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หน้าหลัก / Always the Guest / Chapter 2

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Chapter 2

ผู้เขียน: Big River
At eight forty the next morning, I arrived at the mall.

Michael was already waiting at the entrance.

We bought champagne, bedsheets and wedding favors.

Yvonne's fiancé thought the color of the bedding they had picked out originally looked old-fashioned, so Michael dragged me to another building to look for something else.

At nine fifty, I checked my watch.

"Michael, I've to leave by ten thirty."

He agreed readily enough, but his feet kept moving. Before I knew it, he was pointing at the wedding supply store across the street.

"Just one last thing.

"We will grab some decorative paper and then we can go."

We had barely finished buying it when Yvonne called.

"Hey, bro, they changed the measurements for the photo wall at the hotel. Could you go over there and measure it for me?"

I stopped walking.

"Why don’t you go yourself?"

There was a two-second silence on the other end.

"I'm helping my boyfriend try on suits."

"I have things to do too," I replied.

Michael stood beside me, looking awkward.

"Caleb, did your mom not say you would take care of all this today?"

I gripped my car keys and suddenly let out a little laugh.

"She never asked me before she volunteered me."

Michael's expression stiffened. "I'm not trying to make trouble for you..."

"I know." I handed him the bag of wedding favors. "You can take a cab for the rest of it."

Mom called as soon as I pulled out of the parking lot.

"You left your uncle alone at the mall?"

"Yeah."

"How is he supposed to carry all those things?"

"Aunt is there with him too," I replied.

Mom's voice grew noticeably colder.

"Caleb, what did I tell you last night?"

The traffic light ahead turned red. I pressed the brake.

"You told me a lot of things last night.

"However, I never said I was available all day."

There was silence on the other end for a long moment.

Just when I thought she was about to lose her temper, she sighed.

"Fine. Go take care of your own business.

"I will handle the rest."

I paused, caught off guard.

"Okay."

"Don't rush into buying the house," she added. "Read the contract twice. If there is anything you don't understand, take a picture and send it to me."

The tight knot in my chest suddenly loosened a little.

That was how Mom was.

It was not that she did not love me, or that she was completely unreasonable. It was just that whenever relatives were involved, she always seemed to think I could give up a little more.

When I arrived at the real estate office, I still had fifteen minutes to spare. The agent flipped to the last page of the contract.

"The twenty-thousand-dollar deposit is due today.

"You've three days to pay the rest of the down payment.

"The seller needs the money urgently. There really is no way to delay it any longer."

I signed my name.

The moment the payment went through, my palms were slick with sweat. For the first time in my life, I felt like I was finally about to have a home of my own.

A 625-square-foot apartment with one bedroom and a small living room.

It was not much, but nobody would be able to push open my door and tell me, "You can sleep on the couch tonight."

I took a screenshot of the payment confirmation and sent it to Dad.

[Give me the savings card tonight.]

[I've to pay the rest of the down payment the day after tomorrow.]

Ten minutes later, he replied.

[Okay.]

That afternoon, just after I finished a meeting, he sent me another file.

[Can you make some changes to Yvonne's engagement party photo wall?]

I glanced at the time in the bottom-right corner of my computer screen.

Six forty.

[Find an advertising company to do it.]

He called immediately.

"You do design work yourself. Why can you not just make a few changes? It will only take a little time.

"Hiring someone else will cost money."

I closed my eyes briefly.

"Dad, I don't design wedding decorations."

"It is all pretty much the same thing." His voice was already edged with irritation. "Your uncle knows you can do this and I've already promised him."

I did not argue.

At ten thirty, I sent the revised file anyway.

When I got home, Mom had already replaced the broken wheel on my suitcase.

A bowl of chicken soup was waiting on the table.

"Tired?" She handed me a spoon. "About what happened with your uncle today, I'm not upset with you.

"If you've important things to take care of, then take care of them first."

I lowered my head and took a sip of soup.

Maybe it was because I was so tired, but my throat suddenly felt tight.

A few minutes later, I finally asked, "Where is the card?"

Mom's hand stopped moving.

Dad happened to walk out of the kitchen. He looked at me, then at Mom.

Neither of them said a word.

In that instant, the soup in my mouth suddenly tasted like nothing at all.

