#12 What Gift

"Mother, I'm here." I knocked on the door and went in. She had just woken up from her afternoon nap when I saw her.

I gave the bottle of water beside the bed to her and sat on the chair next to her. She asked how I was doing in school and made sure I slept well. Her voice was soft and gentle, like how she used to talk to me when I was little.

Mother had a warm smile on her face the whole time which let my guard down. The way she spoke made me feel closer to her.

"Oh, Eric went on a vacation to let his mother have some time alone." I told her since she has been asking about his well-being.

"You should have joined them." I couldn't tell if she was chasing me away or just disappointed that I didn't go and have fun since I had the chance. "You don't have to worry about me," she added, "I'm going to leave this world soon anyway."

I smiled in response and told her I wouldn't go anywhere as long as she's still alive.

I continued talking about my life in school, what annoyed me and what made my day. She just stayed silent and listened to me talk about my friends, like how I did back then when I was little.

Time went by and it was already evening. The nurse came in for mother's next checkup so I left the room. Alice came to bring me home when I called her. She was smiling when I went in the car.

"What is it?"

"Nothing. Just the thought of the Miss visiting the lady alone is a very beautiful thing."

I didn't understand what she meant so I just let her be. She's always spouting nonsense while wearing a gleeful smile.

When I reached home, my sister was already waiting for me at the dining table. I went to my room to put my things before having dinner.

"Are you better already?" I was concerned for my sister when I saw her taking big bites of food like she was going to choke.

"Mm muuo nan maeae." She talked with her mouth full of food.

"I can't hear you when you're chewing." It was an indirect message from me asking her not to talk while eating, but she didn't get it.

She swallowed her food and told me what she said earlier, "I said I'm more than better."

I dug in when I heard the good news from her. Just knowing I wouldn't be left alone so soon was more than enough.

I returned to my room after I was done eating and was shocked to see my phone vibrating intensely. I recently set my phone on vibration mode so I wouldn't miss anything when it was on silent.

I picked up the phone call and heard some background noises on the other line.

"Ah, you finally picked up."

"I was having dinner. Why is it so noisy at your side?"

"You've seen my place, right?" I could hear him sighed over the phone, "Everyone there is here now, what did you expect?"

Right, his place was bigger than a mansion, more like a palace to me. Based on what Mia showed me through the video call, there were many houses along the way before reaching the main house where the head lives.

Seems like the maids joined their vacation too except for one or two who stayed behind. Well, I guess it was necessary for someone to be by his mother's side in case of emergency just like grandma.

Do I need to pay her a visit? Should I? I wonder if it would bother her.

"Just to let you know, you can visit her if you want."

"Wouldn't that be a bother to her while she's resting?"

He paused for a while before answering, "She might think of you as a nuisance but it should be fine."

He just said 'should' didn't he? He didn't sound confident while saying that either.

"But it's fine since I'll be visiting your mother too when I return."

If he says so, "Fine."

"Mm. Good night." He hung up and I went to take a shower before heading to bed.

'Nuisance… That really made me hesitate on whether or not to go.'

I went to my sister's room since she was still awake. I told her that I planned to visit Eric's mother in a few days or so and she said she wanted to tag along too so I let her.

If I remember correctly, mother once taught us to always bring a gift along with us when we visit someone. It's not like we could just give them some homemade cookies but if not then what else?

"We should get them a hamper." My sister said in a serious look.

"Our guests don't even give us hampers, how are we supposed to give a mere hamper to someone of a higher rank than us?"

"We don't even have ranks, they're just wealthier than us."

That doesn't make any difference!

"I'll think of something. Good night." I closed the door and went to my room.

While I was scrolling through my chat conversations, I thought of asking my classmates. They've visited many houses before I'm sure they know what gift is suitable for which household.

I received many suggestions as soon as I sent out a text to the group chat. Most of them were about normal gifts like hampers but one of them caught my attention.

"I'm not sure if it's the same for you but our family don't bring gifts when we visit relatives."

Well, we may be relatives but I still feel bad for not giving them something. I'm not visiting the Fredericks but a Calnan. I should ask my mother.

I turned off the lights and tucked myself to bed. My mind was calm so falling asleep wasn't a problem.

The next morning, I woke up to the sound of my room door opening. I forced my eyelids open and saw my sister walking in. She made an 'ah' look when she saw I was awake and told me to eat breakfast.

"Coming." I got up from my bed lazily and went to take my morning shower before heading to the dining room for breakfast.

"What is this?" I pointed at the bowl in front of me.

"Can't you see it? It's cereal."

Seriously? Where are my pancakes?

"Since I'm leading this house temporarily, I have the responsibility to take good care of our health," my sister said while pouring fresh milk into the bowl of cereal. " With that said, no pancakes today."

"Then when can I eat pancakes?"

"Hm… Next week?"

I doubted my ears for a second. Has my sister always been this strict on my health? I know she was doing what's best for me but still, just one bite wouldn't hurt, right?