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Gabriel frowned as his radio went off. “Gabe, we need you over in the food department,” Ana sighed. “One of the ethnic culinary chefs is losing his mind.”
“On it,” Gabriel replied before he headed for the front of the store.
He could hear shouting as he approached the ethnical food center of the store. He rounded the corner and headed straight for the stall where a man with a white chef’s hat was losing his mind on a six year old. The kid looked close to tears, but he was glaring up at the man as if looks alone could kill him.
“What happened?” Gabriel asked as he put himself between the two people and glared down at the kid to keep him in line.
“This little brat stole from my stall!” the chef shouted, straightening his hat. “He would have made off with all of my goods if I hadn’t caught him!”
“Is that true?” Gabriel glanced down at the kid.
The kid’s eyes narrowed. Gabriel almost lifted an eyebrow, but he kept his face as neutral as possible.
“Where’s your parents, kid?” he asked.
The kid didn’t answer. Gabriel let out a sigh as he reached up towards his radio on his shoulder. The kid took a step back, glaring at him and shifting backwards. Gabriel paused and slowly rested his hand on his radio.
“I’m just letting my coworkers know that we’re looking for your parents,” he said.
The kid didn’t say anything. He didn’t look like he understood a thing that Gabriel had said. Was he a special needs child? If he was, his parents must have been losing their mind. It was bad enough to lose a kid; throw in a kid with special needs and it was worse, especially if there was a medical problem attached to it.
“We’ve got a Code Adam here,” he said. “Keep an eye out for anyone looking for their kid.”
“Will do,” came the resounding answer.
Gabriel looked down at the kid again before slowly kneeling down. “Do you speak English?” he asked.
The kid watched him before slowly shaking his head. “Español,” he said.
Gabriel nodded his head before glancing at the chef. “Kid probably can’t read the signs on your cart,” he said. “Doesn’t speak or read….”
“JESSE!”
Gabriel jumped as a large man came barrelling around the corner. The blond man dropped to his knees beside the kid and pulled him into a tight hug, covering his cheek and forehead in kisses. The kid wrapped his arms tightly around the man’s neck, whimpering softly. The blond hugged the kid tighter before he looked up at Gabriel with stunning blue eyes.
“Thank you so much,” he whispered. “I was so scared.”
“You owe me twenty dollars!” the chef snapped. “Your brat ate my product!”
The sweet smile on the man’s face fell immediately and he shot the chef a look that was equal parts bored and annoyed. The man got to his feet, holding the kid on his hip, and pulled out his wallet. He flicked through a few bills before dropping a twenty onto the stall.
“For your troubles,” the man growled before he turned to kiss the kid’s forehead. “Although, I’m sure you expect more. An apology, perhaps?”
The man spoke rapidly in Spanish to the boy and the boy wrinkled his nose. Dark brown eyes glared at the chef before the boy pushed his chin onto his father’s shoulder.
“Sorry,” he said, his accent a little heavy for someone his age.
The man nodded before tucking his son’s head in close to his chest and turning back towards Gabriel. “Thank you again,” he said. “I don’t suppose that you are going on break soon? I’d like to buy you lunch.”
Gabriel shot the man a smirk before he pressed his radio. “Hey, Ana; problem resolved. I’m taking my half hour,” he said.
“Tell the blondie he’s cute,” his supervisor laughed. “Why am I not surprised he’s interested in you?”
Gabriel almost shrugged, but he managed to resist at the last moment. He followed the man out of the store and towards the food court, humming a little as he walked. The man was still carrying his son, who had passed out with his thumb in his mouth.
“Quite the kid,” Gabriel commented.
“I’m still teaching him not to take food from people when he hasn’t paid for it,” the man sighed. “He’s from the streets. He’s used to just…grabbing something and running.”
“That’s too bad,” Gabriel frowned. “Where’d you find him?”
“Puerto Rico while I was stationed there,” the man shook his head. “Paperwork was a nightmare, but my CO helped as much as he could.”
“Ah, an army man,” Gabriel smiled. “Explains the physique.”
“Yah,” the man smiled. “Helps when I have to chase Jesse around the yard. I’m Jack, by the way. Jack Morrison.”
“Gabriel Reyes,” Gabriel smiled in return.
“Ah, Reyes. ¿Hablas español?” Jack smiled.
“Not much, admittedly, but I can understand it,” Gabriel smiled.
“Well, it’s a useful language to be able to understand,” Jack smiled. “Most of the people in Puerto Rico where I was stationed were bilingual, so I learned fast. Then I got Jesse home and learned how terrible my accent was.”
“Little tyke makes fun of you?” Gabriel chuckled.
“He does,” Jack said as he stepped up to the counter of a Chinese food stall and made three orders. “But I find it good for me. I can’t get better if I’m not corrected.”
“Fair enough,” Gabriel smiled as he watched Jack gently nuzzle Jesse awake.
The kid whined as he was woken up, but his eyes got big as he spotted the food being piled on the plates in front of him. He started babbling happily, looking from Jack to the food as if he didn’t believe what he was seeing. Jack nodded as he confirmed that the plate was for Jesse and that he could eat as much as he wanted and they’d bring home the rest.
“Still have food issues too,” Gabriel said as they carried their trays to a table.
“Yah,” Jack nodded. “I find him hording packages under his bed. He thought he was in trouble first time I caught him. I do my best to explain that he isn’t in trouble and that he doesn’t have to horde anything, but I don’t think he quite understands.”
“How old is he?” Gabriel asked.
“Seven; growth’s a little stunted from malnourishment,” Jack said as he opened Jesse’s orange juice for him. “But he’s put on weight nicely and the doctor thinks he’ll finish growing just fine.”
“Good to hear,” Gabriel said. “You did a great thing opening your heart and home up to him.”
“It’s the duty of those with resources to help those without,” Jack said sadly. “I couldn’t have lived with myself knowing that he was out there on the streets eating garbage to try to get by.”
“What happened to his parents?” Gabriel asked.
“Dad’s an illegal arm’s dealer that was jailed a while back,” Jack said. “He’s supposed to have two siblings, but I couldn’t find any trace of them.”
“And his mother?”
“Dead at his father’s hands,” Jack shook his head. “He came from a really messed up family, Gabriel. The kind that makes you appreciate the small quirks of your own family. I want to show him that we aren’t all like them, that he doesn’t have to be afraid.”
Gabriel smiled at the golden haired man and shook his head. “You know I’m getting your number after all of this, right?” he asked. “There’s no way I’m letting someone as sweet as you slip away.”
Jack blinked at him before grinning mischievously. “Oh, Gabriel, my friend, you might have just bitten off more than you can chew,” he warned.
“We’ll see,” Gabriel said as he grabbed one of his sticky notes and scribbled down his number. “If you don’t mind, of course.”
“Not at all,” Jack smiled as he took the sticky note, ripped it in half, and scribbled his own number down.
“Pa, why’re you giving him our number?” Jesse asked around a mouthful of chicken fried rice.
“So that Gabriel can get in touch with us,” Jack smiled at his son. “I’m very grateful that he looked after you when you wandered off on me.”
“I’m grateful too,” Jesse nodded his head before he smiled at Gabriel. “You’re really nice, Mister!”
Gabriel smiled at Jesse and winked. “You’re a really nice kid too, Jesse,” he said.
Jack translated and Jesse grinned wider. A faint pink blush spread across his cheeks before he started shoveling food into his mouth again. Gabriel shot Jack a smile and started eating his own lunch. It certainly wasn’t every day that he stumbled across someone like Jack and had them ask him out to lunch.