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  • Always the Guest   Chapter 9

    A year later, I bought a house again.Fifty-four square meters, with two bedrooms and a living room.It was not as cheap as the first place I had fallen in love with, but sunlight reached the balcony.On the day I signed the contract, I sent Mom the address.She arrived half an hour early.From beginning to end, she did not negotiate with the real estate agent on my behalf or make a single decision for me without asking.I asked her, "Is the kitchen a little small?"Only then did she step inside to take a look. "It is big enough for one person.""What about the natural light?""As long as you like it, that is what matters."After I paid the down payment, she stood outside the bank for a long time.Finally, she said only, "It's nice."Over the past year, they really had changed.When Robert asked again whether Ronald could stay at their house, Dad told him, "It doesn't matter if you ask Caleb."That is his room."We won't agree on his behalf."When another relative asked

  • Always the Guest   Chapter 8

    A little over a month later, my parents visited my rented apartment for the first time.Before coming over, Dad asked me three times."Is three o'clock convenient?"Would you like us to come a little earlier?"If you are tired today, we can come another day."At 3:05, the doorbell rang. I opened the door, Mom stood outside. Instead of reaching for the doorknob as she always used to, she asked first."May we come in?"I stepped aside to let them enter.Dad was carrying two cardboard boxes filled with the photo albums, certificates, and old books I had left at home. Resting on top was a small wooden sign.[Caleb's Little Room.]I picked it up and could not help smiling."You still had this?"When I was ten, I had made it out of a scrap of wood. The letters were crooked, and beside them was a drawing of something that barely looked like a flower.Dad's eyes reddened."We found it at the very back of the balcony."Mom sat down on my folding chair.My thirty-six-square-meter

  • Always the Guest   Chapter 7

    Dad dug out the old ledger again.At first, he had only wanted to account for the two hundred thousand.On the first page were my earnings from the year I graduated. He had recorded every amount with great care.[April: $3,000.][May: $3,200.][June bonus: $2,000.]As the pages went on, the numbers grew larger, but his handwriting became messier. Every now and then, a few small notes appeared in the margins.[Lent Aunt Julia $15,000.][Paid Ronald's $6,000 training fee in advance.][Aunt Lily's car payment: $20,000.]At first, Dad kept tapping numbers into his calculator. Eventually, he stopped.When he turned to one particular page, his hand suddenly froze.It was from the New Year in my second year at work. My year-end bonus had been $12,000. He remembered it clearly because it was the first time I had received a bonus of more than ten thousand.I had been over the moon that day.After I transferred the money to him, he had even taken a screenshot of my bank balance and

  • Always the Guest   Chapter 6

    Mom did not truly realize something was wrong until half a month later.At eight that evening, the doorbell rang.My mother's second-oldest brother, Uncle Robert, stood outside with his son, Ronald Zeller, and two large suitcases at their feet."The training program starts early now."We will be staying here for half a month."Mom stared at them in surprise."Staying at our place?"Robert looked even more confused than she did."Wasn't that what you said?"When Ronald comes over here, we don't need to book a hotel. We can just stay with you."Mom had indeed said that.At the last family gathering, Robert had complained about how expensive hotels downtown were. Without hesitation, she had assured him that everything would be taken care of."We've room at home."Why waste money on something like that?"In the past, she had never needed to think twice before saying things like that.No matter how many relatives showed up, there was always a way to make room for them in the

  • Always the Guest   Chapter 5

    In the family photo, I stood at the very edge.Mom's face was flushed from drinking, and had one arm resting on Michael's shoulder.After the picture was taken, she tugged at me."Smile."You are a grown man. Stop looking so miserable."So, I smiled.We got home at ten thirty that night.Mom had drunk too much, so Dad and I helped her into the bedroom. Before she lay down, she grabbed my hand."Caleb. I will buy you an even better house someday." Her words were slurred. "Don't hold a grudge against me over this little bit of money."I gently tucked her hand back under the blanket."Go to sleep."At eleven twenty, the moving company arrived downstairs.I did not take the bed, the desk, or the cabinets because my parents had bought those. I packed only my clothes, books, certificates, and a few things I had paid for myself.Michael heard the commotion and came out. He looked startled."Caleb, what are you doing?""Moving out."His face changed instantly. "Is this because

  • Always the Guest   Chapter 4

    Before the engagement banquet began, Mom pulled me aside into the hallway again."When Michael comes over later, I will bring up the money." She unscrewed a bottle of water for me. "There will be a lot of people here today."Don't make an ugly scene."I nodded.Only then did she smile."I knew you would understand the bigger picture."Twenty minutes into the engagement banquet, Aunt picked up her wineglass and stood."For my first toast tonight, I absolutely have to thank my husband's older sister!"Her face was already flushed from drinking."Two hundred thousand! She handed it over just like that, without even blinking!""Even I, her own mother, could never be as generous as she is!"The table immediately burst into chatter."A sister-in-law who'd go this far for her family? You cannot ask for more than that!"They are siblings, after all. When it really matters, family is who you can count on!"Yvonne, you had better remember to thank your aunt properly for this!"At

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