Chapter 2: The Surprise Visit
Being the first to jump into the empty school hall from the dressing room, he took few swift strides towards the exit hoping he could still make it on time. He was stopped surprisingly by a familiar figure.
“Mom, what are you doing here?” Lavine asked with indignation.
“The cleaning company has just assigned me to work in this school. I know you were practicing with the school basketball team today so I wait for you after I finished my cleaning.” Yukiana explained carrying Lavine’s favorite avocado sandwich on one hand while reaching out to hold Lavine with the other one.
A surge of fear surface inside Lavine’s body as he started to hear the noise of the chatters from his teammates who were walking toward the school hall.
“We have to go now!” Lavine uttered the words in a trembling tone as he grabbed sandwich and ran out of the school leaving Yukiana behind.
Trying to catch up with her son, Yukiana tripped and fell on the ground.
“What…mom! Are you ok? We really need to go!” Lavine shouted not holding back his anger and frustration before he looked back with squinted eyes and mouth half-opened.
Yukiana was in tears because of the concern only she could see from him. The prospect of going home along with her son for the first time in years touched her.
The surprise visit from Yukiana did not create the effect she wanted on her relationship with his son. Since her husband died, she had taken the role of the father as well as the sole bread winner of the family. However, like what Yukiana always does, she never gives up.
A few days, Yukiana surprised her son again.
“Mom! Why are you here in this hour? I thought you work in after-school shifts?” Lavine asked.
“You told me the lunch sets from the school canteen had not been good, so I took some time last night to make you a Special Lunch Box. It has your favorite foods like broccoli, carrot…”
Lavine interrupted, “I don’t like carrot any more…don’t you know! What’s so special about it? I am not a kid any more. And you are still wearing your uniform…this is…anyway I need to go back to class. Will you please go?”
“You are always my little kid!”
He took the lunch box abruptly and ran away before anyone could see them.
As he turned his head he almost ran into Helen.
“Oh Hi Lavine. Everything’s ok? I saw you arguing with the cleaning lady. You know her?” Helen asked innocently.
“Oh Hi Helen…ah”
“Are you ok?”
“Ah…yes….I mean no…I don’t know her. She is just a cleaning lady…”
Their conversation was overheard by Yukiana who came back to bring Lavine the fork that was missing from the lunch box.
The fork fell violently on the floor…
It was nearly midnight by the time Yukiana came home after work.
Lavine was already asleep. Quietly putting the heavy bag she had been carrying around on the floor, she approached Lavine’s bed without making a fuss.
She sat beside him. She reached out her hand to try to touch him, only to find it suspended in the air. Her courage failed her in this untimely moment. She was afraid to wake him. Her mind started to make up stories about how hard he had studied at school and how he should get enough sleep as a kid. She was afraid not knowing what to say to him. Words failed her too as nothing in her mind could describe how she felt. She wanted to teach him how to be a man, but she didn’t know which lesson to start. She wanted to guide him, but she didn’t know where he should go. She is desperate to hold him and tell him how much she loves him.
Her struggles finally ended as she was calmly watching her beloved son who seemed to have grown another inch. A sigh of relief followed by a smile. It was a smile of contentment as her tears escaped into the wrinkles around her eyes.
The commotion she muffled from the inside seemed to cause a ripple in the soundless night. Lavine was woken. His body was frozen as he caught a glimpse of his mom’s presence through the half-opened blind of his eyes. He could smell the lavender flavor cleaner. He could feel the trembles from the side of the bed. He could hear the snivels around him. He wanted to talk to his mom but his body failed him. He wanted to explain. He wanted to explain what happened before he picked up the fork which matched the color of the lunch box she brought him. The event kept re-occurring in his mind as if there was no end to it as he was trying to find an explanation. The same character kept re-enacting the scene with the nonchalance. He wanted to ask her many things he was not sure about. He wanted to ask about her job. He wanted to ask about his father. But he afraid what he might find out. He wanted to tell her the exciting things he learned at school but she was always busy. He wanted to share his ambition about what he wanted to do when he grows up but he was afraid she might work even harder to support him.
As the sunlight penetrated into his room, he opened his eyes before the alarm clock went off. His body could move. However, he realized his mom had gone for work already. “Was it a dream last night?” he thought to himself.
He intuitively walked into the kitchen where he found a card on top of the special lunch box and it wrote:
My Dear Lavine,
Sorry to have brought the Lunch Box to you at your school yesterday. I did not mean to embarrass you. I know you have grown up a lot and wanted to be more independent. I know I have not been spending enough time with you because of my work. I didn’t even know you stopped loving carrot…maybe I don’t really know you that well, but I am sure you have your own ambition for the future. You are a big boy now! Whatever it is, I will support you.
I just happened to have time to make an extra lunch box last night when I came back from work. Please bring along with you to school if you want.
Love
Yukiana
Gentle steam came out as he opened the Special Lunch Box. The foods were still warm as if it was made minutes ago. He could see a mix of foods carefully selected based on his preference. He could not help but take a bite. Before he came back to his senses, he already finished half of the foods. Foods had never tasted so good to him. The sweetness was sweeter than anything he had ever tasted, along with a distinct taste of subtle bitterness.
He looked into the Special Lunch Box and uttered softly, “Thank you” before the word “Ambition” lingered in his head.