Chapter 5
A few hours of icebreakers and bonding go by before Mirin gets up to retrieve something from a linen closet underneath a staircase. She returns with her hands full and gestures towards Hobie. "What's all this then?" Within her arms were a folded towel, what looked like black sweatpants and a shirt, topped with folded socks, a wash cloth, and small toiletries. "You just have stuff like this on hand like a hotel?" "Fortunately for you, yes." Mirin had explained that she regularly takes in survivors and houses them for a trade in exchange for shelter. Hobie was a guest, and she treated him as such. "I don't have much to trade for this though..." He says as he looks towards the floor and his stomach growls. "Just take them, the first nights on the house, I'm not heartless. But you bet your ass, I expect something in exchange." Taking the pile from her hands, he gives her a weary look, "Don't make it weird kid, I didn't mean it in that way." She shakes her head, "C'mon, go wash off, you're filthy."
With a warmth in his heart, he takes the pile to the bathroom, "Make it quick!" Mirin shouts after him before walking down the hall towards the front door. She takes the blue crate full of nasty coats and brings them over to a side room off the kitchen. In this nook, the floor was tiled with a drain cover in a corner of the room. The white tiles butt right below the threshold of the laminated wood of the kitchen floor by a few centimeters, leading to another steel door that barricades a glass sliding back door. It was lit dimly with a portable wall light; housing enough space for a foldable table and drying rack, a floor sink, A small shelf, and a wash basin. Mirin sets the blue crate down by the floor skin and fills a third of the wash basin with water, sprinkles in some powdered soap, and begins to hand wash the bloody coats and shoes.
In the bathroom, Hobie sets the pile of linen down on the sink counter and locks the door behind himself. He looks up at himself in the mirror, finally being able to see just how filthy he looked. 'Haven't seen myself in a few days...sheesh, so much for first impressions.' He checks himself over and shakes his head at the sight of his hair; his Wiks had accumulated so much lint and dirt, not being able to properly wash his hair in months. Sighing to himself, he turns the tap on and runs his hands under the water, elated to find that the running water is warm! He keeps his hands under the faucet for a few more seconds to take in its warmth before brushing his teeth with the small toothpaste she gave him. She had also given him a small bar of soap and a sample size shampoo bottle; it wasn't much but to someone who hasn't washed their ass in days, it was a god send. After brushing his teeth, he jumps into the shower. He knows she told him to be quick; but the heat of the water melting away days of debris felt way too good, he lost track of time just letting the water wash over him. 'Good lord~, no wonder she didn't look like utter rubbish, she's got a whole damn minimart at her fingertips!' Hobie vigorously scrubs himself and his hair, watching as the sludge from his body flows down the drain.
She's able to wash her own coat and boots to the best of her ability once Hobie finishes his shower, he had been in there for a good 45 minutes or so. Now in clean clothes that didn't quite fit him, he wanders back to the living room and looks for Mirin with his dirty clothes in hand. "Mirin?" he calls out, not sure where to put his clothes. "Come to the kitchen, bring your dirty clothes." She calls back.
"Thank you" He says once he finds Mirin crouched down by the wash basin, "The clothes don't really fit me, but it's better than nothing." She looks up at him and shakes the water from her hands, "Great, now you can wash your clothes while I start dinner. I don't have a washing machine anymore, but this basin will do." She wipes her hands on her pants and walks past Hobie into the kitchen. "Umm, so I just...scrub them?" Hobie lowers himself to the floor and sets his clothes down with a bit of uncertainty on his face. "C'mon kid, you've never washed clothes by hand before?" "Not really, I've always just thrown them in the washer." Mirin rolls her eyes and walks back into the nook beside him. Dumping the dirty water from the basin. She fills it back up and sprinkles some powdered soap in it once again. "Place your clothes in there and let them soak for a little, then you scrub them. Either against that washboard there, or you scrub them together." With that, she heads back over to the kitchen to start dinner. As Hobie scrubs his clothes and shoes, Mirin cooks what she has on hand. She didn't have much and would need to make a run soon; among the little food she had was a can of diced tomatoes, a few spice bottles that were on their last leg, a few canned vegetables, frozen rabbit meat, and a half-used box of pasta noodles. She whipped it up in a dinky pot and prepared a sub-par meal for the both of them.
They hung all the wet clothes on a drying rack before sitting at the island counter to eat. Hobie thanked her for her hospitality, but as he ate, he had a burning question he just had to ask. "Mirin, if you don't mind me asking. Why are you helping me out like this?" His question was abrupt, but valid nonetheless. "I appreciate you offering me a place to stay and giving me food. But, why are you being so generous towards me?" Mirin wipes her mouth and feels a chuckle pass her lips, "Don't worry, I'm not fattening you up to eat you or anything. Like I said earlier, I usually take in survivors. I know it's hard out there, so I try to be hospitable. You know, to give a safe space. Now, if people appreciate my kindness and respect my space is a different story, but that's life." Hobie chuckles a bit and nods his head, "Well I'm glad you're not trying to eat me. But...just the fact that you offer to bring survivors into your home and you like helping out others... you're honestly too nice. I'll try my best not to be a burden." Feeling like he's said too much, he purses his lips and tries to give a sincere smile before continuing. "You've treated me really well, thank you, really." Mirin returns his smile, "Aww...you're going to make me cry, kid!" She shakes off her emotional display and collects the bowls, "I'm gonna start cleaning up the kitchen now. But these are for you to clean." She says, handing him the bowls. Hobie obliges and heads over to the sink to help clean up.