TURF

Heated

"Something's burning... Mom?!"

Dianne flinched at the soft touch on her shoulder. "What?" She blinked.

Jason hurriedly removed the charred pot from the gas flames and switched off the stove. Despite the heat generated in the kitchen, Dianne was still frozen solid.

"Mom!" he shook her by both arms.

Dianne took a sharp breath in and stepped out of her thoughts. "My fettuccine!" she sighed. Disappointment weighted heavy on the sorry woman's heart as she looked at her endearing son.

After carrying in all of Dianne's new purchases, he was slightly flushed. Sweat had condensed just at the border of his military haircut and blush-pink face. He had loosened the navy blue tie around his neck and had left his professional blazer in his car.

"I'll order you a pizza or something." he shrugged breathlessly.

"No, I was making this dinner for you... As a thank you gift." she took an innocent look into her grocery bag for perhaps a second bag of pasta.

"There was no way you were going to fit all that stuff in your car." Jason chuckled at all the bags littered all over the living space. "So, this is the house huh?" He marveled in awe at the interior of the massive structure. "I like it."

Those words from Jason were exactly what Dianne needed to hear. All of her stress simply melted off of her shoulders. All she needed was a thumbs up; someone acknowledging her progress! All she needed was someone on her team, for once!

She abandoned the grocery bag and turned to give her son a massive bear hug. She didn't at all mind that she had run face-first into a sweat-damp shirt. "Call Christine and we'll order dinner."

"I don't think that's a good idea." he shook his head.

"What do you mean? I can't eat alone tonight"

"I'll join you, mom, but... Christine... She broke up with me." Jason shrugged, pretending that the reality wasn't bothering him at all. "She said I spend too much time-"

"Working." Dianne completed his sentence. "CTO?" She asked.

"That's honestly the next phase of my career! If I achieve CTO before my 26th birthday this year, I'll be running the entire company by 30!" he boasted excitedly.

Jason was disappointed to see that his mother didn't match his enthusiasm. Dianne simply turned her attention back to the grocery bag, unboxed a couple of plates and loaded them into the dishwasher.

How could she support behavior in her son that she despised the most from his father? The absence. Then again, how could she stand in the way of his beloved tech career? Dianne never had a career of her own, so she at least wanted her only offspring to live the life that she wished for.

All she could do was hope that she had raised him better than to be unfaithful, but woman to woman, she understood why Christine couldn't be patient. Work passion always got the best of Jason, everything else was low priority.

The only clean available drinkware were a few cups in Dianne's cupboard which she filled with grocery store red wine. "Drink up," she said to him "let me order food and I'll join you in a minute."

Wine wasn't exactly Jason's cup of tea, but when in Rome... He took a few shy sips from the cup while pacing around the first floor until he found himself in the kitchen again.

From the corner of her eye, Dianne admired his helpless attempts to take in the feminine drink. "Dinner will be here soon." She turned to him with a bright smile.

"So how's the neighborhood? Make friends yet?"

Only one friend came to mind. But she obviously kept that to herself. "You look like need a refill." She said as she poured the soothing elixir. "I'm definitely driving you home tonight." she sighed.

The front doorbell eventually rang and Dianne cautiously answered, just incase it was an uninvited guest. To her relief, it was just dinner! She made sure to shut the gate after the delivery.

She then used the time to catch up with her son over a couple of pork chops, and some of his favorite pop rock music playing in the background. It was a loving environment between two best friends, one way or another.

When midnight had struck, Jason had to make like Cinderella and disappear. As promised, Dianne was going to be the designated driver. Jason would have to e-hail to work the following morning and fetch his car after. She gave him the keys and asked him to wait for her in the car while she locked up.

As Dianne grabbed her jacket from the coat hanger, a loud blast sent her flying from the door deep into the lounge area. Her limp body was stopped in motion by a few bags of goods that Jason placed in the middle of the unfurnished room.

She lifted her head from the cool tiles and saw a bright orange light beaming from outside. Jason's car alarm could be heard for miles and thick grey smoke began to enter the house.

She picked herself up and ran out to investigate the source of this commotion. To her devastation, her car was engorged in bright red-orange flames with thick smoke ascending into the blooming Jacaranda trees above. Everything surrounding the car was also being destroyed.

"Ja... Jason!" she cried with a heart shattering scream. "Jason!" Dianne attempted to run headfirst into those powerful flames, but couldn't even come close. The heat from the fire kept her a good meter away from the nearest flame, let alone the car itself.

She opened the gate manually and cried into the dead, dark streets. "Somebody help!" she begged with tears pouring from her eyes. Her voice was pathetically completing against Jason's car alarm, which was astronomically louder.

In the entire street, only one building had lights on... Just across her house. She could see that the penthouse suite had most, if not all, of their lights on. "Help! Please!" She cried once again before running back into her yard and hosing down the flames.

The water didn't make a dent, it simply evaporated with the smoke. Dianne ran out to the building with the penthouse and hit against the glass doors like help was immediately on the other side.

She cried and called until the flames eventually subsided at sunrise. All that was left was ash and two skeletons - one metal and the other...