"Sounds nice,"
I said, checking out the picture he showed me while moving my jaw side-to-side made a crunchy sound. I also fed him every time he opened his mouth until there wouldn't be left space inside.
That's why he finds it hard to speak every time. He can't argue with me I'm feeding him.
While we are working in the middle of the night, finding some great apartments for them. He plans that it should be near our school and affordable for his small income. So he reads every description of the house every time he comes across it and asks me for a review about it. As if I was the one he was looking for a place to live, and my opinion was what he was asking for instead of his mother.
" Your duty is scheduled for tomorrow already?"
He nodded. My head moved up and down, and then I flipped my body facing the ceiling and placed the bag of chips above my chest. It took him an eternity searching, so I kept myself busy with my phone.
" Sam is on vacation,"
" Who's Sam?" he asked while also busy scrolling on his laptop.
" Sam, Samantha Sandoval? Our classmate since gr.7?"
" Oh,"
We came back on our devices, both scrolling down not until I met an expected notification.
"Opp!"
My half body rose from the couch when I received the notification from our school. I slapped his back over again because I couldn't open my mouth due to it being full.
" What?... What?" he panics.
" It's here!" I muttered.
I lied down and watched him open his account, and use it with him. I kept shaking his shoulders while waiting with him because his laptop was too slow in loading.
" Stop! Sue! Not me!"
We arrived at the website given on our school page. Our heads turned to each other his face was like he was just waiting for my 'go' signal.
So, we start giving each other a signal together with our fingers. We counted down using our fingers and opened it one by one until it reached three. It was as if the drum roll was missing in the silence that enveloped us. It felt like I'm going to watch who was going to win the lottery, and I scrolled and scroll until I saw our names jotted down.
" I passed!" I exclaimed, raising my hand as if I were in recitation.
I go with him to look out for his name," I passed," he said, pointing out his name on the screen.
" Told you!"
It's like I became a wild beast on the couch. I almost lost myself in of outburst of emotions as he pulled me back to sit.
" Sue, keep your noises down!" he whispered.
" I barely make a sound! Come on! We passed, okay?!"
" Okay, settle down!"
I'm over the moon because our beginning has begun. I'm so excited for us. For our future, I only behaved when I couldn't catch my breath anymore.
Suddenly, we looked on the stairs when we heard a shut of the door in one of the rooms upstairs.
He waved his pointing finger at me while we were waiting for who we woke up. Almost none of us made a single move. We stayed still, so we could hear at least some footsteps coming because we only depended on the lights outside our house.
Until a car passed by and its light transmitted through the window no one is coming down, I thought of moving again.
" Mom closed the door," I said, breaking the silence.
" How did you know?"
" I think I left the door open. Maybe she shut it,"
" Sue! Why-" he sounded frustrated, but he chose to keep it between his voice and sigh.
" Sorry! I thought I left it closed,"
He came back down to the floor with the laptop on his thighs without listening to a word from me. I tried explaining to him, but he's just so frustrated with me.
" I wasn't sure, okay? I'm sorry,"
I followed him around and kept apologizing until he talked to me again. I looked like a child wanting for a attention from her Dad, but he won't turn his attention to me. Later on, he turns the screen on me, showing a picture of an apartment he found.
" Talk to me first... Look at me, Peter Pan,"
" I'm talking to you. Take a look at this,"
" You know, you should go check it out personally, maybe it's a scam,"
" WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" I HEARD him asking from behind.
I dropped the box on the floor, letting out a hard blow from my mouth and nose as I held my waist, " Charity," I said in a consumed tone.
Exhaustion's pushing me to keep in bed. I swear I'll throw myself in bed after finishing sorting out this box. The entire morning this is almost what I did. It seemed I bothered the neighbor by the unpleasant banging noise every time the box slid from my hands.
I annually do donations or every time I hear news about it from our community. And luckily, this year, I got a few--I mean a lot, from my closet and Mom's, and a few toys found above Mom's cabinet. I didn't know I had something piled up in the corner: that's why I had nothing donated last year.
I split my legs one foot away and bend down a little, positioning myself to carry the box on both sides again, " Do you wanna help?" I asked before lifting the box.
He walked toward me and was ready to help lift the box.
" No, do you have anything to give out in charity? Old clothes?"
" Oh, yeah, wait..."
He turns his back from me, going back to their room. But I noticed how his ears turned into a tomato. Is he freezing or what?
I rest in the living room while waiting for him from upstairs. I prefer him to take his time because I prefer to have a rest. But my prayer didn't sound to be heard, and I could see his feet coming down the stairs.
In his two hands, he sat a box that looked like a box of a laptop or iPad.
" Where is it?" he's also catching his breathe when he reached the last step.
I pull myself together to have the strength again to use my legs. I carried again the box out and followed me from beside.
" It's heavy you should carry mine,"
" No... I still can," I said, moving the box swiftly through space.
