Hijo

"Papa." The boy tugged the blanket of his father leaving him vulnerable to the coldness of the air-con.


Drake looked at him with half-closed eyes and enveloped himself under the comfort of his blanket again.


"Papa." The boy persisted and shrugged his father on his legs. "Papa, Papa." The shrug went stronger. The boy was persistent.


Uncovering himself and letting his body be exposed from the coldness of the room again he glanced at the boy, now with puppy dog eyes and asked: "Why, Nathan?"


"You promised." 


From half-closed eyes it grew to the bigger, rounder ones Drake really had. "What did I promise you?"


It hit him like a lightning to a metal object! It was the first day of school!


"Oh yeah!!!" The father jumped out of his bed.


"Take a bath while I prepare breakfast." He hurriedly scooted the child towards their bathroom, took off the clothes and went to the kitchen to look for something to satiate their morning hunger.


He placed distilled water into their thermos then opened the cupboards for something instant, a quick meal getaway, but there was only a box of cereals and an oatmeal.


No, he scrapped the idea. This is his son's first foray into education. Life is good. He opened the fridge for a more suitable breakfast option: eggs, a half serving of spam, whole wheat bagels still unopened, butter, cheese since New Year, tomatoes, onions, scallions. What could he do with the available ingredients?


Ding! It was the first thing that came into his mind. Without further ado he placed a pan over the stove, lighted it up, turned it to medium heat, he cracked two eggs, placed them in a bowl, blitzed them, got a medium-sized tomato an a medium-sized onion and cut them into pieces, he also got two cloves of garlic and minced them nicely. He lowered the heat of the pan, tossed the minced garlic and waited for them to turn a little brown. The wafting smell made him more excited! After a few more seconds he tossed the sliced onion then the tomato and let them caramelize and blend with each other harmoniously, he placed the sauteed ingredients aside and poured the eggs on the hot pan, waited until it solidified and tossed back the sauteed ingredients. After a few seconds of waiting he plated it and went to get the whole wheat bagels. He always has problems with the microwave, he just couldn't understand how it works. One time he tried heating pork rolls, the moment it was done, the wrappers were hard as stones and the inside were cooked to a non-enticing crisp. The other time he tried heating a sandwich of cheese but with crackers instead of bread. The result was far less enjoyable - soft crackers with crispy albeit melted cheese - which he nevertheless ate without much gusto nor appetite. This time he placed three bagels into the microwave, closed the wretched appliance, prayed and timed it for a minute. Faith would do the rest.


Thug, thug, thug. The child's untied shoes were heard across the kitchen area. Drake turned his back and saw what he needs to do. Obviously, the child needed assistance for his school uniform.


What would a father do?


He washed his hands, wiped the excess water on his shorts and looked what needs to be done. Unbuttoned polo shirt, bacon-like sagging socks and untied shoes. Not to mention disheveled hair and snot from the left side of the nose with a touch of booger. Nice.


So, this is the real side of fatherhood? Drake's time had just commenced.




Part 1