The two lovebirds were having breakfast on the balcony overlooking the ocean when Malcolm's phone buzzed.
It was Elijah.
He excused himself to take the call, leaving Amy to enjoy her breakfast in peace.
"Hey, man," Malcolm said as he answered.
"Madam boy is gone!" Elijah shouted through the phone in panic. His voice shook- he was terrified, unsure of where to even begin.
Malcolm felt his blood chill in his veins.
"Gone where, Elijah?" he asked carefully. "Gone as in dead... or just missing?"
"Oh my God, Malcolm- I don't know!" Elijah cried.
"April just got back and said that she's not in her room and I looked at the cameras- turns out, she had left the building since four in the morning."
Malcolm forced himself to breathe again. Put on a brave face, "Don't worry, Elijah… She does this sometimes when it's close to her family's death anniversary."
"Then why did April panic if that's a known fact?"
Malcolm scratched the back of his head and closed his eyes, as if explaining it, cost him something vital. "Because she doesn't know that."
Elijah frowned. "What the hell does that mean? That's literally her job."
April flinched beside him.
She was already blaming herself for the incidence and now even her brother was rubbing salt into the wound.
"Elijah," Malcolm said sharply, "we talked about your temper..."
"I know, I know," Elijah cut in, exhaling. "I'm just… scared. What if something happened to her?"
"And you don't think April is more scared for her safety than you?" Malcolm snapped. "She changes the woman's diapers, for fuck's sake!"
Elijah paused and looked at his worried little twin sister.
"What did he say?" April whispered anxiously. "Is he mad? Disappointed? Heartbroken?"
Elijah didn't know when or how he'd developed this bad habit of his. Blaming everything wrong with him on April. Or why she kept accepting it.
He handed her the phone and disappeared into his room.
April's hands were clammy. "H- he… hello?"
Malcolm heard the fear in her voice, and it broke his heart. "Hey, girl. So I heard the old lady went missing."
April closed her eyes and squeaked out a small, "Yes."
"You must be devastated," Malcolm said gently. April nodded, forgetting it was a voice call.
"I have a few ideas about where she might be," Malcolm continued, "So you can stop tormenting yourself... Can you do that?"
"You're not angry with me?" April asked quietly.
"Angry with you? No," Malcolm reassured her.
"I'm actually grateful for everything you do. You're always the first to notice when something's wrong with any of them."
He paused, then added, "When Ms. Claire's condition started getting worse, you were the one who found her coughing up blood in the middle of the night. You were the one she wanted beside her at the hospital."
April sniffed back her tears.
"Don't worry- she'll be back before you know it," Malcolm finished it off softly.
April broke down then.
"But it won't be for long! I can't take care of them once they go back to their families!"
Malcolm chuckled gently. "Who said anything about them moving back to their families?"
April frowned.
"There's a chance they can stay here? With us?"
Malcolm smiled wider. "I'll be home in a couple of hours with your precious tenant, and we'll talk about it then. Cool?"
April was quiet for a moment. "Malcolm… thank you. For everything."
"No," Malcolm replied warmly. "I'm the eternally grateful one."
He ended the call.
Now his day involved Operation: Find an Old Lady.
It was never dull at the establishment.
When he returned to the table, Amy looked at him strangely.
"Everything's fine," he told her lightly. "Aside from a missing tenant that I have no idea on how to find."
Amy frowned and typed on her phone: Who went missing?
Malcolm thought for a second, "I don't know if you guys have met before" He continued, "Her name is Evans? But we call her Madam Boy"
Amy didn't even know that- that person existed before that day but, she was old and had gone missing. Plus, Malcolm had no idea on how to find her. It seemed tragic.
Do you think something bad happened to her?
Malcolm didn't want to think about that. Instead, he leaned down and kissed Amy deeply- so deeply she forgot, just for a moment, that someone was missing.
"I need to go," Malcolm said as soon as their lips parted.
"Enjoy your breakfast. When you're done, Devon will drive you back to the establishment... Or anywhere you want to go."
Amy stopped him before he could leave and typed quickly:
I'm coming with you.
Then she disappeared inside.