10. BEFORE THE BIRTHDAY

"Rita, did you invite your neighbors?"

"Not really, Seth mentioned we just moved in to some kids in the area when we took a stroll yesterday evening." I reply Beth as I try to unclog the kitchen sink with a suction.

No one knows how the sink got clogged in the first place, we woke up this morning and found out water from the tap is gathering in the sink.

I push the suction in again with all my strength, hoping it'll suck out whatever clogged it.

"Well, a man with a boy is coming toward your door with a covered food basket in his hand."

I pause the suctioning to face Beth, a confused frown on my face. "A man and a boy with a food basket?"

"That's what I said."

I open the tap to wash my hands, the water gather as I wash, refusing to drain down.

I puff out a tired breath. It's Seth's birthday, and nothing is going as planned.

The catering company had called in the morning to announce apologetically that they won't be able to deliver the food for the birthday, with the excuse that their boss's dog died last night and they were all attending the funeral today. They had promised a total refund and a discount next time.

Just imagine!

Seth is in a snit because he still hasn't found his purple sneakers, and that's what he must wear for his birthday. Mum and Dad, who arrived last night, are in the room searching through boxes with him since morning.

And the kitchen sink is clogged.

The only good thing about the morning is that the boxes have been moved into their required rooms, Seth's gifts have been wrapped and kept, only the robot and settees are left in the living room, but the robot has been covered from head to toe with a big colourful paper bag, not to be opened until after his birthday.

The sitting and dinning area are now clean and spacious, with birthday decorations hanging from the ceiling, the windows and door. Courtesy: Beth.

I walk to the door, while Beth returns to the back of the house. I'm almost there when the door bell peals. I open it to find an athletic looking man on the lower step, his chest and biceps are bulky, while his waistline and legs are slimmer, giving him the looks of a big funnel. He is wearing a face cap so low, it covers most of his face.

He is truly holding a food basket in his right hand. A boy who looks to be around Seth's age is by his side.

He smiles, displaying white, even teeth. "Hi. I'm Ben and this is my son Mike. We live across the street." His voice is as thick as he is.

"Oh. Hi. Uhm, nice to meet you." I look down to see his son, he has the same looks as his father, a baseball cap is on his head but turned backwards.

He looks familiar, like one of the kids Seth and I met on our stroll around the neighborhood yesterday.

He smiles like his father, showing me two gaps in his lower teeth. "Morning, Ma'am." He says shyly.

"Morning yourself. We met yesterday, right?"

He nods.

The father stretches out the basket. "Mike said today is your son's birthday, and since you just moved in. I_ we made this little something for you." He pauses and clears his throat in embarrassment. "It's a tradition in the area to bring food when coming to visit a new neighbor for the first time."

"Wow. That's sweet. Thank you." I open the door wider as I accept the basket. "Forgive me, today has been one heck of a day. Would you like to come in?"

"Uhm..." The father is obviously reluctant.

"Is Seth in?" The son cuts in quickly.

I turn to him, "Yes, but he's searching for his sneakers." I consider him for a bit then I make my decision. It'll be good for Seth to have friends of his age for a change. It's been mostly the two of us, and sometimes Beth and the Grams.

"Would you like to come help him search?" I ask him.

The boy doesn't wait to think before jumping at the offer. "Yes I will!" He turns to his Dad as an afterthought, "Dad, can I?"

"I'm sure they must be busy preparing for the birthday. I don't think..."

"No, it's okay." I assure them. "I'm sure Seth would be happy to see you, Mike."

Mike beams at me, his eyes lighting up with excitement, making me wonder exactly what he and Seth had discussed yesterday.

"I'll be good Dad, I promise."

The Dad sighs and shakes his head. "Are you sure you want to take on two boys at once?" He asks me.

I laugh as I reply. "If I can't handle them, I have people around who can help me."

The father is still hesitant. "Come on in." I say, swiftly making up his mind for him.

Mike is the first to bounce in, his father follows at a slower pace, looking around as he enters.

"Please have your seats." I say as I move to the dinning area to place the basket on the table.

"You have a fine home ." He says as he removes his cap and they sit.

"Thanks." I turn to them, noticing the father's haircut. He leaves his hair full in the front, and lower at the back. Considering his body build and broad face, he should be on complete low cut or barbed to the skin. I think to myself as I consider his face structure with the eyes of an hair stylist.

"You can go see Seth in his room, it's the door to the right on the corridor." I say to Mike.

He bounces up from the chair and is almost running to the corridor leading to the rooms.

