06. Single Time Friend

"Mom," Van said after their dinner. "Do you think I should sue Bianca?"

"What? Of course not! Van, the past is the past, let's just bury it and move on." His mother complained with a sour face. "You know how scary the rich can be, why would you want to mess with them again?

What will make me happy is to see you living a normal life in the sociery. Going to work, or to football games with your friends, planning dates with your girlfriend. That is what I want for you."

"But mom, do you really want to let them get away with what they did to us? It's not fair.

I know how hard you and I had to work before we could buy that house. It was supposed to be our forever place. Am I really supposed to just turn a blind eye to the fact that it belongs to them now?

And what about the money I paid for the bride price? I had never heard of paying bride price before the wedding but I did, a hundred thousand dollars!

Am I supposed to just let that go too?"

"I know what you mean my dear. Truth be told, after I saw that Bianca had gotten together with that rich kid, I demanded she refunded the dowry you paid. I even went to her parents, all I got was embarrassment.

They threw me out and threatened have their thugs beat me up if I ever went back. I was so roughed up that I ended up breaking my ankle.

After my recovery, I went back to see Bianca and I begged her, but the girl is just as ruthless as her parents."

“Damn it!" Van clenched his fists so tightly that he drew blood from his palm. He couldn't believe that they would treat his mother so harshly. Someone that had almost become their in law. "The Hartleys are really nothing but a bunch of bullies!"

"My dear, ever since Bianca started going out with the rich kid, their family's wealth and status had grown even higher that it was before. Picking a fight with those kind of people will be futile, and dangerous for us." She touched Van's arm lightly, forcing him to look at her. "I just got you back, I don't want to lose you again."

He sighed and touched her hand. "Don't worry mom, I promise I won't do anything reckless." He couldn't bear to make his mom worry. His job as a good son was to make her relaxed and happy at all times. "Fine, I'll put the past behind me. But mom, permit me to ask Bianca about the dowry one more time.

We were together for a long time, I should be able to convince her to refund it."

"And if you can't?"

"Even if I can't, I still won't do anything reckless. That's a promise mom."

"Okay. Then you can ask her about it, personally I don't think she will be nice enough to give it to you, but you do have the right to ask."

If he was to judge Bianca based on their last meeting, he was sure that she would not consider their past relationship. The reason he wanted to ask her about the dowry wasn't because he really wanted it back. He had passed that level, he just wanted to confirm something about her.

Even if, for some reason, she did offer to refund it, Van could never forgive her and Moses for what they did to him and his mother.

***

The next morning, Van was greeted by his mother's smiling face. "Good morning mom."

"Good morning my dear. Hope you slept well? I know it's not much of a bed but—"

"I slept just fine mom. It beats sleeping in prison." He smiled.

"Here." She handed him the black bag from the other day. "It's not much, but at least it should get you started. Get a haircut, and buy some new clothes. You can't keep wearing this forever."

“No, I can’t accept this money, Mom. It's your hard earned money, you keep it.” Van put the bag back in her hands, “You don’t have to worry about me, Mom. I can take care of myself, and I’m going to take good care of you. Very soon, we're going to move out of this old house and live in a better place. You have provided for me your whole life. You've had to work hard and tirelessly to care for me, now it's my turn. Let me take care of you.”

“Are you serious? Do you really have the money to shop for yourself?” She believed her son's story to some extent, because if it was a lie, those goons would have come back to ask for the money. But what she wasn't sure of was the amount he had, he already paid more than a hundred thousand, and yet he was claiming to have more.

“Of course. I have no reason to lie to you mom." He smiled and led her out of the room. "Let's have breakfast and then we can go shopping together."

After having his bath, he went out to the living room and found his mom cooking in her makeshift kitchen. He sat at the table and his heart ached when he saw that his mother had remained a portion of her coke.

"Hey mom, why is this here?" He asked as she joined him at the table.

"Hmm? Oh uh I was so happy to see you yesterday that I must have forgotten about it."

It was obvious that she had been lying. Even though he wasn't there, he knew how much his mother would have been managing all those years. She probably stopped taking many foods and drinks just so she could save up on cash. He was sure that if he hadn't returned, she would have had just the vegetable soup, and she might have even saved up some to have for breakfast that morning.

"Come on, let's eat!" She had made rice and beef stew, a delicacy that Van had always loved to eat while he was growing up. "You can have the rest of the coke if you want." She removed the cover she had put on it and moved it to his side of the table.

Just as he had suspected, she had remained it for him. When he touched it, he noticed that it was still almost full, meaning she barely had a sip from it. His mother was still the same as she was all those years ago, always worrying about him and sacrificing just for his happiness.

"Oh right, there's something I need to ask you." She said, pushing her chair backwards. She got to her feet and walked off, but returned a while later with a white box with a single red rose on it. "Here."

Van accepted it and opened it, revealing a bunch of small notes and holiday cards.

"Who are they from?" He asked, browsing through the notes and cards.

"She calls herself Snow. She said she's your single time friend."

Single time friend? Meaning they only met once.

Who was that?