A great atmosphere appeared this morning. Birds twittered prettily outside the house. Even, the sound of my phone alarm was defeated. The original chirp encouraged me.
As usual, I woke up and turned off the alarm. I approached Ryu and wakened him. I had the first turn to take a shower and rushed downstairs after finishing tidying up.
Another weird faced me today. Uncle Steven was in the kitchen. He stood beside Amanda who was preparing breakfast. My appearance distracted them.
"Morning, Richard!" Amanda greeted.
"Morning, boy!" Uncle Steven followed.
I greeted them back and came near to them. Amanda was making omelets. Uncle Steven was stirring some water in a teapot. More indeed, he was making tea. It was surprising. As I recalled, he didn't drink tea. It looked like he was brewing that for the others.
"It's unusual," I talked to him.
"I know," he said.
"Do you make it for yourself?" I asked to ensure.
"Yes, of course."
"Seriously? You don't drink tea."
"Who says that?"
Uncle Steven poured the tea into a small cup. He added a teaspoon of sugar and stirred it slowly.
"Do you want some?" he offered.
"No, thanks," I said.
He finished stirring and drank it without delay. His face changed in a straight line after the tea touched his lips.
He screamed, "It's hot!"
Uncle Steven put the cup on the table. He wagged his right palm in front of his mouth while blowing some air. His lips turned a little red.
I chuckled, "You should be careful."
He stopped and gave me a smirk. He left Amanda and me. He walked to a washing machine, picked up all clothes from the basket, and started laundry. He was stranger than yesterday morning.
"Is he helping you with the laundry?" I asked Amanda.
"Yeah," she said. "It's very weird, isn't it?"
I nodded. "Much weirder than yesterday."
Amanda turned off the stove. She moved the omelets from the frying pan to a big plate. She placed it on the table.
"It's not much till you see this," said Amanda while pointing at the top of table.
I ambled to her. My eyes aimed at the spot she pointed at. A fresh newspaper lay on the table. It was still rubber-bound.
"Did he buy this?" I asked her while holding it.
"I guess so."
"Wait. Do you mean you don't know?"
"Well, it was at the front door when I went out to throw garbage an hour ago."
"I see."
I placed the newspaper on the table and put it aside. I helped Amanda prepare the breakfast. We divided the omelets into six portions. After that, we cleaned the cooking wares.
Uncle Steven left the washing machine. He approached us and took a seat.
Every house member walked here. We all sat down, did a prayer, and had breakfast together. We enjoyed the meal and finished it in around fifteen minutes.
"Okay, kids. School!" said Amanda.
"Let's go!" Ryu demanded.
He got up and left this room. Lucy and Will followed him. It was just my feelings or indeed they left so early today. Even though the clock showed 6.55 am, the sky didn't look bright.
Uncle Steven took the newspaper. He untied it and started reading. Amanda and I removed every plate and glass from the table. We placed those in the sink. I cleaned the table while she did the dishes. Everything was done in ten minutes.
I noticed Uncle Steven. He read the paper with a smile. He seemed interested in that.
"Did you buy it?" I questioned him.
"Yeah," he answered.
"When? And... how?"
Uncle Steven stopped. He lowered the newspaper and looked at me.
"Yesterday afternoon," he said. "I asked Tony to buy this."
"Well, I guess it must be costly," I opined.
"No. This's just two-penny news."
"Oh, crap!" I chuckled. "You hafta throw it away when you're done."
"I will. Don't worry about this."
Uncle Steven continued reading. He enjoyed every text on that paper. As he said, it was a two-penny newspaper. It contained a lot of news about rape and sexual harassment. None of the good points was inside it. Many people didn't love to buy that newspaper. Somehow, it attracted him.
I spent a half hour doing nothing in here. Uncle Steven was still reading. Amanda was cleaning the bathroom. They had their own business as well as mine. I got up, left this house, and strode to Pearson's Mart.
The road looked crowded today. Some children walked passing me on this street together with a lady. Those children dressed the same. The woman wore formal clothes. It was very convincing they're pupils with a teacher who went to some kind of event festival.
This took me ten minutes longer to arrive at Pearson's Mart. My watch showed 8.05 am, but Pearson didn't realize I was late today.
"Morning, Pearson!" I greeted him.
"Good morning, Richard!" he greeted back. "How's it going today?"
"I guess never better. You?"
"Well, actually, uh, this morning—"
"Time to work!" I interrupted to escape his unclear story without delay. "I'm late today. I'm so sorry."
"Oh, it's okay. Just take it easy."
"Thanks."
That was very close. I didn't take an interest in what he was going to say just now, also it was risky.
I walked to the store, wore the apron, and did my daily tasks. It looked boring sometimes, someday. Nevertheless, I often had fun with this job.
Time ran faster today. Hour by hour had passed. Several customers had visited this shop. The sky turned from brighter to darker at the end. It was time to close now.
