Runaway Mother chapter 11

Once I have Ethan down, I retreat to the warmth of the living room. I take out the play Romeo and Juliet and begin to make flash cards trying to memorise quotes for my test on Monday. I knew I’d get no time as I am working tomorrow so I put my feelings towards Zach aside and focus on my studies.

I am disgusted when Zach arrives in the door at 8:45 after leaving me with Ethan all day. I’m ready to lay into him when he asks me if we could talk. Fear envelopes me as to what he wants to talk about. I have a feeling in the pit of my stomach that he was going to tell me we can’t do this anymore and want to call social services.

I place my book and flashcards onto the floor and smile at him when he hands me a can of Fanta. We sit in silence for a minute. His lips move every few seconds until eventually he begins to converse.

‘Let me start off by apologising for running out like that on Thursday night! It was so not a cool thing to do!’

I nod in agreement.

‘It’s just…. well… I had to free my mind because he just moaned and whined the whole afternoon from the second I picked him up!’

‘You just need to learn how to talk to him!’ I offer.

‘Trust me, I tried!’

‘No, you have to put yourself in the world of a four-year-old and try to think how he thinks, only then will you be able to talk to him properly! Sometimes, he just can’t use his words to tell you how he’s feeling and has a meltdown because he’s frustrated!’

Zach nods and has a surprised look on his face. ‘I never thought about it like that before!’ he admits. ‘I’m trying to communicate better myself! Basketball clears my mind and puts me in a trance where there is nothing going on in the background, its just me and the ball!’

‘I can understand that!’ I say, ‘have you ever thought of teaching Ethan how to play?’

‘Honestly Mare, I just want to keep the two things separate! I want it to be just for me, you know?’

‘I appreciate your honesty!’

‘I plan on cooling the jets when I get that scholarship though!’ he says and rubs his forehead with his thumb and index finger. ‘I’m going to try and adopt Ethan when I turn eighteen in a few months!’

I immediately sit up in the couch, ‘You are?’ I say with surprise.

‘Yea,’ he nods and closes his eyes tightly. ‘I’ve been thinking that if mom isn’t back by then, assuming social services doesn’t split us up in the meantime, that the most important thing is for us to stay together! I think adopting Ethan is a step that is essential for us to not live in fear of answering the door!’

Tears begin to form in my eyes and I cross the battered-up couch and hug my big brother tightly. My body begins to convulse with tears of happiness.

Zach rubs my back. ‘One thing we need to talk about Mare is his clothes!’

My tears quickly turn to laughter and I lift my head off of Zach shoulder, and look into his kind eyes. He has moms eyes, as does Ethan.

I sit back on my side of the couch and rub the tears away with the sleeve of my top.

‘He’s shooting up like a weed!’ I giggle, to which Zach nods.

We take our Fanta and hold the cans up until they touch and then open them. I recount the story of the day I gave Ethan Fanta and the way his belch rattled the foundations of the house. Zach can’t help but almost choke on his drink as he’s trying not to laugh. I take a long hard pull at my own drink and feel the bubbles in my mouth, down my throat and enter my stomach.

The laughter subsides naturally, we sit in silence for a second as I take in the revelations of the night. Zach has put my mind at ease a touch, but its another four months until he is eighteen. A lot can happen in four months.

‘In all seriousness Mare, the little guy needs new clothes!’

‘I agree completely! His favourite spiderman pyjamas almost look like spandex!’

‘Do you have the computer?’ he asks.

‘No but I’ll go get it!’

As I enter the kitchen I immediately begin to shiver. I grab the computer and when I realise its plugged in, I reach over the phone towards the socket. The phone moves towards the edge of the island, but I manage to catch it before it falls. As I’m putting it back in place, I notice the matchbook with The Mint Leaf emblazoned on it. I pick it up and rub my finger over the letters. It gets me thinking! I put it in my pocket because first and foremost however, is clothes for Ethan!

I bring the computer into the living room, a waft of heat hitting me when I open the door. Zach takes it from me and plugs it in and goes onto eBay. Little did I know that you could actually buy almost a whole closet of clothes for under $40 including delivery. I was shocked.

‘One of my buddy’s older brothers swears by eBay. Apparently, people just want the clothes gone!’

We look through different bundles together, some of which Zach had been watching and I smile to myself when we find a bundle of clothes, age 5 – 6, with dinosaurs and superhero tops in it.

‘That one!’ I say and get excited at the fact that we are doing this together.

‘That’s the exact one I picked too!’ Zach looks at me and smiles. Its been a long time coming but I hope he starts to smile like that more often.

We buy the clothes on Ethans card and I check the balance on mine…$156!

My mind wanders as the matchbook that is burning a hole in my pocket and I know exactly what I’m going to do tomorrow. I’m going to bite the bullet and go to The Mint Leaf after work!

‘Mare!’

‘What?’ I say and orientate myself back to the room.

‘What did you do today?’

Instead of telling Zach, I grabbed him by the arm and show him. We entered the ice box of a kitchen, and I point to the large piece of paper with seven boxes drawn onto it.

‘Ta da….’ I say. ‘Do you like it?’