I stopped when he placed what he was carrying on top of what I carried. But before I could scold him because I thought he's demanding me to carry his, he snatched the big box I was carrying.
" Archer, it's heavy!"
" Yeah," he said while adjusting the load on his arms, " What are you donating? Appliances?" he complained.
" If you'll just complain, give it back,"
I tried to get back to my arms, but he swayed them away from me, " I can manage,"
I didn't hesitate to stop arguing I won't win with him either. But that's alright at the same time. After all, I've been tired of my idea for a while. Fortunately, I have a good friend who could do the work for me.
I think he left me a sign to take a peek inside the box since the lid is hanging open. He didn't bother to close it well.
" What are you donating here?" I asked while uplifting the lid of the box.
" Clothes,"
One by one lifted it inside and didn't want to check it thoroughly in the middle of the road. Until, I spot a pink cloth. The heck? Since when does he like pink shirts? I couldn't help anymore and pulled out the pink cloth I saw inside. And to confirm it's not a shirt, it's a handkerchief! It's somehow familiar to me, and this is not from him.
" Sue," his voice seemed shocked.
" Hmm? Is this yours? From whom?"
" Maybe it's Mom's and I put it there accidentally," he said, placing the handkerchief in his pocket after snatching it from my hand.
I just nodded at him, and we continued walking until we got to the house to give these donation boxes. The elderly-looking woman because of the crease I noticed all over her body, thanked us when we handed her our box. And we went home after without any minute waste.
Besides, I have work to do, just one house apart from the house. Every Tuesday or Friday, I help her with her garden. She also has the corresponding description I thought of the woman a while ago, except she's with her silvery straw-like hair, and she's already assisted with a staff. But she's nice like Auntie Tricia, delightful.
I let Peter leave me in front of her house and watch him first make a turn left before entering the house.
I stuck my head inside when I saw the door leave a small gap. Thanks to the blazing midday sun shining relentlessly on the windows, I could see a thing... barely. The sun hasn't even melted in the sky, but her house is already nighttime.
As I walk deeper anytime I could skip a step if you're not careful.
" Mrs. Reyes?" I called her while I tapped the wall I could feel to find a switch, "Mrs. Reyes?"
Lights started to fill the whole house startled my entire soul.
" Susan!" she greeted with her grating voice.
She's standing under the arc entrance of her kitchen with a plate of cookies in her hand. I moved toward her since she isn't capable enough to move like a teenager anymore.
" Why do all the lights are close, Mama?"
" Susan, I was using the kitchen. I don't need lights here. Anyways, I baked our favorite cookies!" she sounded delighted
" That looks yummy, Mama. Let's go to the backyard? I could hang out with you the whole afternoon."
" Really? That's great! "
She looks filled with excitement as she grabbed my arms and locked them into hers. Mama has children of her own: but her children have their own families already. They moved out, but they often visit their Mom.
I remember it so well when I saw her rocking the chair alone because she also taught me how to bake cookies that day. She was enjoying the cookies all alone while her eyes are staring at the sky.
I thought of accompanying her that day, and as time goes by we became close, and once or possibly twice I came by her house. Help her around the house chores, especially in her backyard. She loves to keep her garden fresh and lively.
" I was just busy weeks ago, Mama, that's why I hadn't come by," I explained while holding a snake-length cylindrical hose pointing at her pots.
" Mama, you have a new plant coming," I said when I checked her pot of plants, as I sprinkled them with water from the hose.
Mama's still organizing with her plant. Most of her plants are leaning back the fence. The plant that has the almost height of me is placed on both sides, standing like a guard, while the other ones are in the middle of it in the same row.
" I just planted it last month. Is it growing already?" she said while I heard a clash of glasses on the table.
" Yes, Mama. I can see a sprout," I pointed out, holding my hair behind my ear.
" I can't wait to see it grow, and I'll give you, "
I placed the hose back in its rack and then turned the faucet clockwise before running down to Mama's table.
" It should be full... of the basket," I draw in the air.
" Like the size of that pot?"
I followed where her spoon pointed, and it was on the cactus. The pot is enough size for my palm.
" Mama! It's not enough, it should be like this, " I point to her the plant parlor palm.
" That's plenty. Let's see, "
" By the way, Mama, you're baking is the best. You know Peter, my best friend? " she nodded," I baked him a cake for his birthday weeks ago using the recipe you gave me, and they loved it,"
" I told you. You should bake some for me someday,"
" I'll try tomorrow, Mama."
" You can't tomorrow, Susan. My daughter and I will go out tomorrow. How about the next day of that?"
" I'm free this summer, Mama. No worries,"
Sometimes I tell her about Peter, almost everything about him, and what he tells I also tell Mama. Sometimes he's in the center of our conversation. They never get the chance to meet, but for sure Pete will adore her the way I do.