WHAT IS RIGHT AND WRONG

"I didn't know that you sold your food to so many other places. I mean, it's not surprising, since you're a great cook, but… How do you find the time to do so much?" Eron asked, carrying a few cardboard boxes with cakes, tarts and assorted pastries that smelled so good that they were making him hungry again.

"Well, last night, after I felt watched and all that, I prepared most of them. The baking takes the longest time, the rest is quick and easy," she said with a shy smile, not used to him praising her work. "Thank you for helping me with the deliveries."

"Oh, it's my pleasure. Besides, I promised, remember? I told you that you wouldn't need to carry so many heavy things on your own anymore. That's also why we go to the lumber camp together… I'm glad you let me help you, especially since I don't do much at the house…"

"Oh, you do plenty… you might just not notice it." The words escaped her mouth and made her heavily blush once again that morning.

As he saw her face all red again, he widely smiled. He was curious but decided not to push her anymore.

It's already a miracle that she's talking to me. Don't embarrass her any further because she says nice things to you, ok? He thought to himself, almost surprised that he was scolding himself once more.

The deliveries were finished in no time, and Diwana was quite happy that she got many more orders.

He's a lucky charm indeed, she thought, making an effort not to let out the huge smile that her thoughts would want to show on her face.

"Oh, good morning! I'm glad you came. Signor Adriano would not forgive me if I didn't have his Earl Grey Tea cake today. I'm so sure he'll buy it that I actually should order another one for next time," Tinio said upon Diwana's arrival as she took the last few boxes from Eron's arms.

"Today has been a really good day, actually, and I'm happy that you say so. But I still think that you do better by waiting after they buy them to order. If he doesn't purchase it, the cake might not be as fresh, or even might get spoiled before someone buys it! Don't worry, Tinio, you have my number, just give me a call, like we usually do."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm just so sure that he will every time daily. You have no idea… As a matter of fact, he likes it so much that I've been tempted to buy one of those for myself to try. I would definitely do it if I didn't have to keep checking on my sugar level…"

"Hmmm, what if I bring a small slice of it for you to try? Would it be bad for your health?"

"Oh, it won't be and that would be amazing! I mean, I can't get to buy the whole cake, but one piece would be just perfect. I just hope I don't get addicted like Adriano," he smiled widely, almost licking his lips thinking about the spongy soft cake with that enticing buttercream icing and tempting smell.

Diwana smiled some more to herself. "Then it's a deal. The next time I bring your order, I'll bring an extra slice for you."

Tinio paid her and they left the store and were walking back home when Diwa noticed how quiet Eron was.

"Is everything okay?"

"Oh! It is, don't worry. I just remembered a friend who loved that cake and was just having a few memories of that. I didn't know that you also sold that kind of cake. It's pretty rare around here, isn't it?"

"Well, it is, but I happen to like it, so I offered it when I started selling food to Tinio. And since then he always orders at least one. Actually, since it is uncommon, I thought it would sell better. I wasn't that wrong, but not so right either," she said with a small giggle.

Not long after, they got home, took the packed foods for the lumber camp sale and left. Walking together and merrily talking all their way up. It was surprisingly comfortable, especially having in mind the events of the previous night.

"Good morning, you two!" Jack welcomed Diwana and Eron as soon as he saw them, calling the attention of the surrounding workers, and making some of them start whispering.

Orlando was already sitting with the infamous Max's troupe, who he met when he started working at the mine. And he would now hear, as soon as Eron walked by, how they started letting out their venom against their clueless co-worker. The burly bullies were all hissing and murmuring while looking in the former city guy's direction.

"Look who the cat finally brought back," one of them whispered to the others.

"The boss said it was his fault that he ended up at the hospital," another of the workers added.

"And look how he shamelessly walks with the boss's lady, even after he told him she was his."

"But guys, she looks very comfortable with him. I've actually never seen her with boss Max like that. I mean, does she look as happy and comfortable as that when she's with him? " Orlando wondered, too loud for his own good. "Or…do they even spend time together at all? How is she his lady then?"

The gang suddenly stopped talking and looked at the newcomer, who dared to question the unquestionable.

