Chapter 3

Anna cashed John by the checkout counter, then politely waved him goodbye, as he walked away with the clothes paid for.

"Thank you for shopping with us, John."

John waved back at her. Leaving the store, he warmly hugged the bag filled with clothes, pretending it was Anna.

Mr Goldbloom, while waiting, watched the fishes in the mall pond, swim about until he saw his son walk by him. Still unaccustomed to his son's new look, he almost didn't recognise him.

"John! Finally! You took so long, I almost went ahead and got food without you." 

John continued walking slowly, unaware of his surroundings. He was so preoccupied with hugging, sniffing and caressing the bag, he didn't realize when his father waved his hand in front of his face.

"Oi! Earth to John!" Mr Goldbloom snapped his fingers by John's ears. "Oi! Is anyone home?!"

John was still unresponsive. 

"Does he like the new clothes that much?!" Mr Goldbloom thought to himself. 

"Damn! If it's that easy to make him happy, then the next time his waifu dies. I won't have to hear about it for two days straight."

Mr Goldbloom flicked the daydreaming John on the back of the head.

"Ow! That hurts!" 

John was instantly dragged from his creepy lovesick world, by the sharp stinging pain on the back of his head. 

"What was that for, Dad?!"

"What do you mean, "what was that for?"." Mr Goldbloom spoke in an irritated tone. "I kept calling out to you, but you were off somewhere on cloud nine over some clothes."

"My bad, I was daydreaming a bit." 

"Don't worry about it. But, do you have my card?" 

"Ah… give me a second." John sunk his hand in his pocket and pulled out his dad's card. "Here it is."

"Thanks." Mr Goldbloom slid the card into his wallet. "Are you hungry, or is it just me?"

John felt his stomach move when he heard food.

"Yeah, I'm starving right about now. Where are we going to eat?

"Hmm… you decide." Mr Goldbloom patted John on the shoulder and walked ahead of him. "Think of today as a celebration for your sudden weight loss and self-development."

John walked alongside his dad puzzled by what he meant by self-development. 

"How bout some… ah… McDonald's?"  

"McDonald's! Oh, wow. It's been over a month since I've had a burger," Mr Goldbloom rubbed his hands together. "Drive-through, right?"

"Of course!" John chuckled. "Ain't no way I'm standing in line."

Together they left the mall and drove to the nearest McDonald's drive-thru.

"Sir, please pull up to the next window for your meal." The voice of the drive-thru cashier lady instructed.

There were three other cars in front of them. 

"John." 

"Yes, Dad."

"Do you remember our talk before I left for vacation with my siblings?"

"Oh… that." 

John, sat in the front passenger seat, staring out the window with a not-so-happy look when he was reminded of an unpleasant conversation.

"Have you decided what you're going to do, once you're 18?"

Inside the truck was quiet, only the rattling of the engine was heard. John reached over to turn on the radio, trying to avoid the awkward silence.

"Leave the radio!" Mr Goldbloom glared at John. "I asked a question! Have you decided what you're going to do, once you're 18?"

John curled up against the window next to him, fiddling with his ear.

"Um… I'm not sure... as yet… but-"

"Stop with the buts, John!" 

The truck slowly strolled up the line. 

"You've been saying that for the last four months now." Mr Goldbloom looked over at John. 

"Son, you're 17 now, and you'll be 18 next year. It's past time you started thinking about your future career path. You don't have much time left in school until it's time to get a job unless you're interested in university studies."

"I know that, but… it's not as easy as you think," John began fiddling with his ear more. "It's just that… there's nothing that really… interests me." 

"Ha!" Mr Goldbloom sighed, rubbing his hand on John's back. 

"Son, I love you no matter what. You know that. I'll even support whatever decisions you make. But! I can't be there with you forever. You need to get stronger for yourself and those around you. Do you understand?" 

"Yes, Dad. I understand… Thanks."

Mr Goldbloom pulled up by the drive-thru window and handed the receipt and money to the employee. 