I left Pearson's Mart and went home. I chose to saunter on another street because the common lane was still crowded and thorny to get through. This street I decided looked shaded and had a bad smell. Somehow, it didn't scare me at all.
I stopped by the Pack-In Bar. I was looking for Uncle Steven, but the only one I found was Tony. Uncle Steven took a seat next to him more often than not. But now, he sat alone in the corner with his face pressed to the table.
I approached Tony. He was tanked up. Somehow, I felt he still had a little consciousness.
"Hey, Tony!" I called him.
He raised his head. He looked tricky to open his eyes.
"Oh, hey... Richard... is that you?"
"Yeah. It's me."
"You must be looking for Steven, right?"
"Yes. Where's he?"
"He's left since this afternoon."
"Did he cause any more trouble here?"
"He didn't. But, he looked so excited today."
"Really? Well then, thanks."
Tony placed his head back on the table. He closed his eyes.
I left this bar, walked away, and headed home. The street wasn't too crowded anymore. It surged my haste and helped me get home early.
I arrived home at 5.20 pm. I was surprised, again, since my eyes never caught Uncle Steven sitting on the couch watching TV in the evening before. It was very new for me.
He turned to me. "Hi! You return earlier."
I chuckled, "How you know I return earlier. You're never at here every evening."
"Well, maybe I need to learn more."
"Agree."
Uncle Steven turned back. He continued watching the TV shows. It was a news program. It grasped his attention.
I left him and walked to the kitchen. I saw Amanda who was peeling and cutting onions. Some tears covered her eyelashes. She seemed to have trouble doing that because she kept rubbing her eyes.
"Do you need help?" I offered.
Amanda stopped. She turned to me. She greeted me in a weird voice.
I approached her. I took an onion and replaced her peeling those all.
"You came back early today," she said.
"Yeah, it's ten minutes early."
"What makes you so?"
"It's Steven. Maybe, uh, I'm just too excited or... too afraid when he's not at the bar."
"Was Tony there?"
"Yes. He said Steven left the bar this afternoon."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
Amanda's face changed a little bit. She looked confused.
"Any problem?" I questioned her.
"I'm not sure, but Steven just returned a half hour before you."
"Seriously?"
"He did."
"Maybe he bought something after leaving the bar and before returning here."
"Well, he brought this thing."
Amanda moved to a fridge. She opened its freezer door. She took out a plastic bag and showed me the contents.
"It's bread," I spoke with a low volume. "Can I hold that?"
"Sure."
I put down a knife and got close to Amanda. I took the bread, touched it, and scanned every part. I gave it back to Amanda.
"It makes sense now," I explained. "That's not common bread. No one sells that kind around here."
"How do you know that?" Amanda asked.
"You can look at its brand. Only a few shops sell that kind, and even then they're quite far from here."
"Does it mean Steven walked to one of those places before returning here?"
"Most likely, yes."
"But, how did he get much money to buy this?"
"He might be doing the same thing, you know, like yesterday."
"I guess you're right. However, it's still weird."
I just sniggered. I held the knife and continued cutting the onions.
Amanda kept the bread back in the freezer. She opened the chiller part, took out some potatoes, and closed the fridge. She cleaned those potatoes and sliced them into small pieces. She intended to make mashed potatoes mixed with the onions I'd finished cutting. I helped her do these all. Together, we spent almost a half hour preparing the dinner.
I placed the food on the table. Tonight dinner was baked mashed potatoes. It looked messy, but it had a nice smell till it could attract Uncle Steven to walk here.
"Wow. It smells good," Uncle Steven admired. "You're the best girl."
"Thanks, Dad."
"When will they arrive?" he asked.
"Ten minutes more," I said.
"Okay then."
Uncle Steven took a seat. He stared at the food. His hunger was showing.
The clock kept rotating. Ryu, Lucy, and Will came back. They headed to the kitchen. All of them were shocked again when they looked at Uncle Steven.
Everyone had a seat. After praying, we enjoyed our dinner. It was very pleasant. Not because of the food, but the ambience. It reminded me of the moments we used to have dinner together at either here or Galton's house, where we shared cheer and jokes. It was so nostalgic.
We spent ten minutes longer than common to finish dinner tonight, except for Lucy. She was always fast as usual. Amanda and I did the dishes together. Ryu, Lucy, and Will left this place. Uncle Steven followed them to the living room.
"Do you remember the first time we had dinner like that?" Amanda asked.
"I do," I chuckled. "It was five years ago. Just like the last time, we broke into Galton's house. Except for the turkey, we stole his bacon at that time."
"Yeah. And, did you know the most fun is? He hasn't known about it yet."
We laughed. It sounded humorous, though it looked evil.
