It was already late in the night when Jeremy arrived home. For three days in a row, he had been arriving home late, since he was vigorously looking for photography jobs to do. On that specific day, he was taking photos at an evening function, and it only finished after 10PM. Since he was almost certain that his mother was already in bed by the time he got home, he softly opened the door and tip-toed, making sure not to make any noise.
He walked up to his room and opened the door, only to be shocked to see that someone was sleeping in his bed. Moving closer, he saw his mother sleeping peacefully. Jeremy was confused. He shook her slightly, and she snapped open her eyes.
"My son," she yawned and sat up in the bed.
"Mum! How was your day, mum? Why did you sleep in my room?" he asked, puzzled.
Sharon pulled some bed linen to cover herself up, and she smiled, "well, surprise! You and I have swapped rooms. I figured since Kiara will be joining us, this room will be too small for two people. And it doesn't have an en suite. My room is much bigger and the built in restrooms and closet will make life easier for Kiara."
Jeremy was shocked to hear his mother speaking like that. It was only then that he realised the changes in the room. Looking at the walls, he saw that all his pictures had been removed, and there was one large picture of his parents on their wedding day.
In the corner where he used to keep his photography staff on a table, he saw that the table was not there anymore. Instead, there was a shoe rack with pairs of his mother's shoes.
He also saw that everything of his was no longer in the room. Jeremy was touched.
"Mum, you did not have to do this!" he almost cried.
"Of course I had to! This room is too small for you two. I'm by myself, anyway. That bedroom which I was using is too big. You and Kiara can have it, son."
"Mum, you're now going to make me cry. You don't have to give up your room for me, mum!"
"I'm doing it for my daughter in law and for my grandchild on the way," she smiled.
Jeremy threw his satchel down and sat on the corner of the bed. He covered his face with both hands and cried. Sharon moved closer to him and patted his back.
"It's fine, my son. It's fine. We want Kiara to feel comfortable. When you guys are financially stable, you can always get your own bigger home, and then I will move back into my bedroom. Whenever that happens, I will move back into my room. But for now, I really don't need it." she smiled.
"Mum you're too good to me. I don't deserve it, mum," the young man was really touched.
They spoke for a while, and when Jeremy left for his new bedroom, he cried even more on seeing how well decorated it was. His mother, using mainly the colour lilac, had revamped the room to give it new life. What touched Jeremy the most was in knowing that his mother had done it all especially for Kiara, since lilac was her favourite colour.
He wondered when his mother had sought out the items for decoration. The curtains were new. They were white in colour, with lilac flower prints on them. The bed linen was in shades of purple. On the dressing table there was a huge glass vase filled with bunches of lilac flowers. Jeremy was not sure which type of flower it was, but although it was artificial, it looked very real.
The picture of two year old Kiara holding the new-born Jeremy in her arms was neatly hung on the wall just above the headboard. On either side of the picture were smaller hand-painted frames, with identical pictures of beautiful flowers.
Jeremy cried. He could not believe that his mother had gone all out, to that extent. From looking at everything that was done, he could tell that his mother had taken weeks buying the items and keeping them somewhere, before she chose that day to swap bedrooms and give the master bedroom a new look.
He sat on the bed, and felt guilty to sleep on it. Just beside the bed was a sofa, onto which Jeremy planted himself and cried some more.
"I don't deserve this, mum" he cried to himself. Before he knew it, he was fast asleep.
***
The smell of freshly prepared food woke Jeremy up. He was still sleeping on the sofa, and for a moment he was surprised as to where he was. The room was brightly lilac, and it looked very feminine. Used to his dull room, he was momentarily shocked; and then he remembered.
He stood up and yawned, stretching himself. He went into the bathroom and washed his face.
Slowly he walked towards the kitchen, and the closer he got there, the more intense the beautiful smell became.
"Mum!" he called out. "You're already up! Why are you up so early! And oh, all those burgers? What are they for? Whose are they for?" Jeremy's eyes widened as he saw numerous cupcakes lined up on the kitchen table.
"Good morning my son," Sharon smiled.
"Hallo mum, whose are these?" Jeremy was about to pick one burger and start eating, when he immediately stopped and asked, "may I have one?"
"You'll have to buy it," Sharon smiled.
"Buy it? Since when did you start selling burgers?" he smiled.
"Today. I'm starting today," Sharon's smile grew wider.
"Mum, you're serious?" Jeremy was surprised.
"Of course. Look Jeremy, on the day that I learnt about my grandchild on the way, I immediately knew that we needed more money. So I spoke to the school principal at work, asking her if I may be allowed to sell my burgers in the school cafeteria. He agreed! So these will now be included in the student's menu, and at the end of each week, the cafeteria gives me the money from the burger sales." She explained to her son.
Jeremy could not take it anymore. He knew his mother was sweet, but he had never thought that she was going to go to that extent for him.
"Mum, you didn't have to! Does this mean that for every day of your life, you will be waking up this early, in order to make the burgers?" he asked with concern.
"Well, I need to deliver fresh burgers every day, so yes, I will wake up early. But it won't be every day. I can take my breaks on weekends, and during the school breaks."
Jeremy did his best to keep the tears in. He watched as his mother carefully placed each burger into a box.
"Can I help with anything?" he asked.
"Umm, not at the moment. The help you can give me is to be happy and prepare to welcome Kiara home." She said.
"I understand you and Mrs Noels were discussing the wedding date. What did you come up with?" he asked.
Sharon stopped packing the burgers and she used her apron to wipe sweat off her forehead. She faced her son and said,
"Kiara is complaining about morning sickness. She is always sick, so she said she won't enjoy the wedding while she is that sick," Sharon updated her son.
"She said that? I wonder why she never told me," Jeremy looked worried.
"She told her mother. She said she had always dreamt of a beautiful garden wedding, and her desire would be to have it after the child is born."
"After the child is born?" Jeremy exclaimed. "Oh, I never knew that that's what she wants. She did not tell me. Why isn't she telling me her wishes, I wonder if I have done anything wrong?"
"No my son, don't worry yourself. She loves you. You need to understand that she is also coming to terms with reality. She needs to adjust to the changes happening in her body, and it's normal for her to feel closer to her mum now."
"Does it mean she will forever be closer to her mother?" Jeremy was anxious.
"Not at all. She will always be close to you, my son. Just give her time."
Jeremy was silent, digesting the words that his mother said. He did not like it. He was not happy that Kiara was opening up to her mother about her feelings towards the wedding, yet she had not told him anything. But he ended up telling himself that well, if that makes her happy and if she needs that time and space to adjust, then anything for her.
"Oh by the way," Sharon continued, "The Noels have concluded that Kiara will move in on Sunday. This coming Sunday. They said its best that you, as the father of the child, also experience the pregnancy journey, and be able to give full support to your….your girlfriend….."
Jeremy nodded his head and said, "I understand. Have you updated Jacob and Nesisa on all this?"
"No, my child. I had to update you first before telling them. Talk to your brother and let him know. And while you're at it, ask if they can come home on Sunday, for supper. I want to plan for Kiara to move in during mid-morning, and then we can have a welcome dinner for her. Nothing too special, but we just want her to feel at home."
"Mum, please don't spend too much money on me. You'll make me feel terrible."
"I'm doing it for my grandchild," she chuckled.
***
Meanwhile, in the VIP bar of a seven star hotel somewhere, a young man was seriously drunk, lying on the floor with vomit on his face and chest. Music was playing at a very loud volume, with bright lights flashing from all corners of the huge room. Youths were dancing away, some of them half-naked. In one corner, two youths could be seen cuddled together, seemingly glued to each other as if one was going to swallow the other up.
In yet another corner, a youth was being introduced to a new drug, and he hesitantly tried it while his friends encouraged him.
None of them cared about time, for each was doing their own thing, seriously engrossed in whatever excited them.
"Young master Vine, please wake up, we have to go home now," a bodyguard tried to wake him up.
"Let's just lift him up and go and place him in the car. If we delay any longer, Gareth will make us see hell, you know that!" another bodyguard suggested.
They held him up, each of the men standing on either side of him, supporting Vine by the shoulders.
"Ummm, let me sleep," he complained. His breath reeked, causing the two bodyguards to look aside, away from their young master. "Let….let me…sleep," he repeated.
Ignoring him, the two men carried him to the car without saying anything either to Vine or to each other.