"Here is your order, sir." She handed the bags to Mr Goldbloom. "Thank you, and I hope you enjoy your meal."

"Uh! Excuse me, but may I have your name?" Mr Goldbloom politely asked.

"Ah… My name is Ashley, sir." 

"Well, Ashley. For being such a good server to us, here's a little tip." He handed a 10 dollar bill to her. "It's not much, but I hope it'll make your day better."

Ashley, with a glowing smile on her face, took the money.

"Oh My Gosh! Thank you so much!"

"You're welcome, and have a lovely day, Ashley." 

"Yes, sir. I will." She gave them a heartwarming smile, as they drove off.

Returning to the apartment, they sat down at the table to eat. While eating, John glanced at the picture of his Mom.

"You know, I always wondered why you never remarried after Mom died?"

"Son, there's just something about your Mom that I couldn't find anywhere else." He twirled the drink in his cup. 

"We met back in college. She was just different from all the other women… It's kinda hard to explain."

"As in…, she wasn't a party animal?"

"Well, I mean… we went to our fair share of parties together, but we never did anything we would have regretted later."

"So, what was it then?"

"Hmm… the best way I can describe it is…" Mr Goldbloom tapped his fingers on the table. 

"She had the presence of an angel, calming and charming. Her entire attitude was just so… perfect. We'd stay up for hours studying and joking around." He laughed to himself when a memory came back to him.

"What's so funny?" John asked, finishing the last of his fries.

"Nah!… don't worry about it. You don't want to know what came back to my mind." Mr Goldbloom grinned.

"Why not? … If it's about Mom, I wanna know?"

"Trust me kiddo! You're too young for this." He smirked, taunting John's curiosity while sipping his drink loudly.

"I know what you're doing. John smiled as well. " You're baiting me, aren't you?"

"Oh my! Who, me?! I would never do such a terrible thing." Mr Goldbloom spoke in a sarcastic tone.

He tilted his chair on two legs, staring directly at John while sipping his drink loudly.

"Alright, fine. You win." John put his hands up, surrendering to his father's trap. "What was the thought that popped into your head about Mom?"

"OMG! Since you want to know so BADLY! I'll tell you." Mr Goldbloom, acting and speaking dramatically, dropped the chair back on all four legs loudly.

"Oh boy, here we go again." John rolled his eyes, chuckling.

"So, there was this school project being held by the Culinary Arts department. They were tasked with creating a restaurant as their second term grade." He crossed his arms and gazed at the ceiling

"Your Mom was begged by students to be one of the waitresses, except it was a "Playboy themed restaurant". She had to wear a bunny suit and Man!, was she sexy in the suit." 

"It was the first time I ever saw that much skin exposed by your Mom. She was so shy!" Mr Goldbloom started to gesture with his hands. "The way the suit perfectly outlined her plump, shapely body. Every inch of her body was top tier. Not to mention how timid she was during the occasion."

"This is getting uncomfortable." John felt his skin crawl at the sexual description of his mother. "I don't want to think of Mom sexually."

"Oh, Ho, Ho! I'm not done yet." Mr Goldbloom laughed at John's suffering. "Your Mom looked so good in that suit, I begged the Culinary Arts department for the suit afterwards. I knew at that moment, that your Mom's angelic personality and that blood-pumping body of hers, I had to marry her. ASAP! No second-guessing about it!" 

Mr Goldbloom grinned, leaning closer to the squirming John. "And guess what happened on our honeymoon?"

"But what if… I don't want to guess what happens next?" 

John was disgusted and hugged himself, in preparation for the words about to leave his Dad's mouth.

"Oh, don't worry… I'll tell you." Mr Goldbloom got up out of his seat. 

"Oh, Johnny boy! I remember it like it was yesterday!" He spoke in a theatrical tone and exaggerated his motions. "Ah, yes! It was a night most special indeed." 

