STEPMOM FOR YOUR SON

'I'm going, darling. Please look after Sammy when I'm not around, okay...'

A beautiful woman with long, flowing blonde hair was smiling very beautifully at the man who was looking at her with teary eyes. A beautiful woman with long, flowing blonde hair was smiling very beautifully at the man who was looking at her with teary eyes. With fitted cuffs wrapped in a long cardigan, the woman waved at the man crying over her.

"Diana, wait. Don't go yet!" said the man quickly, but still couldn't match his steps with the woman in front of him, "Diana, Sammy and I need you. Please don't go again..." 

The graceful woman called Diana smiled again even more beautifully, 'I'm not going far. I will always be in your hearts...'

After speaking, the blonde woman waved again and then slowly disappeared.

"Diana!!!" shouted the man in great loss. He even cried until his crying brought him back from subconsciousness.

"Daddy?" a little boy's voice was heard calling, making the handsome man start to open his eyes. Diana's blue eyes were visible again in the eyes of the small child who was now sitting on top.

"Daddy's crying? Another nightmare, huh?" the little one asked innocently, "Isn't the ghost so scary, Dad, that it makes you cry? Why don't you just sleep with me if you're afraid of ghost dreams?"

The man smiled while wiping his tears. He slowly moved his son to the side, "Yeah, the ghost is so scary that I'm scared, Sam." replied the father who was now hugging his son. 

'I can't possibly say that I dreamed again about your mother saying goodbye before leaving us forever, Sam...' he continued thinking.

He didn't want his little son to cry, missing his late mother who had left them for five years. Switching sides, the man straightened his son's slightly messy hair.

The little one, who was called Sammy, clasped his chest, shaking his head as he answered, "I won't go to school tomorrow, Dad. Tomorrow, I will just stay at home with you"

Joe raised an eyebrow, "Why? Are you sick and don't want to go to school?"

"It doesn't hurt, Dad. Just bored. I want to play with Daddy." he answered glumly.

"But tomorrow you still have an exam and I have an important meeting, Sam."

"I can come to the office. I will just wait in your room later.'' The little one objected again and the father could only rub the bridge of his nose which was throbbing.

"We'll talk about that later, OK, Sam. Now go back to sleep, it's still dark. There are still 4 hours left to sleep. I will wake you up when it's school time." The father responded, pulling back the blanket.

"Okay, I'll sleep again. But I still don't want to go to school tomorrow. I just want to go with Papa. "I just want to play with you," the little one answered, insisting on his wishes before closing his eyes.

"Hmm..." was all the father could answer as he gently stroked his handsome son's head.

Joe Clayton, President Director of a large elite company producing sophisticated gadgets covering all cities in Indonesia and neighboring countries—The Eye God Tower. This 35-year-old man with brown eyes and dashing looks like he is a widower with one child.

The little one with him was Samuel Clayton, 9 years old who is now in the 3rd grade of elementary school. Even though he is very young, Sammy looks more mature in his demeanor compared to children his age.

His joy as a child faded five years ago, when his mother, Diana, died in a single accident. Together with his father, a handsome, lonely widower, Sammy grows more mature than his years.

It wasn't easy for Joe to take care of Sammy alone. Even though there are several workers and household assistants in a large house like a palace, Joe chooses to take care of his son with his own hands. This is because since losing his mother, Sammy has refused to be given a nanny. The little one just wants to be with his father.

During those five years, Joe tried to be a father and mother figure as well as for his son. Trying to do the best for Sammy.

'I always have to be strong because Sammy only has me and I depend on him. Because Sammy is the one who keeps connecting me with you, Diana...'

He always adhered to that sentence every step of the way through the day and it managed to make him look strong, doesn't need anyone's help, and doesn't seem to want to be loved.

Although sometimes it's suffocating to hear the sad phrases that people say about him as a 'handsome, lonely widower' and also 'poor Sammy'. But what can Joe do? Because even he didn't have the opportunity to mourn after Diana died.

You can't cry, you have to be strong, you have to be tough, and you have to be patient. Everything for Sammy…

***

A gentle poke on his cheek made Joe blink, "Daddy, you won't wake up? You said there was a meeting," Now the familiar voice succeeded in making Joe's eyes open. Above his body was Sammy.

Joe smiled as he rubbed his eyes, "Good morning, Sammy. What time is it now, son? You also have to get ready for school—,"

"No!!! I don't want to go to school, Dad!" Sammy's scream immediately interrupted his father's sentence and made him fall silent.

"There's no skipping schools in my dictionary. You have to go to school, I don't want to hear your refusal." Joe answered firmly with his calm expression.

His father's answer certainly made him whine even more, "I don't want to! Do not want to! I said, I don't want to go to school, Dad!" even now the little one is lying around messing up his father's bed.

'Oh my... another morning drama,' he muttered to himself as he rubbed his eyes again, making sure he was fully awake to get out of bed.

'Grab!' Joe's one quick hand movement succeeded in catching Sammy's leg so he immediately carried it, "Come on, Sam. We don't have much time for drama. I have a meeting and you have to go to school."

"Daddy! Put me down, Dad! I don't want to shower. I don't want to go to school! Ah, you are evil!" The little guy whose face was like a copy of his father screamed and struggled, asking Joe to put him down. But does it work? Certainly not. Because Joe, who was firm, continued to walk, took Young Master Clayton to the bathroom.

***

Joe's jet-black luxury car is now stopped in the parking lot of an elite elementary school in Jakarta. Joe immediately looked back, to where Sammy was sitting. The little one still looked sullen because his father forced him to go to school.

"Everything's ready, right, Sam? There's nothing left behind, right?" Joe asked softly. There was no sign of sin on his handsome face after causing his little one's mood to plummet from before until now.

Crossing his chest, Sammy answered reluctantly, "Hmm, nothing."

"If you frown like that, it means I'm the one who won a lot, right? Where is there a handsome guy whose face is bent into a slit-like that? I'm always so cool." He teased arrogantly, putting on the face of God's creature who pretended to be the most handsome on earth.

(But it's true... The author admits Joe's narcissism this time, hehe.)

"Come on, come on down. The teacher is already waiting in front of the class," asked Joe who then unfastened his seat belt and got out—circling the car—opening the door for Sammy.

Even though his steps were made to stumble, Sammy couldn't back down from his father's wishes. He complied when he was brought before the teachers in front of the classroom door.

"Good morning, Madam. I'll leave it to Sammy, okay? I'll pick him up when it's time for school off." Joe greeted and handed his son over to the teachers. He also turned to Sammy to give him his hand to shake, "Studying properly, OK, Sam. I want you to be a good boy and not throw a tantrum today." he continued giving a message before kissing Sammy on both cheeks.

Sammy nodded, "Hmm, yes, Dad. "I'm a good kid," he answered confidently as if he didn't want his kindness to be doubted. "Be careful, Dad. Good luck!" While waving his hand at Joe, the little guy immediately entered the classroom.

Joe left there without knowing that his clever son was watching him leave. The president of Eye God Tower didn't know that Sammy had extraordinary plans for today. Yes, skip school.

Sammy came back out after making sure his father was away from there. The clever little guy approached one of his teachers, "Madam, can I go to the toilet? I can't take it anymore."

The question accompanied by this statement was immediately given a nod by the teacher without the slightest suspicion, causing Sammy to immediately run towards the school toilet, at the end of the hallway in the local class 3 row. The morning rush in front of the class even made two of Sammy's teachers ignore him, who went to the toilet still wearing a backpack with a Bumble Bee on his back.

"Okay, my mission begins!" said the little one as he watched his surroundings from behind the school toilet wall.