Sony was bewildered. Birthdays are for children. He was not a child. He wondered where his mother got all these embarrassing pranks that she spanned one after the other. And each hit him harder than the previous. He wondered if his father was still alive; that he hated him all his life, this thought never crossed his mind. His mother put a wedge between them.
When Sony's parents eventually separated, whatever little that could be salvaged was thrown into the graveyard called 'bury and forget for good'. He now wished there was a brother or a sister; somebody or just anybody who could see him as he is; a person from whom he could learn how to be bad. Normal behavior was driving him up the wall. He wanted to be bad, awful, loathsome, and rude. Nobody gets recognition by their peers for being good.
When Jose brought up the issue of career, Sony felt tired. He had heard about counseling and guidance for careers, career path, career development, career that, career this… and now none of this made sense to him. He wondered why adults put so many hurdles in the path of the youth and prayed for a career that did not encumber him with all these mambo jumbos.
Presently he arrived at the Post Office. He did what he had been sent to do and by 4:00 pm Sony was home-bound.
When he reached home, there was no one in the house, but the door was open. He entered and helped himself to a glass of orange juice before heading to his room where he stayed for the rest of the evening.
Ready or not, Winter's hour of reckoning was nearing. She had wished, prayed, and hoped for a peaceful transition from 'married and miserable' to 'separated but satisfied.' Things had worked as per plan until now. Her son, her very own son; the fruit of her womb had declared rebellion against her tender loving arms. The unanswered question was why were the men in her life so unloving and insensitive? Then thought of visiting her newfound friend Ellaisaire whom she thought was doing well.
Winter found Ellaisaire on her favorite couch. She had been here before, and in a space of 3 hours, she was back. To her mind, her first visit was just as important as her second visit. She had interests to protect. If she didn't, nobody would. Ellaisaire wasn't expecting anyone much less Winter, but now that she was here, a little courtesy won't hurt so the two ladies settled down. After the usual greetings issue to do with marriage and family life were brought forward.
Winter said, "My hands are full."
"Filled with what?" asked Ellaisaire.
"I have a son called Sony. Sony has changed all of a sudden and my house is inhabitable" she added, "If I handed Sony over to you, you would know what it feels like. You should thank God for the favor He has shown you."
Ellaisaire asked, "Are you sure you are not creating a storm in a teacup?"
Winter answered, "You can say that a million times. I wonder if there was anything I never did for this child."
Ellaisaire suggested, "Maybe he is asking you to give him space."
Winter retorted, "Space! What space? From the kitchen to the washroom to the sitting room what space does he need besides this?"
Ellaisaire, with a genuine heart to help, said, "Our youth pastor could help. Would you mind having him come to our church on Sunday?"
Winter gave some thought to this for a while and finally said, "Well, we might give it a try."
Jose walked in, laden with groceries.
As he entered, Ellaisaire was saying, "In my right hand is a 'dear John' letter and in my left a 'show cause why' letter; this is how busy I could get."
Winter said, "Why don't you just reply by e-mail to all these letters. And who is this man, John?"
Ellaisaire looked at her friend, waiting to be told about John.
When Jose paused to greet the ladies, Ellaisaire shifted her attention from her to him and said, "Do you need a second pair of hands?"
Of which Jose answered, "Yes, I do". "Why are you home early? Is there a problem?"
She answered, "There could be a problem. But let's do first things first."
"Okay, my dear," said Jose, "I can see Winter here" turning to Winter said, "Have you had any refreshments you two? I have mango juice, passion fruit, orange juice, and even yogurt."
The two ladies marveled. Ellaisaire relieved her husband of his shopping; she now took charge as her husband went for a shower. When he came back to the sitting room, the two ladies were sipping at their favorite drinks. He sat with them.
Jose wished to know if Sony had returned from Winter and asked her to tell him to see him."
Jose soon found out that it was not easy to initiate and carry on a conversation. He excused himself saying he needed some fresh air and stepped out into the balcony where he reclined on a chair made for that purpose.
The setting sun gave way to a dark starry sky.
Ellaisaire bid farewell to her next-door neighbor then joined her husband on the balcony.
C