John sat on his chair, trying to submerge himself deep, as to avoid the embarrassment he felt.

"After three years of graduating together, we pursued our passions in life together. Side by side, we grew and strengthened our love for one another. Never once having sex with each other. Tis' was difficult indeed!" 

He moved his arms and spoke, as if on a theatre stage, building up to the climax of the event.

"The raging sexual tension, between two young adults was our most treacherous struggle indeed. Oh! The horny and lust-filled nights we both had, were too heavy for even the great Atlas to carry on his shoulders." Mr Goldbloom wiped away an imaginary tear from his eye.

"But!" He tightly clenched his fist to his chest. "Our resilience and strength were like that of an orchid flower." 

"Oh my God! Can you please get to the point?! You have me squirming and dying of suspense at the same time." John clenched the edge of his seat.

"My, my. Such an impatient audience." Mr Goldbloom shook his head. "But! I live to please the crowd."

"Thank you." John giggled.

"Ah, yes. The marvellous and sensual night of our honeymoon. The best of each other we've ever had up until then. After weeks of trying to convince your mother, to wear the bunny suit from college for our first night, she gave in." 

Setting the scene, he changed his tone and movements to a more calming and relaxing pace.

"It was a privately rented beach house. The sound of the hypnotizing sea waves, smell of lustful scented candles, faint purple lights that enveloped the room, the smooth heart-shaped bed and soft mood-setting melodies circulated in the room. I thought everything was perfect until… I saw your mother walk out in the bunny suit."

Mr Goldbloom faintly smiled. "It was like an angel, graciously descending from heaven, in pure grandeur. Her body looked even better than before. She crawled towards me on that bed and a beast-like sexual hunger took me over. All those years of waiting paid off." 

Mr Goldbloom sat back down. "We went at it for hours, only stopping for water to drink, which we mouth fed one another.

He crossed his arms and stared at the table. "It was like a wild wolf to a rabbit, the way how I tore that thing up. Her moans and reactions to every stroke fueled me. Every stroke felt better than the last. At one point, the bed was so drenched in sweat and bodily fluids, that we decided to just have sex on the balcony, out in the open."

"Outdoor sex?! Yuck, y'all was nasty!" John had his feet on the chair, hugging his legs.

"Hey! Don't knock it, till you try it." He pointed at John. "The sensation of having the first few rays of the early morning sunlight grace you, while you're making the one you love, call out your name, crying out how much they love you, as you make them experience all the levels of pleasure imaginable. It's beyond heavenly, I promise you. Also, you were born nine months later, so… yeah. That's how you were born, in case you never knew."

"So, I was conceived on that night, thanks to both of you having an eight-hour-long sex session." 

"Well…. We did that every day for a week… So… it was probably one of those days… I think."

"I'm disgusted with myself." John shook his head. "I really sat here and listened to you explain, in explicit detail, your first time with Mom. I deserve the death penalty for that, honestly."

"But! It was entertaining, wasn't it?" Mr Goldbloom had a victorious smirk.

"It hurts… but I have to admit it. That was entertaining to listen to. How do you do that?"

"Do what exactly?"

"You take the most awkward and weirdest topics and make them interesting." 

"Oh, that! Hahaha! That's something you're either born with or learn over time."

"It's a form of witchcraft, I tell you."

"Maybe… I am a wizard. You'll never know for sure." Mr Goldbloom got up and pushed the chair under the table. "Well, that's enough talking for one day. I'm still exhausted from all the driving I did to get here."

"Oh, yeah! You're right." John took his feet off the seat. "Just get some sleep, I'll clean up before heading to my room."

"Thanks, son." Mr Goldbloom walked to the door of his room, and right before he entered said, "Don't stay up too late watching your cartoons."

"It's not cartoons. It's anime!" John quickly rebutted, dropping the garbage in the trash can.

"Sounds about the same to me." Mr Goldbloom walked through the door.

"Goodnight, Dad."

"Goodnight, son."