Office Diaries - Chapter 127

“So, how was it?”

The slender woman paused from removing her shoes by the doorway and looked up to face the owner of the voice. The room was dark saved for the dim light from the stairs on the far right side which illuminated her pale skin. Her beautiful, elfin face, with her huge pair of eyes, pointed nose and rosy lips was half hidden in the shadows but the smile which painted her earlier solemn face lit up the place.

“You’re still awake!” she exclaimed a little sternly but the twinkle in her eyes removed the seriousness of her voice.

The little boy standing a few feet away from the woman pouted, the same way his parent always did when told off. He wasn’t sulking though. He was after all genuinely concerned with the way his mother’s evening went.

“How was it?” he asked again in that endearingly small voice of his and his mother sighed as she smiled again.

Jena Wang studied her son— the son who was her total opposite in looks aside from her signature pout. Sam’s skin was tanned whereas hers was milky-white. He was such an active child whereas she was one to keep still in one place. The child must have taken after his father, Jena thought, but quickly pushed the idea away as she cleared her throat.

That was dangerous territory akin to a can of worms she’d better off not touching.

“Come here,” she beckoned softly and Sam didn’t think twice to run towards her and let himself be engulfed in a bear hug while giving one back. “Hmmmmnnn… my baby smells like powder,” she stated as she lifted the boy and sniffed at his neck, making her son break into giggles. “Mama was tired but now I have a lot of energy!”

She attacked the squirming little boy in her arms with tickles, and the latter helplesslay laughed as he tried to fend her off.

“Gee, mom, I’m already big,” Sam protested as he flailed his feet, making Jena put him back down.

“Big or not, you’re still my baby,” she said stubbornly, making the other giggle more.

“Ah, but my baby really has grown bigger. Mama can’t lift you up as easily as before. Did my baby eat a lot?” she teased as she took her son’s hand and guided him inside the house, up the stairs to where their rooms were.

“I eat a lot so I can become bigger faster,” he said proudly. “Nana said I am taller and bigger than the other kids my age,” he added.

Nana was the old lady next door who babysat for Sam when she’s at work and he didn’t have school. Also…

Indeed, Sammy was a tall boy— a far cry from her petite stature. This was why her thoughts had been wandering dangerous territory lately. Sam didn’t look like anyone in her family. Not at all.

“Ah, but mama doesn’t want you to grow up fast. I want you to be my little baby longer,” she complained jokingly but her son was no longer in the mood to joke.

“Mom, you didn’t answer my question,” Sam complained, his pout back in place just as she tucked him back into his bed.

This boy… She had tried her best to keep out of topic but he was too smart to remember what he wanted answered.

Tonight, she went on a date and he was very curious as to how it went. After all, he wanted his mom to have a love life and so it was his idea to push her to go out.

Jena sighed. There was no use in ignoring her son’s question. When Sam’s into something, there was nothing that could distract him from getting his answers. Honestly, he was like thirty-seven instead of just seven in age. She was such a gullible person— bordering on scatter-brained when she was a lot younger and so she wondered again where her son got his sharp and very mȧturė mind.

Sam’s affinity and excellence in math and science too were a huge wonder to his parent. Again, her thoughts trailed on a dangerous path with Sam’s father and she shook her thoughts away.

“It was okay,” she answered nonchalantly referring to her date and sighed once more.

She had a dinner date with her new boss at the latter’s insistence. She was told yesterday that it was some kind of a business dinner with her being his secretary and all, but Jena Wang knew it wasn’t the case. She’d been surrounded by people who were interested in her to know that her boss liked her in a romantic way— not to mention that the said boss actually said that he liked her.

Honestly, working for him for a month now, Jena knew that her boss was a very good and intelligent man— not to mention handsome and rich to boot. He was a very good candidate for a mate. As to not to sound hypocritical, she admitted she’s more than a little attracted, but she wasn’t looking for a partner regardless of how much her little “old man” thought otherwise, she surmised as she studied Sam’s face.

“I guess it didn’t go that well huh?” Sam commented, his disappointment reflecting in his voice and Jena poked her son’s cheek.

“Don’t be so down. Do you really want to marry me off that badly? Do you want to have a father? Am I not good enough for you?” she couldn’t help but ask sulkily, giving her son her version of a pout.

Lately, Sam had been acting strange— meddling with her love life and it was driving her insane.

With her words, it was the young boy’s turn to sigh audibly as he pulled his mother’s nose.

“Awww, don’t sulk mom,” he said as he sat up and wrapped his small arms around her neck. “You know well that’s not why I want you to go on dates,” he continued on seriously in that child-voice of his.

Again, Jena was reminded how mȧturė Sam was for his age and wondered if it was her fault.

“I know sweetheart,” she told him as she hugged him back.

Three weeks ago, the two of them celebrated Sam’s birthday at school. She had brought cakes for the children in class to eat and some juice. Being children, she had heard one of his classmates asking some personal questions which bothered her.

“Why did your mom come alone?” one classmate asked. “Where’s your dad?”

Jena had stopped moving then as she stared at his son, totally worried that the question would upset him, but it didn’t. Instead, the young boy who just turned seven shrugged the question off.

“My dad died before I was born,” he answered and their conversation ended.

That night, for the first time in years, Sam had asked about his father which she couldn’t answer.

“Sammy, sometimes, when people are hurt or become very sad, they want to forget things. To be able to live, they have to stop thinking of other people, most especially if they’re gone,” she told him.

She had tucked her son in his bed just like this that night. But aside from that, the questions had opened up old, ugly wounds she had thought she had already put behind her. She was not able to stop herself from shedding tears which her son misunderstood.

Sam thought that she was still mourning for her husband, and he took it into his small mind to push her into meeting other people to move on and forget about her lost love.

“Sleep now Sammy,” she ordered softly as she pushed Sam back to the bed. “Tomorrow, I’ll make you a huge lunchbox. How does that sound?” she asked and her son’s eyes widened.

“A huge one?” he asked in awe and she nodded. “With lots of wieners and sweet eggrolls?” he added hopefully and when she nodded again, the boy whooped in bed. “Oh boy! I’m gonna sleep now!” he declared as he shifted on the bed as he lay on his side and closed his eyes.

With a smile on her face, her heart swelling with love for her child, Jena picked up Sammy’s favorite teddy bear from the floor and tucked it in his arms. She then brushed his hair with his slender hands and planted a kiss to his temple.

“Goodnight sweetheart,” she said softly before she quietly left the room.

As soon as she left however, Sam opened his eyes. His hand went under the pillow to fish for his cell phone. Tomorrow, his mom would make him a huge lunchbox and he would share some food with his new friend. He had been bragging about his mother’s cooking to him after all.

With his small hands, he typed his message clumsily and when he was done, he placed his phone back under his pillow and fell asleep with a huge smile on his face.