BBDW 53 [Black Butterfly] - Nevereverland

Section 55 (UNEDITED)

‘Congratulations on the 30th anniversary of the establishment of Waynebeck Orphanage.’ Jude raised his head in front of the entrance of the orphanage and looked at the banner written in colourful letters. The letters were a little twisted as if they asked the children to write them. Jude, who was looking at the primary coloured balloons and banners shaking slightly in the cold weather, soon sighed briefly and entered the front yard of the orphanage. A few people were moving around busily outside, but they didn't seem to care too much about Jude. Could they be the event helpers? Giving a glimpse of them, Jude moved slowly toward the closed door. There was a faint noise coming from inside. It seemed that the people who would gather inside had already gathered around. The hand that tried to knock on the door hesitated for a moment.

"......chett."

Jude, who made a short, unpleasant sound, quickly raised his hand without hesitation. The moment he tried to strike his lightly clenched fist to knock on the old wooden door, the door suddenly opened in front of Jude.

" Kkyak!"

Suddenly, the woman who ran into Jude stepped back with a small scream. Jude, who was also a little surprised, looked at her as she stepped back, and the woman who had stepped back approached the door carefully. She was a petite woman with long brown hair tied behind her back. Dressed in a slightly faded purple suit, she looked at Jude with an enigmatic face as if she were looking through an old book. When Jude was about to ask her to make way for him, who was a little frustrated because of the awkward air that lasted for a few seconds, the woman opened her mouth with her eyes enlarged. Jude's eyes became round altogether. The voice was full of surprises.

"Who is this, Jude! It's Jude! It's Jude, right?"

"Eh? Y-yeah."

"It's me, Kate! Kate Hartman! Don't you remember? I used to hang out with you. It's been over 10 years, why, don't you remember the girl Jack and they used to tease as ‘Kitty’ all the time?"

Jude's face, as he was tilting his head for a while, soon spread a light of understanding. Kitty, Kate Hartman. She used to be a girl with brown hair tied in pigtails, which was not that long before. Although she had a slight depressing impression, she seemed quite loved by the orphanage teachers because she was a meek and gentle child overall, and when Jude shouted, "Oh, Kate!" she smiled brightly at the now-adult Jude.

"Long time no see, how long has it been? How have you been doing? I tried to call you, but the director didn't know your number. I was worried if you were dead or alive."

"Yeah, well, somehow."

"Wait, I’ll tell the others you're here. There's nothing to be uncomfortable about, almost all the people you know came. Here! Hey, look here!"

A loud, clear cry rang out. Dozens of adults and children, who moved all the furniture for the celebration and were noisy on the spacious first floor, stopped talking and looked at Kate.

"Look, look, look who's here."

"Who......oh, my God, it's Jude?"

"What, Jude?"

"Wow, you're alive!"

Jude's name popped up here and there. A middle-aged woman of half a century walked out of the midst of welcoming and surprising voices. The blurred eyes were filled with tears.

"Oh, Jude! Jude! Let's take a look at you, where and how you've been."

"Oh, haha, teacher Mary. You look healthy. I'm good, though I've been running around with a gun lately."

"Oh, my God. Yeah, come on in. I haven't prepared much, but have fun talking with friends you haven't seen in a long time. I'm a little busy with the children now, so let's meet and talk about it later. Come on, come on in."

Mary swept Jude's shoulder and pulled him inside. Unlike the outside, the warm air inside was filled with various food smells. The interior decorations on the first floor of the orphanage were quite spectacular, compared to Mary saying she had not set up much. It seemed like a buffet or something, and some people were even playing the violin. Kate quickly approached Jude, who looked unfamiliar with the scene for a while.

"Why, are you surprised? It's pretty good, isn't it?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Someone must have paid for it."

"Yeah. George must have paid a lot. This event is actually like an appendix to George's donation to the orphanage."

"George? George McNeil? That guy who's always been reading strange books?"

Kate nodded her head. She had a smiling face, but she didn't look very happy.

"Yeah, that's amazing, isn't it? He's a self-made man. He’s transformed himself into a businessman, and I heard he's making a lot of money now. I think he’s talking to a prosecutor from this orphanage over there."

"Really?"

"Hey, Jude! It's been a while, huh? I haven't seen you since middle school."

A deep voice flew into Jude's ears, who was nodding silently. As soon as he turned his head, a man of wide frame was approaching this way. One name soon flowed out of Jude’s mouth, who had been squinting for a while and searching for memories.

"...Jack? Jack Layton?"

"Yes, man. You've never been to gatherings, but this time, what brought you here? I thought I was bothering you so much when I was a kid that you didn't want to come here anymore."

It was a rough but friendly voice. Jack held out a big fist and slapped Jude on the shoulder. Jude grinned as he hit his shoulder hard.

"Now I'm here because I can take you if you bully me. Why?"

"Huh? What are you talking about, being able to take him? What do you do? Are you...  police?”

"Bingo. Working for the New York Police Department. You can say that I’m still running around like crazy right now."

