14 Reminiscence

"Put me down! Stupid fool. So embarassing"

I said struggling. This man always had such a tall and bear like structure but why was his face so different. He put me down and I looked at him carefully. Except his warm jolly smile and golden brown colour of his eyes, there was literally no similarity

"I - I couldn't even tell it's you. How come you look so different" I asked bewildered

"Long story" he said sheepishly, "Where's our little Twen?" he asked brightly

"Oh! He is waiting for me there" I said pointing at the seat he was in.

"I see. Wait for 5 minutes. I'll get your food to your seat. Just go and sit there" he said jumping back inside the counter.

I was still a little in disbelief. I turned and walked back wondering if he was really Fred, but if he isn't, he wouldn't have known Twen. I sat down at the table absorbed in my thoughts.

"Mommy, you didn't order food?" Twen asked pouting, bringing me out of my thoughts

"It is coming. Just five minutes" I smiled

Fred came with three orange juice bringing one for himself and two of ours corn and cheese sandwich. He placed them on the table and took the orange juice in his hand. Since the restaurant was so full, he couldn't get a chair so he remained standing.

"You have grown even thinner and I can't believe how Twen have grown. The last time I saw him, he was a baby"

"He was just 1 when you saw him Fred" I laughed

"Mommy does this uncle know me?" he asked eyeing Fred, wide eyed

"Yes. He is Mommy's friend and I wanted you to meet him. This uncle took care of you, when you were a baby" I told him, sipping on my orange juice. It was pretty hot and the sun was bright, so I was feeling thirsty

Fred patted his head, "How your doing, Champ?" Fred asked with his usual infectious smile

Twen pouted, "If you are here to take my Mommy, I am not giving you" Twen suddenly blasted

That was the last thing I expected coming out of his mouth. I almost spit out my juice, "Tw-Twen, what are you saying?" I stammered

But Fred started laughing, "He is straight forward about what he wants. Don't you worry, kiddo, your Mommy is already taken. I can't have him" he grinned at Twen earnestly

"What...Fred not even you!" I said irritated.

"But that's true" Fred shrugged

I didn't say anything. Twen looked confused by Fred's words and turned his head, munching his sandwich with more force than needed. Fred is an Alpha and he developed feelings for me while I was working here. He didn't want to upset me, so he kept pretending like a friend. Until the day, I got harrassed by a customer in the restaurant. He flew into rage and beat him into pulp. It was my first time seeing Fred so furious. I didn't make anything of it except that he might be having mood swings but Fred's father noticed his feeling. After that, his father confronted him and Fred admitted to being in love with me. I was completely taken aback. He even went ahead and said, he would have bonded with me had I already not been bonded.

Fred's father was homophobic. He thought it was my fault to have seduced his son. He was furious that I repayed his son's and his kindness by turning his son gay. He called me several names and asked me to leave the house if I had any regard for him and his son. I didn't wanted Fred to have feud with his dad, so I left. But Fred got to know about this and instead had a huge row with him. I told him that I left on my will but he was not ready to believe. He came to me several times and requested me to return but I refused. He kept blaming his dad for it even after my saying many times, it wasn't his dad's fault. And it was the truth, as I left not only to not destroy the father-son relationship but also because I didn't want Fred to destroy his life over someone like me. I wanted him to move on. So, I remained firm with my decision. Finally, he gave up and moved out of country. I lost contact with him after that. I came here many times over the years to meet him only to know that he had still not returned.

Meeting him after so long and hearing him still say the same thing, I can't help but feel guilty. It's like I destroyed his relation with his dad.

"How's uncle?" I asked hesitatingly

"He's fine. He has gone to Hawaii with his new wife" he said casually.

That was surprising. I can't believe that Uncle actually thought of marrying at this age.

"You- you are ok right?" I asked hoping not to hurt his feelings

"Yeah I am. Though, I don't stay with dad any longer. He was upset with me not wanting to marry any woman. And on top of that he married himself. I got so pissed that I got myself drunk and drove past speed limit ending up in an accident. That's how my face changed" he said grinning

I was stunned. This guy is so damn reckless. How can he so casually talk about being in an accident?

"You are seriously so reckless. What if anything happened to you?" I glared at him.

"I know. The old man almost got a heart attack on hearing about my accident. After I woke up, he was a changed man, he promised me to divorce my step mom and even said I can marry anyone I want even if it is a guy, just not to die on him. I guess all my anger melted off because of that, though I still refuse to stay with him" he laughed

I felt relieved hearing that. How could I have forgiven myself had their relationship been ruined because of me? But still it took an accident for both of them to forgive each other. What a stubborn son and dad pair!

"So, now you work in beach restaurant's counter?" I asked smiling

He looked at me and said softly, "I own this restaurant"

My eyes widen. This restaurant was his? "Woah! When did the carefree boy became a man?" I teased

He slightly blushed, " Come on. I always wanted a beach restaurant. Am so glad to be able to open one"

"I am happy for you" I said, seeing his happy face.

The only person who was annoyed was Twen. He glared at Fred even when we were leaving. Fred waved at us, smiling widely. He wanted us to stay but I can't. I still have to think about my job. It was good to see a friendly familiar face. I somehow felt the stress wane away. I picked Twen on my arm amd started walking back towards the car when he said with round worried eyes,

"Mommy, you won't choose that uncle over me would you?"

So, this was the reason for him being so upset with Fred. I laughed at his baseless childish insecurities and said kissing his forehead, "Twen, I would always choose you no matter who the other person is"

Twen's smile was back on his face and he hugged me tightly. He doesn't know it but for me, in this world nothing is more important than Twen.