The father's heavy groan draw a laugh out of me. "Are you sure about having him here? His energy can be so tiring sometimes."

"It's okay, nothing I haven't experienced with Seth." I still have food to order and also the sink to unclog, but I have to attend to my guest first.

"Uhm, would you like something to drink?" I offer, mentally crosschecking the drinks I have in the refrigerator. I really need to buy drinks.

"Don't bother about that, I'll soon be on my way." He checks his watch and stands, holding his cap in his hand. "I'm needed at the workshop."

The back door, leading into the kitchen opens and closes again, Beth appears from the kitchen, checking something on her phone.

"Rita, we have to call a plumber. I'm trying to check if I'll get any close by." She announces, her eyes glued to her phone.

I clear my throat, causing her to look up. "Oh, I'm sorry." She moves closer. "I didn't know you have a guest."

"He's actually my neighbour, Mr. Ben. His son Mike is in the room with Seth." I turn to Ben. "Meet my best friend, Beth."

"Nice to meet you Mr. Ben." Beth stretches out her hand for a handshake.

"Just call me Ben." He's looking at me as he accepts Beth's handshake. He finally drags his eyes to Beth. "Your face looks a little familiar, are you an actress?"

Beth smiles. "No, I'm not." And she leaves it at that. We both know Ben may have seen her face on tabloids with Stephen, but she still prefers to keep her privacy.

Ben turns his face back to me. "Did I hear something about you needing a plumber?"

I become uncomfortable under his gaze, like he's trying to get inside my head or something. "Yes, the kitchen sink got clogged and it no longer drains water. Do you know any plumber we might call?"

"Yeah, but old Dan is out of town right now." He studies me for a while. "Let me have a look, maybe I can help." He starts to walk towards the kitchen, Beth and I glance at each other and follow.

"Are you a plumber also?" Beth asks as we all enter the kitchen in a single file.

"No, I deal with furnitures." He answers. "Got any toolbox?"

"There is, in one of the cupboards." I begin to open cupboards till I find the toolbox.

"Here you are." I hand it over to him.

We all keep quiet as he gets to work under the sink, Beth glances at me and winks. I give her a look that says, not happening girlfriend. She shouldn't even think of any crazy matchmaking.

Ben may be a hunk of a guy, with his impressive build and broad, arresting face. All hard muscles with no fat, and eyes that sees too much. But he's not for me.

Who even says he's available?

There may be a wife hiding somewhere. He has a son afterall. Life has taught me that where there's a child, a woman is bound to be lurking around.

I'm not falling for that shit again. Never again.

I stand quietly as he works on my sink while Beth wanders off, not wanting to distract him with idle chatter.

Finally he finishes and tightens the screw of the pipes. The bowl I had given him to dump dirt from the pipes was almost full with all kind of decayed food particles stuffed into the drains by the former owners of the house.

I stare at it in dismay. How am I going to dispose of it?

Ben straightens from under the sink and opens the tap to check his work. Thankfully, the water is now draining away easily. He locks the tap and turns, catching me looking at the bowl of dirt. "You could flush it down your toilet."

I stare at him in disgusted shock. "No way am I doing that!"

It takes me a while to see the laughter dancing in his eyes. "You're making fun of me." I say calmly.

"Yeah." He grins widely, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "Worth it to see that look on your face."

He picks his cap from the countertop where he had dumped it earlier and we leave the kitchen.

"Thank you so much. You've just eliminated one of my worries." I say with sincere gratitude as we reach the living room.

He pierces me with his too perceptive eyes. That uncomfortable feeling course through me again, leaving me slightly shaky and wary, very wary.

"I'll like to eliminate all of your worries." He says easily like we're discussing street names.

I frown a little, letting him know I won't welcome any form of friendship apart from neighbourly.

"I should get Mike so you can get going. I have kept you away from your work long enough."

Right on cue, I hear Seth's room door open and close with a bang, the sound of their running footsteps and laughter reach us before we see them.

Seth is holding his purple sneakers like a trophy. "Mum! I've finally found them." He exclaims gleefully. "And it was Mike who saw them in my toy box. Can you believe that?" He is jumping from foot to foot, too excited to stay still.

I smile at his excitement. "Thank God. At last you found it." I examine the sneakers, they look slightly dirty but I'm keeping my lips zipped.

"Where're the Grams?" I ask.

Seth's sigh is long suffering. "They searched with me for a while, then they said they were tired and needed to rest." He shakes his head in dramatic resignation. "Can't blame them, they're old."

