“Back off, mister. Why do you want mom to pat your head? You are not a kid anymore.” “Kid, don’t discriminate people with their ages. Anyone can pat someone’s head if you do something good to them.” “Then, giving cereal to mom is not enough. We have cereal in home.” “I saved her from falling down.” “I don’t think mom is thankful for that. She looked very uncomfortable before.” “So what? As long as I saved her. That is still good deeds worth of praise.” “Hah,” Eugene scoffed. “Good deeds? I don’t think you have the rights to say that Mister. After all, you abandoned mom and I.” Eric froze at my son’s harsh words. I never told Eugene that his father abandoned us. But I guess, not explaining it affected my son’s perspective towards his father. I felt both sorry and unapologetic to Eric. It does not feel good to see how he reacted after hearing our son’s accusation. Eric stared at Eugene as if he was so embarrassed to even face the kid. At the same time, I blamed Eric too. I ke
The first time I found out what Eric’s favorite food was when I cooked in his apartment during our college days. We were working with our research paper with our classmates. Since Eric was living alone, we chose his place. “Eric, can you taste this and say if it is okay?” Eric, who entered the kitchen just because he would get something to drink, walked towards me. “Chicken Curry?” he asked while at the pan. “That is my favorite dish.”He quickly grabbed a spoon. “You like Chicken Curry?” “Yeah.” He scooped the curry with his spoon and tasted it. “How is it?” “Give me meat,” he begged. I wanted to say no because our other classmates will surely get mad of they found out that Eric got to eat meat before them. Since we collected the money from our allowance to buy this, we need to share in fair. However, because Eric was looking at me like a giant puppy, I gave him the meat he wanted. “Don’t tell it to others, okay?” I whispered, putting the meat on his spoon. Excited, the co
For many years, Jane thought that Eric abandoned her and their baby. Eric left her alone on bed and disappeared after that. So, it is natural for her to think that he abandoned the responsibility for sleeping with me. Even that was just a mistake, she hoped he would come back and find them. That’s why, within the long years, deep hatred rooted inside her heart. ‘But now, he is telling that he never abandon me?’ While staring at Eric, Jane clenched her fists until she dug my nails onto my pale palms. She told to herself that this is not the right time to talk about this. But since it already happened, she thought it would be better hear the rest of it. “You what?” she asked him. “Something happened to me,” Eric continued. “That’s why I couldn’t come back soon. When I did, you are already gone.” “You mean you searched for me?” Eric lowered his eyes before he slowly nodded his head. Jane is not sure if she will believe this or not. But there’s a part of her that I hoping he’s
Two hours ago… Jane’s boss, Lance, went to the department store to buy things he needed for camping. Jane and Lance agreed to hike and camp next week. He was so excited that the next morning, he dashed to the store to prepare. “Give me all of the jackets on display,” Lance said to the saleslady. The saleslady looked at Lance with widened eyes. “All of those, Sir?” she asked. “Yeah, all of that. I am not sure which color or design she would like. So I will buy everything,” Lance answered. The saleslady observed the tall and handsome man standing in front of her. Lance is wearing just a plain shirt and ripped jeans. If it is just his face, he’s oozing with handsomeness which made the women around stare at him. But his outfits are very plain. Therefore, the saleslady could not believe that a guy like him has the ability to buy all of the hiking outfits displayed in their store. Not only that, but he also bought shoes and other equipment needed for camping which are worth thousan
Jane closed the door as soon as Lance left.Then, she fell on the floor while hugging the paper-bags and the broom within her arms. The tension she experienced was too much. Her knees weakened and wobbled. She stared at the blank space, as if savoring the piece of silence.‘It feels like I just saw the end of the world,’ she said to herself.Did Lance believe her? Did her lame excuses work? Will there be problems in the future just because she lied to her boss?Jane lifelessly shook her head. Words and ideas have seemed to explode inside her head, and left it empty right now.Eugene returned to the living room after taking a pee. When he turned his head to find his mom, he saw her sitting on the ground.“Mom!” he shouted and dashed to her side. “Mom!” He approached his mom with a pale face and observed her.“Are you fine, mom?”Jane turned her head to her son at a slow pace. Looking at him has brought her thoughts and rationality back.‘Eric needs to know what just happened,’ Jane th
Jane’s POV Out of thousands possible reasons why Eric couldn’t come home, I don’t quite understand why a kid like Eugene thinks that his father is having an affair. Eric is engaged to another woman. But that is not an affair! When I asked my son how he came up with this idea, he said he saw it on Television before. That when a man left home and stayed overnight outside, then he is dating someone and that is what everyone calls an ‘affair.’ Oh my gosh. I never thought that my son would be exposed to something as toxic as this. And yet, there’s only one person whom I can blame. That’s me. When I was working so hard with my part time jobs before, I left Eugene to my neighbors. Probably, Eugene watched and heard about this from the adults surrounding him. But there’s no need to worry. Starting from now on, I will watch over him as much as I can. ‘But first, I had to make sure that this won’t reach Eric’s ears.’ “It’s fortunate that Eric wasn’t there when Eugene said that.” “Wh
In the original future, Jane decided to take Eugene back to her mother’s hometown. While they were waiting for the best, a thief suddenly snatched Jane’s bag. “My bag! Hey!” Jane shouted. Jane was carrying a lot that time. She really wanted to chase after the thief but she couldn’t just leave the luggage and her little son alone in the road. “Help! Someone take my bag!” she asked for help. There were a lot of people around who saw the incident. But none of them picked up the courage to help. Jane was so hopeless and devastated at that time. All of the money she saved by working so hard day and night was in that bag. On the verge of tears, a man suddenly appeared in front of her. “Miss,” the man called while catching his breath. “This is your bag, right?” Jane wiped the tears on her eyes and lifted them to the tall man standing before her. He has pale skin, small rigid eyes, pointed nose and pinkish lips. He has a little mole under his left eye and his hair’s color is dark red
Eric promised Jane and Eugene that he will come back home as soon as possible. He couldn’t get back home early. But he kept his promise. 11:55 pm, before the new day started, Eric came back home. Reeking the smell of coffee, Eric stood in front of his house. Being an owner of this house, this is the first time he hesitated to go in or not. He knew that neither Jane nor Eugene was awake. But if there’s a chance that one of them is waiting for him, Eric wonders what expression he should show. Guilt? Sadness? Eric sighed as he unbuttoned three buttons of his collar. ‘What’s there to think about? They both hate me,’ having these thoughts, Eric opened the door. The silence welcomed him as he entered the door. He looked around and when his eyes caught the woman sleeping on the couch, his heart skipped a beat. He expected that he would see no one waiting for him. But deep inside, Eric hoped that Jane would. And it happened. Jane was sleeping on the couch while hugging herself aga