Mum has gone to
~ Laundry all clothes, and dry clean it
~ The twins should water the plants and flowers
~ tidy up living room and kitchen
~ Cook dinner or at least order pizza or Chinese food.
~ Iron all clothes
~ tidy your own room
~ ….
I don’t have guts to read further. This is overwhelming! I can’t even tidy up my own room! And she expects me to cook dinner, iron ALL clothes, etc etc etc. I think this whole week will be a complete disaster, not to mention making breakfast every morning which means I have to wake up earlier than usual. God!
Paste the paper carelessly on the fridge and take my coat then leave the house. The twins are playing in their friend’s house and Dad has gone to work. I take the first bus that takes me to Vi’s house and when I get inside the bus, it’s utterly full! Plus, I should stand near a flyer guy with a really nasty smell. Dang! I should’ve waited for the other bus.
“Could you please move a little? My leg seems to have stuck.” I say. my feet wiggles hopelessly between 2 chairs.
“Of course.” Says the flyer guy. And as he shifts a little, I catch a glimpse of familiar face. “Hey.” I greet the guy beside flyer guy, he stand with his back on me. Then he turns his back to face me with a struggle due to the crowded people in here.
“Hi!!” he greets me back. It’s the ice-cream guy. He tries to change position with the lyer guy and it almost makes the flyers drop and luckily it doesn’t. They cautiously balance their selves and finally they make it.
“Hey! Where are you going?” the ice cream guy asks.
“Oh, me? I’m going to Vi’s house. You?”
“I’m going to a supermarket, do some groceries. My mum is away.”
“Really? My mum too. She’ll be back in a week.” I say.
“Oh. My mum doesn’t.” he replies shortly. Then with a sudden movement, the bus stops and some people get off the bus and they left us 2 empty seats.
“So, where is your mum now?” I ask, shifting in my seat to get the best position with my new pink bag on my lap.
“She’s gone.” He answers lightly.
“Where?”
“I don’t know. Heaven?” he smiles as he says it. What the hell is wrong with him? Does he really mean it? “For real.” He adds as if he can read my mind.
“Wha….what do you mean? Heaven? Has your mum…” I pause, feeling uneasy to say the word
“Dead? Yes, she had been dead for 3 years now.” Says the ice-cream guy lightly. Then he smiles.
“Are you nuts?!” I automatically move back a little. I mean, is this guy sane? Coz I never seen anybody so happy talking about their dead mum!
“Wow, wow, wow! I’m not crazy, ok?”
“Then why did you smile?” I ask impatiently.
“Ok, the truth is….I never know where she is. As long as I can remember, Mrs. Reyes is the one who raised me. Even I don’t know whether my dad is my real dad or not.” He says.
What?
“So….” I gulp, trying to digest all the information. It’s overwhelming! He is raised by someone who is not his mother and he isn’t even sure does his dad is really his dad. “So….how could you stand it?” I blurt out my thought.
“Well, you’ll get used to it if you’re 18 years old and have lived with it your whole life. But really, Mrs. Reyes is the best woman I’ve ever met in my whole life and my dad, well, he isn’t the best guy, but he’s ok. He rarely stays at home so I only get very little time to know him.” He answers.
“Wow..” that’s the only word pops into my mind and I stupidly staring at him in pity and admiration.
And abruptly, the bus comes to a halt and as I look outside, I come to realization that it’s the road to Vi’s house. And so I stand up, “Well, I have to go. See you later.” I wave goodbye and he gently waves back with an angelic smile.
“Oh! Actually, there’s something I’d like to discuss with you. Shall I come to your store today, later?” I say as my mind recall the work for Ian.
“Sure. Anytime.” He says. And with that I leave the bus and walk to Vi’s house with my mind still trying to figure out the ice-cream guy’s life.
Hilda, the head of all staff in Vi’s
“Oh! Hi Mrs. Freyson!” I reply back.
“Vi is in her room.” She says.
“Ok.” And as she passes me by, I can still see that she wears lots of make ups on her face but still, perfume company owner’s wife always smells good.
As I walk the long aisle to Vi’s room, I can hear loud music from Vi’s room and when I open the door, Vi’s dancing and jumping on her bed with loud music of Good Charlotte blares from her audio player. I throw my bag on the floor and snap the volume button to turn it down. As the music disappears, she stops jumping.
“Oh! It’s you.” She turns to see me and she loses her balance. She falls on her bed, exhausted with her breath pacing up with her.
“What the hell happen to you?” I ask.
“Oh, exercising?” she shrugs.
“No you didn’t. Where’s Ruby?” I take my bag and sit myself on the side of the bed, where Vi is flooding with sweats, still in her pajamas and her face is all hot pink.
“I don’t know. Hilda took her, she said it’s her schedule to go to dog saloon.” She walks to her bathroom unsteadily and I can hear she opens the tap as the water runs.
“And…?” I ask even more. She walks out of the bathroom with towel dabbed on her face. “Let’s talk downstairs.” She says. And so we sit in her dining room as she enjoys her late breakfast with a pretty view of peaceful backyard.
“So… what had happened?” I ask, taking a bite of chocolate croissant.
“Oh, it’s a total mess. And my mum has left to see her lawyer and everything. This is terrible.” She says, gulping her milk.
“And?”
“And, well, Sean told me to listen to rock music and jump around the room. It’d soothe me a little. Well, it works!” she shrugs.
“Oh, right…” I say.
“Oh, yea, about that picture….” She starts.
“You don’t have to tell me I you don’t want to.” I immediately say.
“No, I have been willing to tell you since long but I never had the right time. ok so listen….” She leans forward to make sure nobody other than me, hears this.
“That guy in the picture isn’t my ex-bf or something like it. He’s my brother.” She whispers.
“What?!” I automatically say, Vi clasps my mouth straight away. “Shhh!”
“Brother? You mean, like, genetically?” I ask. My eyes bulge out in desperation of knowing more.
“Well…” she gulps, “..kinda.”
“And where is he now?”
“I don’t know! I never saw him! Never ever! When I was old enough to realize, he had gone. That is the only picture left and mum was trying to hide it. But Mr. Badge told me everything that I should’ve known and well, that’s all.”
“Whoa! Do you think he’s still in
“I….don’t know.”
“What’s his name then?” I ask incredulously.
“His name was Daniel Freyson. But since he has gone, there are lots of possibilities that he has changed his name or maybe the woman who took him changed it.” She says, “I’ve googled his name several times and I even went to every place that seems to have Daniel Freyson there but none if them even looks like me.” She finishes.
“You mean, you’ve tried to find him your self?” I ask doubtfully. I mean Vi has always been all careless and happy and free-spirited! There’s no way she gonna travel somewhere alone to search for someone she barely knows!
“Well, yes. But I took Sean along. It was last year when we’re still together and it was only twice.” She says.
“But you said, several times?”
“Yea! Two times is several times!” she insists.
Oh, right. Whatever.
“And so….why did you mum gave him to somebody else?” I know I’ve crossed the safe zone but I can’t help it. I gotta know the answer! Who knows the Freysons got tons of secrets behind the rich and happy family?
“I don’t know. Mr. Badge said it’s because my dad doesn’t want him. An old staff at
“Maybe it’s true that my mum had sex with a stranger, that would be fun isn’t it? To have sex with other guy because it’d be the last time you would ever had sex with different partner other than your husband!” she exclaims.
Oh, well. The crazy-normal Vi has back. Glad to have her as the normal one, not the all-serious-full-of-mystery kind of Vi.
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