I laugh lightly. "Mike's dad is here." I tell him.

Seth settles down enough to notice the other person in the living room. "Good morning sir." He says in a subdued and slightly scared voice. Ben's build would scare any child.

Ben tries to put him at ease with a smile. "Morning Seth. Happy birthday."

Seth's happiness returns. "Thank you sir." He turns to me, apparently moving on to the next important item on his list. "Mum, I'm hungry. Can I have some pizza?"

I groan in exasperation. "You ate pizza almost throughout yesterday and also this morning. You'll have to eat something else or you'll get pizza-sick."

"Yeah, but it's my birthday gift." He pleads, "And Aunt Beth bought so much and_"

"And it's time to say goodbye to Mike and his Dad, they're leaving." I quickly cut in.

Seth turns to Mike, disappointment written all over his face. "You're leaving? So soon? I thought you were staying for my party."

Mike turns to his Dad, his face sad but hopeful. "Dad, can I stay for Seth's birthday party?"

The Dad, obviously at a loss, just stares at his son.

I give him a pitying look. This can be hard for we parents; to do or not to do, to be strict and or to just give in.

He glances at me, silently pleading with me to bail him out.

"Uhm, Mike. I'm sure you have something important to do for your daddy today." I phrase it as a question so he won't think I don't want him with Seth.

Mike sighs like he knows he's fighting a lost battle. "I guess so. If holding hammer and nails for him is so important."

I snort out a laugh, hiding it quickly behind a cough. Ben gives me a look that promises retribution.

Seth steps forward, looking up bravely into Ben's eyes. He places his palm on his chest like he's about to make a solemn oath or sing an anthem.

I roll my eyes.

"Please sir. Can you leave Mike here with us till you return? I promise he won't do anything to embarrass you."

Ben's eyes narrow in suspicion. Kids from experience, mostly do the opposite of what they say. "I don't think your mum can handle the both of you at once."

Seth grins, all his milk teeth showing. "It won't be only us. I invited some other kids and their parents too."

"You did what!" I shout. "When?"

Noticing the look on my face, his smile falters. "When you walked some steps away to make a call." His voice has gone small.

I try to remember when that had happened. We were sitting at a fast food joint not far from home during our stroll yesterday, waiting for our order to arrive, when two women arrived with five kids, one of them was Mike.

Our table was the only available one with four empty chairs. The mothers had dragged three more chairs from other occupied tables and we had begun to chat.

They had sounded friendly enough, talking about the area. I had relaxed in no time and even laughed at their gossips on some of the neighbours. Seth had quickly acquainted himself with the children, telling them about our former apartment and his gadgets.

I had checked my phone and saw that I'd missed one of my staff's call. I excused myself to call back, walking a short distance away so I could hear better.

I finally was able to talk to my staff, and also calm an irate client who refused to style her hair if I wasn't there, and advice a known elderly lady on the hair style that best suit her face structure.

All the while keeping an eye on Seth as he chatted with the kids.

"But I was just a few steps away, and I had my eyes on you the whole time. How..."

"It just kind of popped out of my mouth, and they all said they would come." His eyes fall to the floor. "I'm sorry mummy."

Okay, I wont panic. They might have said they'd come just to humour him, he's a kid afterall. It's not like I invited them. And they didn't mention the invite when I joined them again after the call, they had only wished him happy birthday in advance and we all finished our food and went our separate ways.

But Mike was one of them, and he had come with his Dad. Which means one of the two women is his mum.

I turn to him. "Mike, will your mum and her friend with the other kids be coming for the birthday?"

Mike looks perplexed. "My mum?" His face clears after a second. "You must mean Ms. Faith." He smiles, the gap in his teeth showing again. "She owns the day care I stay whenever I return from school, till Dad comes to pick me."

"And the other woman?"

"Miss Jane is her assistant. And they may come. Dunno." He shrugs.

Okay, not too many extra mouths to feed. And they may not come.

Food! I have to order food. Sir Paulo, Romeo and also Stephen are all coming. I'll have to feed them, and Mike, and maybe two women and extra four kids. Oh God.

Ben is smirking at my distress. "Since it's all settled, I'll be on my way then." He bends to give Mike a hug. "Okay buddy, you can stay. But no misbehaviour."

Mike hugs him back with a happy grin. "I promise to be good, Dad."

Ben nods and rises. "I'll come pick you when I return."

He turns to me and tries hard to hide his smirk, I give him a serious glare.

"I'm sure its nothing you can't handle. Everything will be fine." He walks to the door, and I follow to see him off. "Thanks for having Mike here. I'll be back to pick him in the evening." He says.

