Many years have passed since that day, Richard grew up to be a man. He grew a couple of pounds and got a five o’clock shadow as he rested in the beds in his room. The bed had gotten too big and heavy for him, but it felt nostalgic and comfortable.

He never heard from his folks at the old home, but didn’t care, as he had already moved on. A knock rang on the door, and Emily didn’t wait for him to respond before storming in.

“Richard, are you still sleeping?”

“Ugh, no,” Richard replied as he pulled the sheets closer to him.

“You can’t keep doing this.” Emily put her hands on her hips. “How many times must I tell you this? There’s work to be done!”

“I know—”

“If you know that, then why are you still in bed?” Emily reached over and pulled the covers away.

“Hey, I was going to get up!” Richard exclaimed, covering his face to try and block out light in the room.

Emily looked around the messy room. Maybe it was a bad idea to give him too much freedom. Sure, she went easy on him in the past, but he was an adult now, and he should know better and clean up after himself.

A sickening smell went through her nostrils, nearly making her gag. Emily glanced over and took a peek inside the drawers, only to find empty cans of soda and bottles of energy drinks.

“Are you serious? Have you spent your allowance on these drinks again?”

“B—But I love the taste!” Richard tried to defend as he got out of bed. “At least it’s not al—”

“So? None of this will enrich any of our lives!” Emily thundered. She inhaled and exhaled to calm herself down a bit. She knew the risks of bringing the guy in. It wasn’t all bad, but she still had to bring him down every once in a while. “Look, we got new people coming over, and I do not want to disappoint them. So, please get dressed and shower. Can you do that?”

Richard nodded and yawned. “I’ll be there in a little while.”

.-.-.-.

Richard got ready in the day, taking a shower, getting dressed, brushing teeth, and trimming bits of his facial hair before setting foot down the stairs to meet up with Emily at the main lounge. She greeted the new people before noticing Richard and welcoming him too.

“There you are, it took you long enough.” Emily looked at the outfit he wore, a simple white shirt with blue jeans, and shook her head in shame. “You couldn't have picked something nicer?”

“You told me to get dressed.” Richard reminded her. “I just picked something comfortable to wear.”

Emily bowed to the elders and their previous caretakers. “I’m sorry about this.”

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it.” The caretaker waved it off.

Emily sighed in relief. Things are going according to plan for now, despite the initial setback. Richard had to function better with society. There was no way around that.

She had plans for the future and wanted to follow through on them, no matter what. Surely he would’ve understood that by now, given his age.

After taking care of the new guests, Emily prepared some meals from the kitchen and told Richard to do the usual task of delivering the colored trays from their lists.

After doing the simple but time-consuming and strenuous tasks, and after having their breakfast and lunch themselves, Richard took a small break. He sat on a recliner chair, pulled it back, and turned on the television with the remote control. He scrolled through the channels, frustrated that he only found sports channels or talk shows.

Eventually, he stopped at a show involving a cook traveling around the world to show his skills and solve mysteries with his group, including a ghost only they could see. Richard clutched on the seats and watched with anticipation.

Emily marched over and tapped on her foot. “Um, what do you think you’re doing?”

“Taking a break, one of my favorite shows is on,” Richard replied. “And I’m pretty sure it’s a new episode too!”

“You know you’re not done with work, right?”

“Yeah, but I want to relax and at least watch this.”

“What happened to you?” Emily muttered. “You used to be so...”

Richard yawned again. “Did you say something?”

“What did you do last night?”

“I just had a hard time sleeping, that’s all...”

“Maybe you shouldn’t have drunk all those sodas last night.” Emily pointed out.

Richard paused the video and turned to her, his eyes widening. “How did you know—?”

“It’s pretty obvious; I have that kind of instinct if you will.” She stepped forward, blocking the sight from the Television screen. “You did record this, right?”

“Well, why do you ask?” Richard tilted his head to try and get a better view.

Emily gave him a big smile. “I’ll record it for you, just do me a solid, ok?”

“But I was...” Richard sighed. “Alright, so what do you want me to do?”

“Could you water my garden? You did say you wanted some outside air, didn’t you?” Emily mentioned.

“Yeah, I did.”