A Visitor Calls

A VISITOR CALLS

Ma made an impromptu appearance the next day, arriving before noon. Dressed in what looked like her worst clothes, she still looked good, although a bit worn out, and gave off a distinguished air when she stepped out of the car. She wasn’t driving this time around; instead, a man I’d never seen before was in the driver’s seat and he quickly turned and drove off soon after she stepped out of the car. That wasn’t something I could overlook. Ma did all the driving herself, even when she felt ill. She’d always called the long journeys home a challenge she was willing to take on and I was seriously surprised that she’d allowed to be chauffeured. It was still her car too, for that matter. By the way, I noticed all this because I was the only one waiting for her on the veranda when the car turned into our yard after branching off the road. That’s because only I knew she was coming, and I’d wanted it to be a complete surprise for Lydia. As I happily went out to meet her, her eyes slowly darted to Dad’s window for some time like she’d seen someone there and then came back, just in time for my big happy hug. I was really happy to see her. The others must have heard the car rev off, and soon filed out of the door with as much excitement as they could show without looking surprised at her sudden appearance. While going through the hugs and smiles and formalities, I noticed that Ma wasn’t as happy as I’d thought she’d be to see us, but seemed a little sad and uncomfortable. Her face broke into short lived creases whenever she forced a laugh every now and then, and then went back to looking gaunt and tired. I also noted that she seemed to check her phone almost every three minutes, more frequently than I’d checked mine for messages in the first week of owning it. Was she expecting a message? What was it? It must have been the one causing her thoughts to occasionally wander away from us, I thought.

Later, during the day as Ma stayed with Dad in his room, Lydia and I took to arranging the things Ma had come with and organising lunch, as Sara’s nanny had taken leave for the afternoon following a constant migraine. We decided on what we’d cook for over an hour and then agreed on rice and beans with greens which we both knew Ma could never get enough of. The doctor had called earlier on in the day, after which he’d come down with Uncle Leo and announced that Dad was going to be fine. They’d left in the doctor’s car soon after that, with Uncle Leo promising to visit as much as he could. Ma came down with Dad that evening for supper, with him resting on her arm as she led him to the dining table. He looked worn out and cold but much better and less drunk. Actually, he looked more sober. As they came down together, Lydia and I couldn’t help smiling at the view. Dad stole an occasional glance at Ma, who’d return the favour and then a short smile would be shared between them. Whatever they’d talked about in his room the whole day must have had relieving effects, or so it seemed. For one, the future had never looked brighter! We all helped him get into his seat as Lydia organized the plates. Dinner turned out to be just fine and much better than it had been in ages. In the days that followed, Dad got much better to the level of walking around on his own for hours. I couldn’t help thinking that Ma’s arrival had been the spark Dad needed to get better, and couldn’t think of anything else except how stupid I’d been to think that there were even planning to separate.

At lunch the next day, Dad announced that Uncle Leo had asked him to come over to his farm in the country for a visit. Ma thought it would be a good idea for his health and persuaded him to go. For the first time, Dad asked our opinion on something and we were caught off guard. Sickness always had a way of changing people’s view of things and Dad seemed to be the latest victim. Lydia, always the quick one, answered first, pestering Dad to stay. She sounded weird; like she was revisiting the demanding stage she’d missed as a child when Dad was still emotionally absent. Now that he was, she was acting like a completely spoilt brat. Only that this time around there was less money involved. When he turned to me for an answer, I replied that he could go but didn’t look at his face to see the reaction it gave. For my part, I still didn’t believe he really wanted our opinion anyway, and didn’t want him to think I had been waiting for him to shower me with affection all this time by answering so excitedly like Lydia had. I wasn’t ready to accept that he’d probably changed, and still saw him in the same bad light that it had always been. Well, he took Ma’s idea, and we saw him off two days later in the morning. That’s how we found ourselves alone with Sara for the following days.

That is Chapter 15 from my novel, "There is a reason you must hate me" by John Sade on Smashwords. Please check it out, or follow this link. https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/626859