The Daylighter Apprentice

Chapter 11 - Mother's Love Is The Best

Hoisting my rucksack up onto my shoulder, I walk down the short path to my front door and knock it twice. I squint up to the sky as I wait, watching a plane pass overhead and leave a faint trail of mist behind it. The distant city skyline pokes it's head up above the houses and I sigh; I was already missing the countryside and I'd only been there a matter of days.

There's a shuffling on the other side of the door and I smile, attention averted to the distorted figure behind the frosted glass. The door opens and I'm greeted with an armful of mum. I laugh and return the hug, holding the smaller woman close.

"God Dom, it's been such a short time but I've missed you so much! It's so lonely here without you!" Mum sounds so relieved to see me that it brings tears to my eyes.

"I've missed you too, mum." I choke back, holding her at arms length and studying her. She looks fine; no visible signs of sleep loss or normal things for her. I smile at her and wrap her up in another quick hug.

"Now, lets not waste time on the doorstep and actually go inside." I chuckle, giving her gentle push towards the hall.

As soon as I past the threshold of the door, I inhale the scent of magnolia and mum's oil paints; the smell of home. An easel sits in the corner of the sitting room and on it is a canvas, blank aside from a pencil sketch of a butterfly on a rose and green streaks of paint on the stem of the rose. I put my bag beside the sofa and flop down on the charcoal cushions, exhausted from my day of travelling. Mum sits beside me, legs crossed and stray hairs falling across her face. She's wearing her painting dungarees so I know today is a creative day and creative days always mean a super lazy evening sat drinking wine while watching a Disney film. And to be honest, that's exactly what I need.

"So, how's life with you?" She asks, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Not changed much since you last rang." I shrug. "Been busy with work."

"Blown anything up?" She asks eagerly.

No, but my boss nearly killed someone.

"Not yet. Just been researching again. Helped cultivate some bacteria the other night though." I smile at her as she screws her nose up.

"That's no fun. When do you start on the real science?"

"That is real science, mum." I chuckle, toeing of my shoes and following her lead, crossing my legs on the sofa and curling up with a cushion. Back south, Tom would slaughter me for having my feet on the sofas so it's nice to be back in a house with lenient rules.

"When I was your age, science was all bunsen burners and shit. You know, melting your biro and making fireballs. And mixing different chemicals over a bunsen burner like a witch and then setting the fire alarm off. That's real science." She gestures wildly with her hands and reminds me slightly of Matt when he's talking about something he's passionate about. I inwardly grin at the thought of him but feel a stab of sadness that I won't see him until Monday. I shrug this off though and focus my attention to the woman sat before me, picking at the paint on her clothes and frowning when it won't peel off.

Mum had my sister at 15 and then me at 17 so with her being still quite young, she feels more like a sister than a mother. Or a friend my age. My sister was never home much in the evenings so me and mum formed a much closer bond than she and my sister did. Not that my sister actually cared because as soon as she was 16, she moved in with her boyfriend and since then, I've never seen or heard from her. I don't think mum has either but whenever Rosie is mentioned, mum starts to blame herself for being a crap parent. That's of course not true; Rosie just mixed in with a bad crowd and flew the nest early. I try to tell mum this every time but she never listens so I tend to make a conscious effort never to bring my sister up in conversation.

Mum stops picking and brushes off the loose paint peelings onto the carpet.

"Want a drink?" She asks and I nod.

"I'm parched. You stay there though, I'll get it." I make to get up but she pulls me down by the sleeve.

"You'll do no such thing, Dominic." She admonishes, jumping up and smoothing out the creases in her clothes. "What do you want?"

"Just water please." I sigh at her stubbornness. She disappears into the kitchen and returns a few moments later with two glasses filled with water. They're the cute cactus shaped glasses we've had ever since I was young and as I take mine, I notice that the green paint is starting to flake slightly from the design. I take a sip of the cool liquid and place the glass down on a coaster. I curl back up on the sofa and glance briefly outside. The sun is setting and the street lights have just flickered on. Mum reaches behind the sofa to close the curtains and then leans over to turn on the lamp in the corner. The room is bathed in a dim light and part of me wishes I'd never left here to go my own way.

"I managed to convince my sister to let us borrow Frozen. Her kids were unwilling to part with it but I promised them it would only be for tonight." Mum produces a DVD from her bag and waves it happily. I laugh and smile.

"Can I go and get changed first? I'm dying to get out of these jeans." I ask and mum nods.

"Bring the duvets too. You know the drill. You get the duvets, I get the wine." We both nod and mum heads to the kitchen while I pick up my bag and head upstairs to my room.

I change quickly and drag the two double duvets downstairs, careful not to trip on my way. Mum's set up the DVD and next to our water is two large glasses of wine and the cushions from the sofa are all plumped up and ready to go.

"Got the duvets." I declare, dumping them on the sofa and crawling underneath them. Mum grabs the TV remote and joins me, snuggled into her corner of the sofa.

We watch the film in relative quiet, both of us occasionally making comments on the characters and storyline. I find myself falling asleep quarter of the way through the film, only wakened when mum nudges me with her foot.

"Oi, Dom! You're missing the best bit! Elsa's gone all psycho bitch!" She hisses, gesturing wildly at the screen. I yawn and watch as the character on screen sings Let It Go. Rolling my eyes, I laugh slightly, shifting lower under the duvet.

"Mum, she's just celebrating being free."

"She's shooting snow from her palms! How is that not acting like a psycho bitch?" She pouts.

"Because it just isn't." I reply and mum sighs.

"Well, I think she's acting like a psycho bitch and I'm entitled to my opinion. Settled. Now shut up and watch the rest of the film."

The film ends and I can barely keep my eyes open. The day had been so exhausting and now all I wanted to do was sleep. I close my eyes and smile, glad to be home. Mum turns the TV off and puts the remote controls in the drawer and the glasses back in the kitchen. She returns to me shortly after and kneels beside me, running her thumb along my forehead.

"Come on sleepy head, let's get you off to bed." She murmurs, shaking me gently. I groan, really not wanting to move.

"But I'm comfortable." I mumble, burrowing into the duvet.

"I'll let you lie in tomorrow. Your bed will be more comfortable than the sofa. I promise." Reluctantly, I stretch. Sitting up, I smile at her and gather up the duvet, lugging it behind me as we trek up the stairs.

Once in my room, I fall into bed and half heartedly pull the duvet over me. Mum sits on the bed next to me, leaning down to press a kiss to my forehead.

"Goodnight, Dom. When you wake up, there'll be pancakes." She whispers and I giggle.

"Thanks mum. I've really missed you."

"Me too. See you tomorrow."

"Night mum."

She leaves the room and turns the light off, leaving me to a deep, peaceful sleep.