Zach’s lips are moving again but he’s just making noises. He stands with his feet shoulder width apart, and folds his arms.

‘Is it the days of the week?’ he asks with uncertainty.

‘Why yes squire!’ I say in an English accent.

Zach looks at me like I have two heads.

‘I’ve a test on Romeo and Juliet!’ I explain.

‘That the one they both drank poison, right?’

I lightly punch his arm. ‘And you thought English taught you nothing!’

‘So what’s happening here…why the stars on some days and not others?’

‘You know the other night when Ethan thought I wasn’t coming home?’

‘Undeniably!’

‘Well I came up with this idea. He can move this special magnet onto the day of the week after breakfast with ducky, and that way he knows that I’m going to be at work but that I’ll be back the next day!’

Zach looks at it and nods. ‘So basically what your saying is to make sure he moves the magnet every morning onto the right day!’

I click my fingers and shout, ‘halleluiah!’

‘Does he understand it?’

‘We spent the whole day at it so if he doesn’t then there must be something wrong with him!’

Zach giggles. ‘Can I ask you a question Mare?’

‘Shoot!’

‘How did you get so good at parenting? I mean, you had the worst role model and here you are, at age sixteen, and you’re basically raising a four-year-old all on your own!’

‘Not anymore!’ I smile up at him, ‘tomorrow I get to go to work and gaze at the beauty of Chad!’

‘Wha…who…whe…’

I don’t let his mumblings effect my buzz so I turn on my heel, my index finger to my nose, and go to bed.

 

 

As I’m not needed in work until 8:30 and its literally ten minutes away, I decide to set the alarm for 7:30 giving me a whole hour extra in bed. I’m hoping it will aid my efficiency at the deli. I watched video after video on YouTube about the ways the different cups of coffee were made and I think I have the theory down, all I need now is the opportunity to practice.

When I’m approaching the diner, I look at my watch which tells me its 8:20. I consider hanging out for the ten minutes but I can see the line of customers out the door and down the street. Yes, I’m new at this, but I’d hate for anyone to see that I’m not a tryer. I enter the deli and power through the queue of people to the breakroom. As fast as possible I remove my jacket and put my things in my locker, grabbing a fresh apron out of the cupboard under the microwave.

I rush out to the floor of the deli, trying to see if I can see either Chad or Bob to tell them I’m here, but don’t see either. I take a deep breath and go behind the counter to ask the cashier what needs me to do.

‘You know how to tame Betsy? He asks.

‘Oh yea, me and Betsy are fast friends!’

‘Ok, so I’m going to shout the orders out to you and all you have to do is fill them…ok?’

‘Go,’ I dare him and do my best to get the right order to the right people.

Thankfully, what Chad said the other day that all I need to do is practice, is paying off finally.

After two and a half hours of talking to Betsy, I’m told I’m due for a fifteen-minute break!

I make sure to place the steam wand in a safe position and enter the break room. Laying on the couch I find none other than Mr Dreamboat himself.

‘Hi Chad!’ I say and he moans in response.

‘You ok?’ I ask him with a furrowed brow.

‘Yea, I just need some aspirin…’ he looks up at me, ‘…too much to drink last night!’ he confesses.

I sit on one of the chairs at the table and take off my shoes. I scrunch my feet on the threadbare rug, sit up straight, using my core to hold me, and breathe for a couple of minutes.

‘What are you doing?’ Chad asks with intrigue.

‘Meditating!’ I answer, continuing to regulate my breath.

‘It work?’ Chad asks.

‘Every time!’ I answer and end up spending the rest of my break teaching him how to do it.

 

Chad ended up going home leaving us a man down. I have two options, I say to myself, either concede or fight…and boy did I fight to achieve the same level of excellence in every coffee!

I hadn’t been shown the deli end of the establishment, or the till, but what I did know was coffee and said to myself, ‘the rest will come!’

When you’re making hundreds of coffees for ten hours straight, naturally you’d be wiped. Bob, the owner had to actually tap me out as Betsy and I were working so well together!

I look at my watch. It’s 8:50.

I make my way into the break room where Bob’s office door is open.

‘Good work out there today Mary!’ he says with a grin on his face from the comfort of his lavish office chair. ‘Thank you for coming in early and going home late! Were like a game of blocks, when you take one of the foundation pieces out, the rest of the wall falls apart. You were the glue that kept that wall upright today Mary, and it will be reflected in your pay!’

‘Thank you, sir!’ I smile. Its nice to have a leader who treats his workers like people and not dollar signs!

‘Please,’ he says, ‘call me Bob!’ he closes out the door to his office where he seems to spend most of his day!

 

With that matchbook still burning a hole in my pocket, I google it to find the address. I had already told Zach I’d be home late because we were swamped, but really, I was biting the bullet and making my way to The Mint Leaf. That guy ‘Shadow’ was adamant that mom spent most of her day there with him and all of the gang.

In the cab on the way there, I get goosebumps and the hair on my arms start to stand up. I’ve had enough of this bull crap. We are kids ourselves and you shouldn’t have to raise a four-year-old on our own! I want some answers and to find my so called ‘mother’! I truly believe that The Mint Leaf is the obvious place to look first!

