survived well, right?”
“Of course. That’s why I’m here.”
Jesse gently played with Dexter’s hand with both of her hands.
“Anyway, he said that from then on, he believed people were more important than money.”
Still looking ahead, Dexter slowly spoke, feeling the soft touch of Jesse’s hands.
“And you know what, Eliya wasn’t wrong. People are the most important.”
Dexter turned his head to the right, looking at Jesse’s face glowing softly in the dim moonlight, and said:
“You don’t need to feel intimidated by money or anything like that. And if Himena was going to pressure you with such things, she would have done it from the moment you met.”
“…It’s just that I feel like I’m falling behind compared to others.”
Seeing Jesse looking straight ahead instead of at him, Dexter smiled lightly to reassure her and said:
“Falling behind in what? Himena likes your cooking too. You drive better than I do. If this car breaks down right now, I wouldn’t know what to look for. You would know better.”
Though the reasons were somewhat crude as they were the first to come to mind, Dexter was sincere.
Jesse also realized there was nothing wrong with what Dexter said when she thought about it.
“Well, that’s true, but…”
Jesse still had anxiety in a corner of her heart.
She worried about being abandoned when people better than her appeared around Dexter.
“Jesse. If it weren’t for your actions, I never would have dreamed of living happily like this.”
“…Why?”
“Why, you ask? Well… because no one has ever waited for me at home before.”
Dexter shook his head and continued:
“Except for those fucking assassins. Those bastards deserve worse than death.”
“Let’s skip the assassin talk.”
“Ah, right. Back to the point…”
Since it was going to be a somewhat lengthy conversation, Dexter pulled the car over to the side of the road and said:
“When someone waits for me, and welcomes me with warm affection when I wake up. Even if they don’t prepare breakfast, just morning greetings and a kiss. That’s when I feel happiness.”
At Dexter’s sweet words, Jesse squeezed his hand tightly.
“You’re the one who makes me feel that everyday happiness. This is something neither Himena nor Emily can do. It’s only possible because of you, and I’ve been able to feel such happiness because you’ve done it for me.”
At Dexter’s unusually serious words, Jesse blushed and smiled.
“Really… was it like that?”
“Yes, Jesse Blueberg. It’s all thanks to you.”
Dexter unbuckled his seatbelt for a moment and gently kissed Jesse’s forehead.
“Have confidence. And are you going to live with a frown for such trivial, no, microscopic reasons? We’re going to live together until our hair turns white.”
“Even until I become a grandmother?”
“Until we enter a nursing home together.”
After finishing his words, Dexter kissed her cheek this time, then fastened his seatbelt again and started the car.
“Shall we go again?”
“Yes!”
Jesse’s face was beaming more brightly and cheerfully than before they started the drive.
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