W1.A1-10: A Mother’s Sacrifice – Lousy Clothes

"One, two, three! … Urrgh…"

I watched as the maids turned red from overexerting themselves. But no matter what they did, the package just didn't move. It did wobble a bit, though, which was enough to impress me.

"Alright." I said at that moment, "You can stop now." I stepped forward towards them and gestured for them to stop their efforts.

The maids quickly complied as they backed away before beginning to pant heavily.

Jennie looked especially red, partly because of the efforts she exerted and partly because of how ashamed and awkward she felt.

"It's alright." I had to comfort her when I saw her eyes getting watery. Patting her shoulder, I consolingly said, "Just remember not to overexert yourself next time, alright?"

She nodded timidly as her cheeks turned redder.

Soon, a cart was brought out, and I helped them load it up with the package.

"Go rest." I petted Bert's fur and ordered him to go to the stable. The maids exclaimed in amazement when they saw it actually acting on my command.

I then followed the maids and went inside, going towards the kitchen.

A new fragrance had replaced the one from breakfast. This one felt more filling.

"Right on time, Danny." My mother smiled as she saw me coming in with the maids. Her gaze then moved on to the cart before she asked, "What is that, Yena?"

"I don't know, Madam, but the young master says that it's an ingredient for tonight's dinner." Aunt Yena replied.

"Oh?" My mother seemed interested as she arrived before the package and began to open it.

Gasp!

Seeing the blocks of bull meat that shone as light reflected off the rich protein content, my mother gasped.

The other maids were also a bit surprised at how the meat clearly looked different from the ones they were used to working with.

But the most surprised were my mother and Aunt Yena. They were more experienced and clearly recognized it as something belonging to a powerful beast.

"Danny, this…" She looked at me with a questioning gaze.

"Oh, it's nothing, Mom." I smiled, totally at ease, as I had already thought of an answer.

"I just came across a bunch of wild bulls fighting with a mountain lion pack." I pointed at the meat before adding, "This was one left behind after both of the groups left."

Showing an embarrassed smile, I scratched my head as I said, "I hope you don't mind the source, as I had heard it is quite delicious."

The maids showed a look of amazement on their faces, as their town-bound lives have not given them much perspective regarding the wild elements.

Only my mother had a suspicious look on her face, but she didn't continue the topic and nodded, saying, "We'll make it for dinner then." She then pointed towards the room where we had dined in the morning and said, "Wash your hands and go sit on the table; the lunch is almost ready."

I nodded while heaving an inward sigh of relief. I was the most worried about my mother questioning me further.

Obeying my dear mother's commands, I quickly washed my hands and went to sit on the dining table.

Soon, my mother entered, followed by the maids as they carried a bunch of delightful smelling dishes.

"Oh, isn't this one from Aunt Darla's farm?" I exclaimed in surprise as I tried one of the dishes—a meat stew with beans.

"Just as I had thought." My mother smiled. "You still like the cold cuts from her farm; good thing I bought some this morning."

"It's great!" I praised while I ate another spoonful.

Just like that, we enjoyed our lunch, and I ate like I was filling myself for the next few years in one go.

My mother had a gentle and satisfied smile the whole time as she spent more time looking at me than at her own plate.

Burp!

This time, I finally couldn't stop myself from letting out a satisfied burp. But I wasn't even embarrassed, as the lunch was really well prepared.

But maybe I had thought too much, as the maids all had happy smiles on their faces as they just took it as a compliment for the hard work they invested in preparing the lunch.

"Would you like to take a nap?" My mother asked as she passed me a wet towel to clean my hands.

"Nope." I instantly shook my head and said, "How can I waste my time sleeping when I can spend it with my beautiful mother instead?"

My mother chuckled at my smooth answer before asking, "So, anything you'd like to do here?" She then looked at me playfully before saying, "I can even introduce you to some girls if you'd like."

"Uh, I'll pass."

"Yeah, that's what the girls must have said when they saw you in these lousy clothes, huh?"

"Mom…"

"Hihihi~ alright, tell me what you want to do, and your mother will make time out of her busy schedule to spend time with you!"

Avoiding her smug glare, I thought for a moment before saying, "How about we go to the farms?"

"Farms…" My mother paused for a moment before hurriedly asking, "Oh, you mean the vegetable farm?" She added, "We can go now if we want to."

"No, Mom." But I shook my head. "I'm talking about our fruit orchard." I corrected her. A reminiscent smile appeared on my face as I spoke. "Remember how much fun we used to have competing on who would make the best fruit salad?" I chuckled at the thought.

"Yeah." My mother also smiled, though it looked a bit unnatural.

She then suggested, "How about we go there sometime else?" Before I could ask for the reason, she spoke, "The orchard is undergoing some, uh, yeah, renovation currently."

"Renovation?" I had a confused expression on my face. "Did it get damaged or something?" I had to ask because I didn't remember there being any immediate need for any kind of construction or renovation there.

"Nothing like that." My mother said as she waved her hand. "Just that we're thinking about distilling some wine out of the new fruits." She explained. "That's why I hired some people from the nearby city to do some installation for that."

"How about we go strolling around the town?" She asked, changing the topic. "There are many things that have changed in the years you were away; you'd be surprised how much we have progressed."

"Is that so?" I nodded, even though I felt something was wrong.

I can't force Mom to tell me about whatever it is. Thinking like that, I could only drop the matter before agreeing to my mother's suggestion.

And that's how our plan to stroll through the town began.