22 Turning Point (2)

"Mommy?" I heard Twen's voice call me and instantly pushed Robbie away.

A little figure ran past Robbie to me and stared at me. Seeing Twen's eyes widening in shock, I knew I was a mess. He held my trouser and asked in a fretful voice,

"Mom...are you okay?"

My voice was broken from all the shouting and crying. It was dry too. So, when I spoke, it sounded like I was choking,

"Yes, I'm fine!"

Twen didn't buy it. He looked at me with concern and then turned angrily towards Robbie.

"Who are you, Mister? Why are you making my Mommy cry?" he asked.

Though Robbie was looking just as messy as me, somehow, that did not gain Twen's sympathy. Robbie's cheeks were wet with tears, his shirt soaked in my tears and his hair was tousled. However, instead of tidying himself, he stared at Twen as if he had been electrocuted. Twen did not take kindly to Robbie staring at him and spoke in a harsh tone,

"I am not scared of your big eyes."

I could see that Robbie was about to say something, but I interrupted. I cannot let Robbie meet Twen now. Twen is not mentally prepared for suddenly knowing Robbie's identity as his dad. I don't want Twen to suffer from shock and pain when he is barely 7. I put my hands on both of Twen's shoulders and turned him towards me. In order to clear my voice, I had to gulp down my saliva several times,

"Twen, you'll be late. Quickly take a bath and be ready, okay? Mommy will make you breakfast."

"But-" Twen said, giving a tensed sidelong glance at Robbie.

"Twen, Mommy is fine. Don't worry," I said, kissing his forehead as he scrunched his brow up. "Get ready. I'll make you pancakes. You love it, right?"

Twen nodded but was not excited like he normally gets on hearing about pancakes. Instead, he turned to glare at Robbie as if giving him a warning and trotted past him to his room. Once the door closed, I looked at Robbie, who still had that dumbstruck look on his face.

"Leave. Twen is not mentally prepared to face you. Plus, I have work and Twen has school." I said bluntly.

Robbie said something totally unrelated to my topic, "He has my eyes."

Eyes? His entire face is completely like Robbie's. He is a carbon copy of Robbie; obviously, his genes were very dominant in him. As they look very alike, people can make the connection quite easily. Especially since he is now a prominent figure because of the Resort.

I put my index finger and thumb on the bridge of my nose before saying in a tired voice, "Yes! What a cruel twist of fate! He got your face. Are you happy now?" I looked at him feeling agitated that he was dragging on this conversation. "But I am glad it's ONLY your face he got," I said, exerting my agitated feeling.

Robbie didn't say anything. He turned to look at the closed door of Twen's room. I was too tired of arguing with him early in the morning. I walked past him to the kitchen to get my pancake mix and pan. I heard Robbie as he moved back to the drawing-room. I hoped he would finally leave. I busied myself with cooking.

I took honey out from my pantry, poured it on two pancakes, and was almost done with cooking. Twen liked chocolate syrup or maple syrup with his pancake, but I don't want him getting cavities. Plus, honey was a healthier alternative.

I heard footsteps and turned to see Robbie, his suit back on him. His face looked much cleaner and sharper after he smoothed out his bed hair, though, his eyes were still bloodshot. He came to me and said softly,

"Tony, take care of yourself and Twen. I'll come again."

I sighed. I looked at him with the plate in my hand.

"No. I don't want you anywhere near my Twen. I don't want him to catch your selfish attitude." I said sternly.

Robbie looked down at the floor dejectedly and said, "I understand, I will not get close to him until you want me to."

Before I could process what he said, Robbie abruptly walked up to me and bent his head at an angle to kiss me. I wanted to step back, but there was no place, and I was holding the plate of pancake. I was about to shout, "NO!" when he stopped suddenly. He slowly stretched his hand to caress my hair and asked softly,

"Can I kiss you?"

This was the first time. I was so taken aback that I accidentally blurted out, "Since when did you care about my consent?"

Robbie's hand froze on my hair. His eyes widen as if he had received the biggest blow of his life. Immediately, he withdrew his hand and put a distance between us. There was a weird pause. I looked at him as his face lost color. After a whole 5 minutes, he stuttered,

"I-that-I didn't mean-I," he swiftly turned away and walked to the door.

With his hand on the knob, he said quietly, "I don't even know how to apologize anymore. It feels like all I have ever done is cause you pain. Take care!"

I couldn't speak. I could hear the tremble and earnestness in his voice. It was too new to me. Right now, my thoughts were all jumbled. I remained standing in the kitchen with the plate of pancakes in my hand slightly tilted. I was hardly aware that honey was dripping from the pancakes onto the floor. I heard as the door to my house closed, followed by the door to Twen's room opening and soft footsteps walking towards the kitchen. I felt my simple life had officially turned complicated, torn between my son and his dad.