With my fear under control as there’s nothing worse she could do to us besides leaving, the taxi pulls up to a shady establishment. I take a deep breath before I exit the vehicle and steady myself before closing the door. As the taxi drives away I stand in front of the infamous Mint Leaf and can’t bring myself to go in.

‘Mary?’ I hear a voice to my right. Its Shadow!

‘Hi…’ no other words would come out.

I can see that his closet attire hasn’t changed. He is still wearing the handmade poncho and has moon shapes on his trousers today. His big toe on his right tan Ugg boot looks as though it will come through the fabric if he moved suddenly. His glasses, while still on the string, are hanging around his neck instead of sitting on top of the greasy unkept hair.

He moves closer to me and takes a final drag of his cigarette.

‘These things are going to be the death of me!’ he says and flicks the butt onto the road as if it were a tiddly wink. ‘Are you coming in?’ he asks, ‘the guys are eager to meet you!’

I shake my head no, but my legs don’t carry me anywhere…. I feel like I’m stuck to the spot!

Its obvious that I’m not ok, so when Shadow encourages me to enter I find myself being led towards a red leather booth.

‘Look who I found at the curb guys!’ Shadow announces, ‘Caro’s Mary!’

Four faces turn and smile. I begin to drink in the place. I notice its not a coffee shop as I was led to believe, but a bar that serves coffee. Its deceptively big! I notice how dark and dingy it is and become uncomfortable. There are about a dozen booths like this one, as well as tables with rickety old wooden chairs. There is a small stage situated between the bar and the bathroom and it has a microphone ready for anyone to use.

My attention is snapped back as Shadow introduces the faces in front of me.

‘This is Sienna, Blaze, Connie and Thumper!’

I shake each of their hands in turn, careful not to spill their drinks, and slide into the booth beside Thumper.

Shadow offers to buy me a drink.

‘I’ll have a water please!’

‘One water coming up!’ he says beaming down at me. ‘Anyone ready for another?’ he asks the others.

Its Thumper who speaks up and informs Shadow that they are already on their way!’

Shadow bellows towards the bar tender, ‘we’ll have a water as well mike!’ he says pointing towards me and once he gets the thumbs up, slides into the booth beside Sienna.

‘Who’d have thought I’d find Caro’s daughter outside The Mint Leaf!’ Shadow beams.

I look at all the other faces staring back at me and get goosebumps when Blaze adds, ‘and in Caro’s seat too!’

After the drinks, which I am pleasantly surprised are all coffee’s, arrive at the table I fish in my pants for my coin purse. Thumper puts a hand on mine, ‘you’re not going to insult us by taking out some money now, are you?’

My hand slowly moves towards the water instead, which ironically has a mint leaf added to it. I take a sip and am pleasantly surprised at the taste.

‘You look so much like your mother!’ Connie tells me. She is soft spoken and that brings me to the topic in question.

‘What was my mother like?’ I ask, after all she had a life outside the family which I never even knew about.

‘Caro?’ Connie starts, ‘she is a kind soul who wouldn’t hurt a fly!’

My eyes widen!

Connie can see she hit a nerve and clears her throat. Just as she’s about to speak again, Blaze interjects.

‘Your mother was a fabulous poet!’ he see’s me sit up straight with intrigue, ‘she would get up at the mic and read poems that make grown men cry!’

‘That’s describing her exactly!’ Connie adds.

‘I never knew my mother to had a creative bone in her body!’ I take another sup of water feeling uncomfortable.

‘Did you know she could read palms?’ Sienna asks.

I shake my head.

‘People came far and wide for her to read their palms in the back room!’

It was obvious that the woman who raised me had a double life, and like Zach and basketball, didn’t want to share it with the rest of the family.

‘Why did she leave us?’ I ask. ‘Do any of you know where she is?’

‘She left us too!’ Blaze informs me.

‘Well I doubt that has the same impact on you as it does us!’ I say with my back up.

The booth falls silent, the ‘friends’ of my mother’s faces turn sombre.

‘I know its not the same sweety,’ Connie says and reaches over the table to rub my hand.

I pull my hand quickly away and thank the group for the drink, as I get up from the booth.

‘Please stay!’ Shadow pleads.

‘I have a four-year-old at home who needs me!’ I snap and run out of the place.

As I try to hail a taxi, Shadow joins me at the curb. He whistles and puts his hand out further than I would have ever reached gaining more success than I would have on my own.

‘Please come back soon!’ he says as I jump into the vehicle, give the driver my address and leave that madness behind me.

What was I thinking going there in the first place? All it did was create new obstacles in my brain. How was I to know she wrote poetry or read palms?

 

When the taxi arrives outside the house, I tap my card to pay the fare. I can hear something through the front door, but it isn’t tears, its laughter. I turn the key and Ethan runs into my arms, I notice he has a pair of underwear on his head. I give him a big hug and drop my bag in the hall when Zach appears, also with underwear on his head.

I laugh and point.

‘You did say I needed to get into the head of a four-year-old!’ Zach laughs back and shrugs his shoulders.

‘I did,’ I nod, ‘that I did!’