Runaway Mother chapter 10 part 1

On Tuesday night I got a phone call from Bob’s Deli. ‘Oh shit,’ I said under my breath, ‘fired before I even begin!’ I took a deep breath and took the call.

‘Hello, Miss Fischer?’

‘Mary, please.’

‘Hi its Bob here, I have a favour to ask you!’

My posture changed, I sat up straighter and wondered what the favour was!

‘I know we said for you to start on Sunday?’

‘Yes sir,’ I answered and rolled my eyes.

‘Could you start on Thursday instead?’ Bob asked sounding jittery.

‘Of course sir, it would be an honour!’

‘Right so, see you on Thursday at four!’

Before I had the chance to thank him, he hung up! I turn to Zach who is sprawled out on the couch watching basketball when he could be like me and putting some effort into his school work. I should be doing this at the kitchen table but we’re trying to preserve energy to keep the bill down so we’re only put the radiators on in the living room and Ethans room at the minute. I hope it works because I’m slouched over writing my flashcards, my back aching.

‘Who was that?’ Zach asks nonchalantly.

‘My boss,’ I say as I’m trying to keep Zach cool and quiet. ‘He asked me to start on Thursday and not Sunday as originally planned.’

‘What!’ Zach erupts. ‘What about basketball?’

‘Well, I’m afraid I’m taking a leaf out of your book and putting myself first for once!’

He looks at me dumbfounded. I can see his lips move, but no words come out.

‘You’re going to have to break the news to coach Hux tomorrow!’

‘I…but….it…!’

I decide that that is my cue to leave and pick up my school material and head to the ice box that is my room. As I have to now learn the information on the flashcards I made, I decide to do it in bed where its warm!’

 

The next day, Zach being the big man he is, doesn’t come home. I look at Ethan at dinner time and ask him what he wants.

‘Can we have the pasta mom made with the little hot dogs cut up into it?’ he asks. I’m surprised at that answer, I was expecting him to say pizza.’

I look at him wide eyed after never cooking anything but noodles, but how hard can it be? I google the recipe and it doesn’t look as complicated as I’d envisioned. I go to the press and see that we have the pasta and the tomato sauce. The fridge, while almost bare again, has the hot dogs.

From start to finish it takes me twenty minutes to put the meal in front of the little man. As we eat, we laugh and giggle and to my surprise, he eats every morsel, including some off my plate.

I look at him and smile at the state of him afterwards. There’s no two ways about it…he needs a bath! I take his shirt off downstairs and remove all the stray pasta from it before putting it in the hamper.

I have Ethan washed and in bed by seven thirty. As I close his bedroom door, I smile at him and ducky and want so badly for Zach to see what he’s missing out on!

After cleaning the kitchen, which looked like a bomb had hit it, I have all night to study and feel content in my decision to go to work tomorrow. I just hope Zach isn’t late picking the little man up from preschool. Miss Megan would love to have another thing to ring ‘mom’ about.

When my eyes begin to get itchy, I decide to call it a night and go to bed, with still no word from Zach!

 

‘Beep, beep, beep, beep…’ I take my hand out of the covers and hit the alarm on the third attempt. I look at it slowly and see that its 6:30.

‘Time to wake up Ethan!’ I say to myself as an incentive to leave my nice warm duvet. I throw my dressing gown on and check to see if Zach came home at all. I’m pleasantly surprised that he did so I throw a shoe at him because I’m still pissed he came home so late. I hear him grunt when it hits him. ‘Get up, its 6:30!’ I say in a higher tone than usual.

As the morning evolutions take place, I can’t believe that today is the day…my first day at work.

I took the time last night to write down Ethan’s routine and stuck it to the fridge. I just hope he does the homework with him and shows some patients!

Zach doesn’t say a word to me all morning, still moping about that he has to miss his blessed basketball for once! We leave together to get to school, but go in different directions since he has to drop Ethan off at preschool first.

 

Since Anna’s verbal attack, or what felt like one, I have been spending lunch time in the library instead of hearing the girls bitch and moan over trivial things like what someone is wearing. Its petty bullshit in my mind in relation to what I’m going through. It kills me that I can’t tell them! They are my best friends, but they have some of the biggest mouths in the school! I just know that if I do divulge into the facts about my home situation, that social services will knock at the door when we least expect it and split us up. That’s my biggest fear, getting split up. I know Zach can be a jackass sometimes, but I still would never forgive myself if it meant I couldn’t see him every day…no matter what mood he’s in!

In my last class of the day, English, Mr Patel hands back all of the Romeo and Juliet assignments that I handed it in on Tuesday, but I was pleasantly surprised to have received and ‘A’. He wrote ‘well done!’ in red sharpie. I smile to myself after receiving the grade I had been aiming for and it gives me more confidence academically than I’ve had since mom left.

I can’t help but keep my eye on the clock. The closer that minute hand comes to twelve, the more butterflies gather. Just as the bell rings, Mr Patel informs us that there will be a test on the play next week. He managed to say it before the commotion of twenty teenagers getting ready to go home or hang out with their friends…or start work, in my case!

I quickly put on my coat and throw the backpack over my shoulders. As I reach the door, Mr Patel calls me back. He congratulates me on the grade and wonders why the assignment was late. I look at my watch as I bounce on the balls of my feet. ‘Ok,’ I say to myself, ‘time to come clean!’

‘I’m so sorry sir,’ I begin, ‘but I had the stomach flu all weekend and was watching my little brother who had it too and…well…I forgot about it!’ I wince ready for him to erupt.

‘Just don’t make a habit of it, ok?’ he says with a stern look on his face.

‘Yes sir, thank you sir!’ I answer.

‘Now, go and enjoy your evening!’ he says with encouragement, excusing me from his classroom.

‘Phew!’ I think to myself and dramatically wipe my brow. ‘You got lucky there girl!’

 

As I walk out of the school gates, I turn left instead of right. I pass the bus stop before realising that I’m going the wrong way! I automatically went in the direction of Ethan’s preschool. As I double back, I hope that Zach pulls it together today and does me proud. After all, he hasn’t let me down yet…well, when I think about it, all he’s done is let me down time and time again since mom left. I just hope they’ll be all in one piece when I get back tonight.

The deli isn’t far from school. I look at my watch as I stand outside the establishment and realise, I’m thirty minutes early. I look in my change purse and find two dollars and fifty cents…exactly what a Nutella donut costs and see it as a sign to take these next thirty minutes to gather my thoughts. As I sit, the sumptuous delight in front of me, my mind immediately wanders to Ethan. I remember when we came here the day I was handing out my resume. I smile as I can see, in my minds eye, him sitting opposite me, covered in chocolate!

‘Please don’t think I’m abandoning you!’ I say under my breath. I begin to nod as I chew, reassuring myself that this is something I’m doing for me and how I’m allowed take time to myself as well, something Zach has no problem doing!

As I finish my donut, my watch dings. I set it to remind me when its 3:50 and I had 10 minutes left until work. I rush into the bathroom to wash the residual chocolate off my hands and relieve myself as I don’t know what the break situation would be when I’m only working four hours.

When I take the paper towels out of the dispenser to dry my hands, I look in the mirror. A kaleidoscope of butterflies run through my veins. I nod to myself, ‘you can do this!’ I say out loud, thinking I was alone in there. When I hear the other toilet flush, I turn around blushing. ‘You go girl!’ the stranger says giving me the encouragement I needed to make my way to the deli.