Fix the future by changing the past

striking a bargain to tell mom

Unlocking the door to her home, Barbara walked in, allowing the calming scent of - were those muffins and beef steak she smelt? Was she ever so lucky to find someone willing to take over her night-shift.

"Jim? I'm home." She called out for her son, earning a quick. "In the kitchen, mom" before being followed by "I have a friend over!" 

How strange? Jim never told her anything about a new friend. It couldn't be Toby, Jim would have said his name otherwise like he usually does. Did her son make a new friend today and brought them home? 

Setting her own satchel bag on the stair railing like her son (so that's where he got that habit from) she smiled lightly and walked into the kitchen, only to be met with a black cat sitting on the counter. 

The cat simply stared at her before meowing and hopping down and padding over to one of the two teens in the room, gently nuzzling his legs in a form of affection. How cute, