One More Time ( Becky x Freen )

Chapter 2

Freen heard the salon's door opened behind her and her son walked in, looking as fresh and energized as ever, not as much as yesterday.

"Watdee kub, Mae!" He said very happily.

Finn has always been positive and happy boy, but sometimes he tend to forgot that he shouldn't act like that at the moment. He knew he just woke a dragon from its nap.

"Don't you even dare to say "watdee" to me, luk. You should have come an hour ago na, I need to close the salon. Where were you, Finn Chatri Chankimha?!"

Uh..oh, here it comes, the full name, he
thought.

"Er... I'm sorry na, Mae. Uncle Mario and I were playing and guess what? We lost track of time!" He said dramatically as Freen grabbed her stuff from the table and turned off the lights before closing the door. Finn followed her from behind, in an awkward silence like a terrified little duck.

"Oh... I called him an hour ago, and he told me that you weren't even there. You're lying to me, luk." Freen said, disappointed with her son.

"Mae kub... I don't.."

"Cai... cai... you do. He actually told me that you've been asking him to come early for a few days now, but I don't think you've been this early when you got here. So the question remains, where have you been all this time, Finn?" Freen asked with a stern voice.

He tried to make excuses without mentioning the girl he just met an hour ago. His Mae would probably forbid him from seeing Becbec if she knew about it, because well, his Mae was just being a mother, protecting her son from strangers. But then, an idea came to his mind.

"I was... I was just in a video game store, they just released a new game, Mae!" He knew that talking about video games would bore his Mae and distract her from asking any more questions. "It was really good Mae, you should check it out!"

And then it was over.

"Finn luk, you're not an adult yet na. You need to tell me or uncle Mario where you're going and what you're doing..." Freen said now calmly.

"But Mae... I don't like it when uncle Mario follows me everywhere, he doesn't let me do anything I like, and you... you're always busy, Mae."

Freen stayed quiet. She knew that Finn didn't like being with Mario very much, but he was the only thing she and Finn had, apart from their three best friends. She and Mario have been friends for six years, since the first day they met at Empire Beauty College. In all those time, they have never been apart for a day because Mario was always there for her and her son.

"I can call auntie Faye or auntie Nam, and you can play with nong Fay and nong May after school if you want?" Now Freen felt nothing but guilt.

"Mai aw... they are four, Mae.. I am seven, I can't play with them, they are just babies!"

Freen fell silent again, shaking her head letting the guilt disappear. "And you are still my baby, Finn luk..." Freen said, putting her arm around her son's shoulder as they walked between the buildings.

"Mai, I am not, I am barely seven already!"

"Cai, you are. And you are not forgiven yet, luk. One thing I will never accept is lying. You are grounded na?"

"Mae, I am sorry na kub? You can't punish me, how am I going to stay home alone while you are at work?"

"Yes I can. Starting tomorrow, uncle Mario will bring you straight to salon after school. You will not stay in his store anymore na."

"Mae, it is not fair na. What will I do while you are working?"

"You'll have to find out for yourself, baby boy."

"Mae... please na kub?" He said, giving his Mae his best good-boy face.

"I'll think about it na?" Freen said. "But you have to prove that this lying is over."

"Okay kub. Sure, no problem kub."

"But you're still grounded." Freen said, opening the door to her apartment to let her son in.

It was only a 10 minute walk from Freen's work to her apartment. It was the closest place she could find since she started her business four years ago. It was her second home since she moved from Chiang Mai to this city 7 years ago. It's been four years now, four years since she opened De Amore Hair & Beauty Salon with Mario, where there were only two chairs for clients, and with Mario and her as the only employees of the salon.

Mario has been with her since the first day she opened the door and played the most important role in the success of the salon. But now, the business has grown to eight chairs with a unique atmosphere and five employees.

A year ago, Mario decided to open a convenience store close to the salon as an additional business now that they have achieved so many success. Despite his additional business, he had not forgotten about Freen and her son.

"Now go to bed na, and don't forget to brush your teeth." Freen said softly.

"Kub... I won't forget it." Frowning, Finn walked to his room and closed the door.

Without saying goodnight to his mother, he went to his bed. Finn sat on his bed and sucked his bottom lip with his hands crossed over his chest. He hated being grounded, it means he couldn't see Becbec tomorrow. He looked forward to seeing her again, he liked being with the girl even though they had only talked today. How would he ever meet her again if he was grounded? He growled as he put on his pajamas.

As he lay in his bed, he knew he wouldn't be falling asleep anytime soon. His mind wouldn't rest. He hated lying to his Mae but his Mae didn't give him any other way out. If he had been honest and said he had spent the afternoon with a 'special' girl after putting his own life in danger with a drunk man, his Mae would have been horrified.

For Freen's part, after she had showered, she waited in her bed with a book in her hands. She knew her son would come at any moment, he always apologized again and asked to sleep with her every time they argued about something.

Minutes later, she heard the door handle move and there was her son with his stuffed animal, Fluffy. Freen smiled, just as she thought.

"Mae... are you asleep?" He asked, sticking his head in the side of the door.

"Not yet, baby. What's wrong?"

"Can I sleep here with you?" He asked, yawning as he approached the bed.

"Come here na." Freen said, patting the bed next to her.

Finn ran into his Mae's lap, hugging her tightly. "I'm sorry again, Mae..."

Freen smiled at her son. "Mai pen rai ka... it's okay, baby. Just don't do it again, okay? You know I'm doing this because I love you, na?"

"I know, I love you too na."

"You have to sleep now, you have school tomorrow, remember?"

"Ka, Mae." With that, Finn kissed his Mae's cheeks and laid his head on Freen's chest.

Freen pulled the cover up and slowly closed her eyes, listening quietly with her son's soft breaths on her chest.

To be continued.