By Jimmy Mccombre
Tired from the walk home from school, I barely noticed the Toyota Highlander, the car
I hope my mom gives me when I get my license in the driveway. “Weird what is she doing
home,” I whispered to myself. As I entered my two story house, I noticed my mother in the
kitchen preparing dinner. “Hey mom,” I said ebulliently while kissing her on the cheeks. She
had an worried look on her face. Her expression was filled with wariness yet exhaustion. “What
wrong?” I asked confusingly.“Nothing is wrong honey. I just have something important to ask you,
but I will wait for dinner. Why don’t you go and change your clothes, while I prepare for dinner?” She
asked candidly: “Okay mom,” I said hesitantly.
I went upstairs into my small but spacious room, it was a vintage black spacious room and vintage
black and white wallpaper with a white twin size bed in the middle and a red chest next to it. I went
into the bathroom near my bedroom to wash my face; I kept on contemplating on what my mother wanted
to talk to me about. I changed into my favorite sweatpants and t-shirt and decided that I may as well make
myself productive in the thirty minutes I had until dinner. I grabbed mybackpack heavy and full with textbooks
and pulled out my Homework for Mrs.Miller essay that was due Friday. While attempting to do it, thoughts
flooded through my head. ‘What could mom possibly want to tell me surely seemed to disturb her; I thought.
There was no way I could get any work done therefore I closed my textbook. I sat on my bed and played
“Thinking About You” by you Frank Ocean on my IPod. As I listened to the sounds of Frank’s soft voice, I
cleared all the thoughts I had in my head. I decided that whatever it was that was bothering my mother
was probably something that I could solve. I heard my mother calling me down to help her set the table for
dinner. As I descended from the stairs, I smelled my mother’s delicious cooking. “What did you make mom, it
smells scrumptious,” I asked curiously. “It is my famous beef patty, now set the table please, so we can eat
already,” she said in a demanding tone. “Alright mom,” I said while getting the plates, forks, spoons to set the
table.
Five minutes later, my mother and I were facing each other. As we were about to eat, My mother spoke
six words that stunned me. “Your father wants to meet you,” she said staring directly at me. I coughed
ferociously, obviously still in shock from those words. “He called me from work this morning saying that he
really need to see you and that he really needs to see you and that he wants to get to know you,” she
continued hesitantly, “he wants you to spend a year with him. He lives in Ghana now apparently.” I didn’t
say anything. I couldn’t. For one thing, I was stunned and didn’t know what to say to my mother. I decided
to stay silent. “So what do you think about what I Just mentioned, James?” My mother asked incredulously.
“I don’t know,” I muttered. Still shocked from the news I sat there staring at my beef
patty.
“Well, you have always been curious about your dad, since you haven’t met him yet. I think it is a good
idea, besides you will never know him unless you meet him,” she said while shrugging her shoulder. “How
can you say that mom? Shouldn’t you be angry after all these years, he decides to communicate with us again?
We don’t need him; I don’t need him in my life. I have been doing perfectly fine with just you and me!”, Angry
about the situation I yelled while tears filled my eyes. “I have forgiven him James, and I think you should also
him. It is the right thing to do. You can’t hold a grudge with him, it is unhealthy. At least let him explain himself
and get to know you better. He is not a bad guy, he just made bad decisions.” She said calmly. “What the hell
mom, this is so unexpected. What do you want me to do? Go to him for a year, to a strange country just so I
can bond with him and act like content daughter?” I asked while being slightly irritated with my mother. “I am
just saying that you should be rational about this. Besides, Please just think about is” She asked in a pleading
manner.“Okay,” I blurted out. “Oh and one more thing, if you do plan on taking his offer, you have to leave on
Saturday, which is in three days from now,” my mother explained. “Can I be excused, mom?” I asked bluntly.
“Okay, just give your dad a chance.”
That night, I kept on thinking about the inclement news I got today. I knew I had to do this. To see
him and let him explain himself for abandoning my mother and I while she is four months pregnant
with me. That night, I had made the decision that might change my life. The weird thing was that,
the consequences might be good or bad.