Count On Me

4. Mom

   It was Monday. The day before my first day at work. I woke up early in the morning, to my surprise because we slept quite late yesterday.

  Yawning and stretching myself, I got out of the bed and opened the curtains to see the morning sunshine. Very few people were out on the street. I slid the window glass and took the morning fresh air. After standing there for some minutes, I went in the bathroom and did my regular routine.

  When I came out of the room, there was no sign of Will. Probably he had gone for the run. I looked at the table clock. He would be here in fifteen minutes. I thought. He had his morning shift today. He would have been late if he started cooking the breakfast, so I took over his place. I went in the kitchen and started preparing for the coffee. Side by side, I took out the ingredients for pancakes. In a few minutes, coffee and pancakes was ready and the door bell rang at the same time.

  "Hey," I greeted as I opened the door. From the look on his face, the surprise of me opening the door as soon as the bell rang was clear.

  "Hey,.. you're awake already!.. and.." He inhaled the odour and look at me. "You've made coffee and pancakes!?" From the look on his face, he was even more surprised.

  "Yes.. Why are you so surprised? I can cook, you know?" Now I was surprised with his look of surprise.

  "Bloody oath, you can." Now he was more surprised and cautious with his words seeing my surprised look which came because of his surprised look. Okay, that's it. I think you got it.

  "Ok, so can I taste it?" He went to the counter where the coffee and pancakes were put.

  "No!.. I mean, first go and freshen up." I instructed. He went to his room and came out of it in literally ten minutes, freshly showered. I mean, how men get ready that fast!

  "Here." I put his plate and mug in front of him as he sat on one bar stool. I took my plate and mug, sitting in front of him. He took a bite of pancake and then a sip of his coffee, not showing a single expression while eating it. I looked at him, expecting him to say something.

  "I know I'm not as good as you as I'm not a chef, but I cook well. But still, you can tell me how's it, you know. Penny for your thoughts?" I said, awkwardly, tucking a loose strand of hair behind the ear.

  He looked at me for some minutes without uttering a syllable and then chuckled, his head down. There was something in his eyes which I couldn't figure out.

  "What happened? Did I mess it up?" I asked confusingly.

  "No... It's just, your cooking reminded me of my mom. Same taste.." He said, a nostalgic sad smile was on his face and he was trying to compose himself. I squeezed his hand a little. I could feel his pain.

  "You like pancakes?" I asked softly.

  "Yup." He looked up at me and a small smile appeared on his face.

  "So, it's decided. From now on, I'll make pancakes whenever you want. Done?" I said, trying to lift his mood up a little.

  A genuine smile came on his face. "Ta! It really means a lot for me. Thank you."

  "Un-hun. There's a rule of friendship, sir. No sorry, no thank you is allowed in friendship." I quoted a Hindi dialogue from one Bollywood movie in English.

  He laughed richly. "Is it a movie quote?" I was amused. "How do you know?"

  "You said it so dramatically, it was predictive." He shrugged, on which I rolled my eyes.

  We washed our empty plates in the dish washer. Will went to get ready as he was running late. I saw the time in my phone, it read 7 in the morning. So it must be 10 o'clock in the morning in India. I mentally calculated. Getting my laptop from the room, I sat in the balcony, taking the fresh morning air. I called mom for video call.

  "Good morning, mom." A big smile spread on my face, seeing her after four days.

  "Good morning, Char. How are you?" The happiness that I was feeling, was reflecting on her face.

  "Awesome! I love this place. But I'm terribly missing you, mom. How are you?" I was worried for her. Yes, our relatives were there, but I wasn't. I had no clue if she was taking her meds regularly or not. She hate taking meds.

  "I'm fine, don't worry... And yes, I'm taking meds." No one can know you better than your mother.

  "Good." I tried pretending to be strict but couldn't help myself smiling a little.

  "Anyway, tell me about you. What's going on?" She asked.

  "Tomorrow, I'll be reporting to La Mélange. So it's my last day of holiday. Will and I roam around the Paris, the last two days. We saw many spots. I've took the pictures. I'll mail them to you today." I said.

  "Great! Seems like you're having fun." She said happily.

  "Yup, I am." I nodded.

  "How's Will? I haven't talked to him in so many weeks." Mom and Will had talked many times when I was in India, preparing to come here. Will always love to chat with her, he looks up at her as a mother figure.

  "He's getting ready for work." As I said this, Will came in the living room and saw me talking with mom. He instantly came in the balcony, behind me.

  "G'day, Kiara. How are you?" He greeted with a broad grin.

  "Hello Will. I'm fine, thank you. How are you? Char isn't giving you a hard time, is she?" Mom asked teasing me. "Mom–"

  "Don't ask, Kiara. Now I can understand how difficult it must be for you to handle this girl." He shook his head mockingly. I gaped at him and smacked his chest with my back hand.

  "Ouch! See! Only four days, and your daughter is hitting me already. Physical violence." He continued playing.

  "I'm going to see you later. I'll teach you what is meant by physical violence." I threatened him, though I could see that I was failing as he was trying hard to suppress his smile. I just rolled my eyes and focused on the laptop.

  "Anyway, you guys carry on. I've to go to office. We will catch up later." Mom said.

  "Yes, sure. I have to go too, unlike Char." With that, Will waved at mom and sprinted towards the door, just missing the cushion I threw at him. I huffed.

  "Bye, mom."

 

  ***

  The whole day, I passed the time reading book, sketching some outfits, surfing the Netflix, cooking my lunch, eating, taking a nap, meditating and practicing yoga, listening music, checking social media sites, playing mobile games etc. as Will would be at home in the evening.

  It was eight in the evening. I was watching F.R.I.E.N.D.S TV show on Netflix (I love it, hell who doesn't!) when the apartment door opened and Will came inside, looking tired. Must've been a hectic day. I had already prepared the dinner. When I told this to him, he looked at me gratefully and instantly went to change. I had made paella, and watching him eating it with gusto like a kid, made me happy.

  We both slept early. He, because of being tired and I, because I had to wake up early tomorrow.

  Thinking of tomorrow and how much excited I was, I drifted off to sleep, with a small smile on my face.

 

Hey guys, I know it took a little longer to update this time but please consider as I have exams from next week and plus Diwali festival is going on here in India. So, it's impossible to take time and write, but finally I got time. So here it is. It's not much, but I wasn't able to think anything as right now the only thought in my mind is Psychology as I am majoring in it and the exam of it is on Monday itself.
Anyway, read the chapter, write a comment, vote for it if you like and share my story if you want. Enjoy! Love you all;-) iamtanu