Amanda and I finished. We left this room and joined the others. The existence of Uncle Steven really made different surroundings here. He sat beside Will and Lucy. They watched TV together. Amanda had a chat with Jimmy through her phone. Ryu read his magazine. It was a new edition of hot magazine. I took a seat next to him. I smoked and had some pause.
This gathering was pleasurable. I couldn't remember the last moment Uncle Steven and we stuck together in this room at night time. He really changed the air today.
The long hand of clock pointed to nine. It was time to sleep.
"Bedtime!" Amanda demanded. "C'mon, all."
Lucy turned off the TV. Ryu stopped reading. They went upstairs with Uncle Steven who was carrying Will. Amanda and I tidied up this room before going to our rooms.
I found lots of fun covered by fatigue. It was hard to mention those as good or bad things. It mingled into some kind of enigma. However, ruminating about it would only harm myself.
The next day presented. Everyone did own habitual bustle. I went downstairs after I finished tidying myself and moved to the kitchen.
Like yesterday, Uncle Steven was already here with Amanda. Both were preparing breakfast. My eyes caught this outlook twice and it revolutionized into an ordinariness. Nothing astounded me this time.
We all did our routine, starting with breakfast. Then, Ryu drove Lucy and Will to school. He went to work. Amanda did the dishes and the laundry. Uncle Steven went out after reading the newspaper.
I left this house, walked to Pearson's Mart, and did my daily tasks. I went home after it closed. I stopped at Pack-In Bar to check if Uncle Steven was there. The result talked similar to me. He wasn't in there.
It took me to arrive home at 5.20 pm. Uncle Steven was sitting on the couch and watching TV. He greeted me. I did the same. My feet moved me to the kitchen. As usual, I helped Amanda with the dinner.
Ryu and the others came home. We all had a fun dinner again today. It needed twenty minutes for us to finish our meal. Amanda and I remained here while the others ambled to the living room. They had a good time with Uncle Steven. Moreover, he brought several snacks to share with everyone.
Amanda and I finished doing the dishes. We joined the others. This room felt more boisterous, whereas the disparity was only the presence of Uncle Steven. Hour to hour, we met the bedtime. Everyone went to own bedroom.
This pleasant routine linked to Uncle Steven repeated the next time, next day, and next week. It became a common matter in front of our eyes, excluding Jimmy's. He felt strange seeing Uncle Steven every time he visited us lately.
Two more weeks had passed. The motion of Uncle Steven kept amending. It looked either better or odder. However, it was a trivial thing; but not for Amanda. After finishing dinner today, she wanted to discuss something with me.
Everybody left this room, except Amanda and me. They moved to the living room as common. Amanda and I started the confab while doing dishes.
"Don't you think he's getting weirder, and weirder?" she asked.
"Well, I think so," I said. "But, isn't that good?"
"No, it's not. Not at all."
"What do you mean?"
"That's not good. It's clearly not him."
"Wait a second. What do you really wanna say now?"
"I know my dad. He's hiding something."
"Oh, c'mon! You're overreacting, again."
"No, I'm not," Amanda spoke in loud volume. "He is!"
I shushed and tried to let her calm down for a while. It was too bad for the others to know what we were talking in here now.
"So, what makes you think so?" I enquired.
"Haven't you seen his strangeness all this time?" she insinuated. "He wakes up early, stops getting drunk, buys food; and, I'm not sure if he goes to work every day because those all don't sound like Steven."
I exhaled. "I guess you've forgotten something."
"What? I never forget anything."
"Well, do you remember what he said the last time we brought him home from the police station?"
Amanda fell silent. Her eyes moved in any direction. She tried to look for an answer.
"Exactly in Jimmy's car," I added a clue.
"No, I don't remember," she gave up. "Perhaps, I was too frustrated to memorize his words."
"He said 'you'll meet a new father', remember?"
Amanda didn't answer. She looked surprised.
"He's not overreacting," I continued. "He just proved he kept his promise."
Amanda didn't give me any response. She finished cleaning all plates. She turned off the water tap and stared at the sink. Her mind might be a little chaotic now.
"I admit it's very weird," I reassured. "But, we just need to get used to this."
This place was quiet. No more sound played a part from all sides.
I left Amanda and walked to the living room. I joined Ryu and the others. I sat on the sofa and enjoyed this togetherness.
Amanda appeared after five minutes. She sat next to me.
Everyone looked glad, excluding Amanda. Even though her eyes turned to the TV, her brain did differently. Her face looked moody. She enjoyed nothing tonight.
It's arduous to find your feet, whatever it is. That was what was happening to Amanda. She couldn't accept the conversion of her father.
At the outset, I thought it had only lasted for a few days. Somehow, Amanda still suspected him after a week. I'd convinced her several times, but it didn't work in the slightest. I couldn't force her, since she had the right to determine her own thoughts. Hoping for good was the only way I could do at this present, although there was nothing to worry about. Furthermore, I believed it could dissipate of its own accord.