the angel; fillie .

the caterer.

when she arrived back home, i had finished eating all of the leftover pancakes and i was sitting on the couch reading a book i discovered on a shelf.
she came up to me and handed me a bag,"these are for you," then she walked away into the kitchen to put away groceries. i opened the bag and pulled out a khaki, brown, and white striped t-shirt also a solid blue t-shirt. then some khaki shorts. then a new pair of adidas white and black shoes. and a toothbrush and some toothpaste along with a bar of soap, and a razor to shave my face. i was in complete shock. i stood up from my seat and stomped into the kitchen,"millie, i told you i don't take charity."
"it's not charity when it's a gift, you dimwit."
"i don't need this stuff."
"yeah you do, finn, go try it all on, now."
she really had a hold on me so i did as she said. i was surprised that everything fit me just fine, even the shoes were perfect. i had on the bus shirt with the khaki shorts with my new shoes and i went out to show her. her face lit up when she saw me,"does it all fit good?" she asked me like a mom would.
"yes," i simply responded, slightly mad at her for being so nice to me.
"how's your face, your bruises?"
"they're okay, why are you so concerned about me?"
she stopped what she was doing and turned to me,"what else do you expect me to do? i want to help you in every way that i can. that's why i welcomed you in my home. that's why i've given you food to eat and clothes to wear."
i lowered my head and held out a picture,"i think you're acting like your mom maybe. trying to cope by acting like a mom."
she ripped the picture of her kissing her mother's bump out of my hands,"where'd you get this, finn?"
"i was looking through a photo album, i'm here for you millie, anything you need. if you need to talk i'm standing right in front of you."
i saw a tear form in her left eye,"i'm okay."
and then the telephone interrupted our focused conversation and thoughts. millie picked herself back up from falling apart and answered the phone. i could hear what the man was saying: hey millie, it's dad. i just wanted to tell you that i'm alright. are you good by yourself?
millie sighed,"i'm good, dad, how's your trip?"
he said,"it's going well, i'm getting lots of work done. if you need anything, call me. promise?"
millie spoke again,"promise. i'll see you saturday."
her dad said,"it'll be closer to saturday night now, so i'll see you sunday morning when you wake up. sound like a plan?"
she said happily,"it's good to hear your voice, dad, see you then, bye."
she hung up, ignored my presence, and finished up putting away the groceries.
i was eager for her attention,"you okay, mills?"
she turned around to face me,"i'd be alright if you left me alone. i'm very happy with peace and quiet," she turned back around dramatically and i headed up to the guest room.
i sat alone bored out of my mind in the bedroom for what seemed like ages until the door slowly opened. it was of course millie,"finn, I'm sorry i got mad at you. i didn't mean to, i was sad—"
"i'm sorry too, i should've never said that about you or assumed anything. i'm sorry i set you off, truly, millie," i stopped her mid-sentence.
she sat on the edge of the bed with me,"thing is, you're assumption wasn't exactly wrong. ever since she died, i've had to be that mother figure to myself since there's no one around to cater to me. i'm sorry for treating you like a child, i guess it was just given to me by my mother to be a caterer."
we sat on the bed silently without looking at each other but it wasn't an awkward silence. the air was clear and i could feel the high spirits between us both. we were content.