I step out with him. "Thanks for the food and the sink."

He nods and smiles. "I really didn't cook anything. Mike handled most of what's in that basket."

My mouth open in surprise. "Mike can cook? You let him cook? How old is he?"

His laughs slowly. "Let's just say... Mike was so enthusiastic to come here, he was willing to do anything. And he's almost five."

Still smiling, he tips his cap at me and leaves. I watch him for a while as he goes, wondering what I said that was so funny. I shake my head and return inside.

The boys have disappeared from the living room, I find Dad eating pizza by the dinning.

"Hey Dad, Seth said you and Mum were taking a nap."

Dad snorts, his mixture of black and grey hair shining under the bright light. "I was taking a nap. Your mum was talking into my nap."

I smile as I pull out a chair to seat. "Did Seth tell you he has found his sneakers?"

"Finally! That boy got his drama from your mum, going on and on about how his birthday wouldn't be complete without the damn sneakers."

I laugh at that. "Seth can be quite sensational when he wants something."

I frown as I watch him take a huge bite out of the pizza. "Should you be eating this Dad? It has beef in it."

"So?"

"I don't think Mum would approve of this."

"Who cares? I won't tell if you don't."

"You know she'll smell it on you. She knows when you're eating something you shouldn't."

"I'll go take my bath after."

"Where's she? Still napping?"

"She's with Beth at the back of the..."

We hear the sound of the kitchen door opening from outside. Dad shoves the remaining pizza with the carton to my side of the table, toppling the food basket from Ben in the process.

I move swiftly to grab the basket, before it falls to the ground. Beth enters and stare at us suspiciously.

"What's happening? Why're you holding your neighbour's basket?"

"It was almost falling." I reply as I glare at Dad.

Dad glower at both of us. "Where's she? He asks Beth.

Beth didnt need to ask who 'she' is. "She has her hands deep in soil, planting some flowers and vegetables she brought with her."

Dad scowl clears instantly, he smiles with relieve. "Aah. That's good. She won't be free for a while." He reaches out and drags the pizza back to himself.

"Thanks for keeping it safe for me." He says and continues to take big bites from the pizza."

Beth and I glance at each other and shake our heads. "Just take it easy Dad, so you don't choke."

He pretends he doesn't hear me and moves on to the next slice.

Beth turns to me. "Have you handled the food?"

"Oh my God! I've forgotten about the food. I stand up suddenly. "What's the time?"

"It's past ten." She frowns at me. "What kind of a hostess are you? You invite people to a birthday party stroke house warming, and you forgot about the food?"

Her scolding is pissing me off. "I didn't invite so many people. I just wanted a family get together where we'll wish Seth happy birthday and toast to the new house."

"And toast with what?" She scoffs, folding her hands on her chest, her typical angry pose. "Glasses of water?"

Dad, who has been quietly eating his pizza, chuckles at Beth's sarcastic question, aggravating me the more.

He clears his throat, "You really need some good beer and wine in that freezer of yours, if you're to host people."

I glare at him. "To host people or to sneak into your tummy. I'll tell Mum if I see you with any kind of drink other than water." I threaten him, behaving more like a thirteen year old girl than a woman in her thirties.

"Your mum doesn't own me. I'm a full grown man who can makes his decisions by himself."

"Yeah? We'll see about that when I tell her you've been stuffing yourself with beef pizza."

Dad isn't backing down, he narrows his eyes at me. "Now see here young lady, you're not too big for me to lay across my knees and give you the spanking you deserve."

I am about to give an angry retort, when Beth snaps. "Will you guys stop! We don't need this right now." She faces me fully. "Rita, order enough food now, or you'll have to go shopping and start cooking."

I frown at her commanding tone as I contemplate my options. I'll prefer to order food than to cook, it may be more expensive than I planned, but right now, it's way better than cooking.

I pick up my phone to search for an online food vendor. "By the way." I inform them with a reprisal smirk. "Seth might have invited six people for his birthday."

"What do you mean by that?" Beth asks with a frown.

"Just what I said. Two women and four extra kids." I look up from my phone to smirk some more. "And he told them the party starts in the morning."

Well, that last part was a fib. But who cares? It's sure worth it to see the anxious look in Beth's eyes. She doesn't do well around kids, except Seth.

"What!" Dad shouts, already through with his pizza. He has a bottle of water in his hand as he growls at me. "More kids?"

The door bell rings simultaneously, making us all jump in alarm.