Kate and Jack had a look of surprise on their faces. Looking blankly at each other, they soon burst out laughing and turned to Jude.

"Really? It doesn't suit you!"

"Huh? What, Kate, you say it doesn’t suit me. I'm getting hurt."

"Come on, wait, wait. So you're the detective named Jude who just appeared in the newspaper for catching Alvin Jones?"

Jude shrugged his shoulders. To be exact, the expression 'caught and missed' is correct.

"Yeah, well, first of all. They couldn't post the picture because I said no, but it happened."

"Oh, my God, what are the odds!"

Jack giggled and laughed next to Jude, who looked at Kate with an undecipherable look, as she covered her mouth with her hands.

"My wife is right, Jude. You look like a human being who'll be very annoying if the police crack down on you, instead of diligently dressed as the police and go after the bad guys."

"Oh, wife?"

In front of the puzzled Jude, Jack and Kate approached each other with a bashful smile. Jack smiled broadly, hugging Kate's shoulder, whose head is one and a half shorter than him. It was such a soft smile that it was hard to think that he’s a man who was like a villain in the alley of an orphanage when he was young. The husky voice was softened.

"Yes, we're married. It's about two years now."

"We've been together in the same middle school and in the same high school….. and now I'm Kate Layton. Not just Hartman."

"Oh, I see. Congratulations, though it's very late."

"-Jude? Jude Green?"

At the same time as the slightly flushed couple thanked him, a sharply cut voice rang from behind Jude. Seeing that Kate and Jack's faces were slightly stiffened, Jude turned his head. A tall, sturdy man was walking toward Jude with a small-framed man, and an unintentional smile came across Jude's face.  

"Oh, George. There's Lyle too? Do you guys work together?”

"Ah, hi, Jude."

A man with a nervous impression wearing thin gold-rimmed glasses smiled awkwardly. George grinned and glanced back at Lyle and opened his mouth.

"Well, it just so happens that Lyle is helping...By the way, I saw you in the newspaper. I heard you caught Alvin Jones?"

"Well, he escaped."

Fiddling with the sleeve of his neat suit, George stopped right in front of Jude and grinned. It was a calculating smile, and he soon patted Jude's shoulder and passed it in a subtle tone.

"Yeah, but it's a big deal. What do you think, there will be a celebration party for our company's big contract this time, so why don't you come? When the detective who caught Alvin Jones comes in, he'll surely welcome people from the other company and our side."

And your name will be known for bringing me in, and the company's celebration will be a little more famous? Murmuring shortly inside, Jude soon smiled vaguely and tilted his head.

"Well, I'll see. It was pure luck to catch Alvin Jones. I'm not in a very high position yet, so I'm busy running every day. You know the crime rate in New York."

"But think about it. Here's my business card. Feel free to contact me if you want to come."

George, who put a thin business card in the pocket of Jude's clothes tapped Jude's back amiably without erasing his smile.

"I didn't prepare much, but take your time. Well, I have someone to meet, so, later."

"Oh, yeah. See you later."

"Lyle, check their list again."

"Oh, yes."

As he looked at the back of him moving away busily in the distance, Jude could hear a not-so-good voice. Jack put down the cocktail glass roughly on the table next to him and spat out in a sullen voice.

"Damn it, I feel so terrible every time I see him."

"Jack, stop it. There's Jude, too…..."

"Hey, what's wrong with Jude? Hey, Jude, don't get along with him if you can. He’s so full of himself for being the most successful person in this orphanage. It's not even funny. We're all from the same orphanage, but now we're going to have to deal with those people."

"Jack, stop it."

"There's a rumour that he's trying to impress his people as if he's a philanthropist. So do you know that there are some people here who have nothing to do with the orphanage? This is unbelievable. Is this a political arena where he's trying to get promoted?"

"Jack."

Kate grabbed Jack's arm. Jack, who was looking at George's back with a scowl, soon sighed and held Kate's hand. His eyes looking at his wife soon bent gently, drawing a smile in resignation.

"Well, I'm glad you're here. Gosh, when's the last time we saw Jude's face that you thought he was dead? We're just going to have fun, aren't we?"

"Yes, Jack, let's not embarrass ourselves. If George's doing well, that's it. Yeah? We're us, George, George. Jude, don't mind us. Just relax. Oh, did anyone come with you? It said on the invitation that you could come with your friend or lover, not just you."

Jude's face was filled with a hint of bitterness. Kate's gaze at Jude, who shrugged his shoulders, was questionable. As soon as Jude was about to answer her question, he heard the door open quietly. The cold wind brushed around the back of his neck for a moment. It was not that difficult for Jude to guess who the owner of the quiet footsteps was without looking at the doorway, so Jude sighed quietly.

Soon, their eyes as they turned their heads met a pair of light blue-grey eyes. An intelligent-looking man with light brown hair and horn-rimmed glasses raised his hand with a warm smile.

"-Ah, Jude. I'm sorry. I'm a little late, right?"

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