"Max was the best around here and he decided that she was the one lady he wanted for himself. She was really lucky to get the boss' attention but she never seemed to notice, or played weird games, like she wasn't interested…"

"As if it was at all possible," another one guffawed heartily, making a few others laugh with him.

"The thing is, since that City Boy got here, the boss has had it a lot more complicated with her… And we've had to help him a bit."

"But that's not a problem. I mean, he has done so much for all of us that we can just thank him that way."

Orlando, who took care of two little girls, couldn't help but think that there was something very wrong with their logic. But the last part, he admitted, was the truth… "I wouldn't have been able to get the job without Max's help… But am I doing the right thing here... just following his orders and helping him without question?"

The youngest man in the lumber camp could just look at the smile on Diwana's face, and how Eron, like a gentleman, helped her carry her bags filled with her products to sell later. The new boarder even helped her arrange them on the table, while the other workers started to arrive to have a look-see at what was being sold for the day.

Soon enough, the surrounding ones got up to buy their food.

"We better rush before we're left with nothing."

"Are you coming, kid?"

Orlando looked up at the table and shook his head in the negative.

He didn't have to go all the way there to know that the food was really great. When Di and Eron arrived, an amazing smell spread around the camp, making the young man's belly roar for food.

Food that he didn't have the money to buy, at the moment.

"Oh, by the way, Jack, I forgot to tell you yesterday, any day is okay for me. Just let me know the day before they would want me over or something," Eron unexpectedly mentioned to his boss and friend.

Jack looked at Eron, slightly puzzled and blinking. "What are you talking about, bro?"

"The dinner your parents want to invite me to. You know, the one that you told me about last time you helped me fix my bike Scorpia…"

"Ooooh, yeah of course. Okay, that's great! My father and mother will be happy to hear that, man."

They talked a bit longer while the others started buying Diwana's food offers. The 'Max squad' members, who happened to be within hearing distance of the two tall muscle-bound men who were talking with each other, exchanged meaningful glances at what they heard. It seems that their dead-squirrel-haired boss will be getting more troubling news later,

Then, Jack noticed a small piece of rice cake and a small plastic bag of pasta lying near him. And after not much thought, he took both of them.

"Di, I'm getting these as well," the lumberyard manager remarked while placing both containers with a couple more that he had already chosen that were in a small plastic bag.

"You have quite an appetite today, huh?" Diwa replied while receiving the workers' payments along with Jack's. "I've never seen you buy that much food from me before."

"You could say that," Jack gave her a small, half-sad, half-thoughtful smile along with the money.

He then walked away from the table. As Jack slowly strolled towards his office, he paused on his way there.

"Orlando," he called out while almost at the entrance of the admin building. "Do you have a moment?"

The young man got up and walked after his boss. The two silent pair went up to the 2nd floor and entered Jack's office, then Orlando closed the door. The newly hired lad waited for his older employer to sit on his large leather executive chair before sitting on the nearest chair that was in front of Jack's desk.

Jack then placed the few containers and the other plastic-wrapped food items near his visitor's chair in front of his desk and then spoke again. "Sit down and eat something first, alright?"

Orlando stared at him with a surprised look that showed he was almost about to refuse. However, Jack didn't give him a chance to do so.

"If you really want to work with us, you need to take good care of yourself. Not having food in the morning can cause you to have an accident. Besides, you wouldn't have enough energy to complete your tasks if you were famished. Go ahead and eat. I promise you; nobody will know. If you're worried about money, you can pay me later or whatever. But for now, just eat any one of these, okay?"

"Y-yes, sir…" Orlando blinked a few times and swallowed hard to keep his tears in check as they threatened to come out at his superior's thoughtful actions.

It had been a good while since he felt that someone was genuinely worried for him. Not because they had to, or pitied his situation, but because they really cared for him.

"Thank you," Orlando finally said as he sat down in front of Jack's executive desk then unwrapped and took a bite of a sweet rice cake.

Meanwhile, outside the office, Max's gang stared at Eron menacingly, almost at the same time as Diwana mentioned to her good-looking tenant, "You know? From the day I started bringing food to sell here, I have seen only two days that Max missed it. The day of the accident when you saved Jack and I, and today."

"You don't say," Eron said with a small smile while glancing at the men who were looking at him with slitted stares from the other side of the table. "Well, his loss..."