“Where are you going!” Maya clutched the few dollars in her hand tightly.
Morgan stopped in his tracks, looking like a child who’d done something wrong.
His voice was muffled.
“You don’t want me anymore.
I…
I’ll go…”
Maya felt even worse.
She hurried down the stairs, grabbed his arm, and led him back.
Once inside with the door shut, she counted the money in her hand.
Eight dollars and fifty cents.
“Who told you to go collect recyclables?” she asked Morgan, holding up the money.
Morgan lowered his head.
“You’re out of money.
I can earn some.
An old man once taught me that you can sell water bottles and cardboard.”
A warmth spread through Maya’s cold heart.
“So you snuck out to collect water bottles while I was away?”
Morgan pursed his lips and nodded.
A pang of sorrow went through Maya.
‘A simpleton is a simpleton.’
‘And only a simpleton would treat me this well.’
She took Morgan’s hand, gently caressing his palm.
It didn’t look like a hand that had ever done rough work.
Looking up at him, she said, “Don’t go out and do that again.”
Morgan explained, “It was raining today, so it was hard to find much.
When it’s sunny, I can collect a lot and sell it for a lot of money.
If we have money, you won’t be unhappy anymore.”
Maya smiled.
“Are you really a simpleton, or are you just pretending?
You sound very clear-headed right now.”
Morgan looked troubled and scratched his head.
“I don’t know either.
I don’t understand a lot of things.
Everyone just calls me a simpleton.”
Maya sighed.
“Go take a shower.
I’ll make some ginger soup for us.”
She clipped the eight dollars and fifty cents from Morgan onto a line to dry, a gentle smile gracing her lips.
She felt as if they only had each other to depend on in this world.
While the ginger soup simmered, she placed an order on her phone for a cheap, new phone for Morgan.
That way, she wouldn’t have to worry about being unable to find him in the future.
Morgan came out of the shower.
“Maya, I’ll make dinner.”
Maya had never seen him cook before and was genuinely curious.
“Okay.”
She watched as Morgan measured and washed the rice, then squatted down to examine the buttons on the rice cooker before precisely pressing the “Cook” button.
He was quick to forget his troubles.
Seeing Maya’s approving smile, he completely forgot his panic from almost being thrown out earlier.
“I saw you use it before,” he said proudly.
“I already knew how!”
Maya praised him right on cue.
“You’re so smart!”
A happy smile spread across Morgan’s face.
He took vegetables from the refrigerator and began to wash and chop them.
Then, his movements a bit slow, he started beating an egg.
“We’re having seaweed and egg drop soup tonight.
I learned it from TV.”
Maya was discovering more and more of his admirable qualities.
‘The man before her wasn’t an imbecile or a simpleton.
He just had the mental age of a six- or seven-year-old, but he was definitely far smarter and more capable than the average child that age!’
“Morgan, you’re so smart.”
Morgan looked up and said earnestly, “Maya, I am smart.
I can earn money, too.
I’ll give all the money I make to you!”
At the mention of money, Maya said seriously, “I’ll take care of earning money.
You have to promise me you won’t go out collecting scrap again, understand?”
The hand with which Morgan was beating the egg slowed.
He looked crestfallen.
“But I want to earn money…”
Maya said, “I appreciate the thought, but that kind of work isn’t for you.
Just wait, I’ll help you find a proper job, and then you can earn lots and lots of money!”
Morgan’s eyes lit up.
“Can I really get a job?”
“Of course,” Maya promised.
She knew some companies had positions specifically for people with special needs.
Morgan was strong, smart, and a quick learner.
Maybe he really could find a job.
Since it didn’t seem like she’d be finding his family anytime soon, and he would only grow restless and anxious if he stayed home alone all day, helping him find a job seemed like the best solution.
The next day was finally sunny, and the shop started getting busy.
Hailey, who had met Morgan before, heard that Maya was looking for a job for him.
“Sure,” she said.
“He seems pretty sharp.
A good friend of mine opened a car wash.
I can put in a good word and have him go wash cars there.
It’s a really simple job.”
“A car wash?” Maya was hesitant.
“Is that suitable?
What if he runs into a picky customer?
Morgan isn’t good with words.”
She was afraid customers would humiliate Morgan or that he would be taken advantage of.
Hailey dismissed her concerns.
“Just have him do the simplest tasks, like spraying the car down and wiping it with a towel.
A kid could do it.
For a ten-dollar wash, what’s there for a customer to complain about?”
Maya’s eyes lit up.
“Then thank you so much, Hailey!
Today’s service is on the house!”
Morgan didn’t have an ID, so Maya resorted to her old tricks, paying fifty bucks to get him a convincing fake.
She also bought him a SIM card, then left work early to take him to the car wash Hailey had mentioned.
When the proprietress saw Morgan, with his deep-set eyes and striking good looks, any minor reservations she might have had vanished into thin air.
‘With Morgan’s looks and physique, he could attract plenty of female customers just by standing at the entrance.
Whether or not he could actually do the work was no longer important!’
“Well now, you’re a handsome one.
Do you know how to wash cars?” the proprietress asked, her eyes crinkling into a smile as she sized up Morgan.
The staff and customers in the shop were all captivated by such a handsome man, and their gazes fell upon Morgan.
This made him anxious, and he shrank behind Maya.
Maya whispered encouragingly, “Morgan, we learned how from those videos.
Tell the proprietress.”
Morgan looked at the proprietress staring intently at him and felt a sense of resistance.
“Don’t you want to earn money to help me?” Maya encouraged him.
“This lady is very generous.
It’s twenty-five hundred a month!
You could collect a mountain of bottles and still not make that much.”
At the mention of “money,” Morgan raised his head.
He looked timidly at the proprietress and said in a low voice, “First…
you spray it with water…
then, you wipe it clean with a towel…”
His shyness only made the proprietress like him more.
She clapped her hands.
“Well, aren’t you a smart one!
Can you start tomorrow?
We’ll do a one-day trial, and if there are no problems, you’ve got the job!”
Maya looked at Morgan, motioning for him to answer for himself.
He hesitated for a moment before nodding.
“Yes.”
With Morgan now employed, Maya felt a little more at ease.
It was one thing for Morgan to be able to earn his own keep, but another reason for her relief was that a job would keep him from wandering off.
She knew Morgan.
As long as no one provoked him, he was very gentle and polite.
He shouldn’t have any conflicts with the customers.
When Morgan went for his trial shift the next day, Maya was still a little worried.
Barely an hour passed before she called the proprietress to ask if he had caused any trouble.
The proprietress chuckled.
“Not at all, not at all!
He might be a bit slow, but he’s very diligent.
And he’s so good-looking, the car owners actually seem to really like him!”
Only then did Maya breathe a sigh of relief.
“Thank you for looking after him.”
The proprietress said, “Oh, by the way, Rivers, I wanted to discuss something with you.
Morgan’s so good-looking, I was thinking of filming some videos of him to use for online promotion.
If a customer places an order through the promotional website, we can give him a separate commission.
What do you think?”
Maya: “Film videos?”
Her mind raced.
‘If the video goes viral, maybe Morgan’s family will see it and come find him!’
She nodded quickly.
“As long as he agrees, I have no problem with it!”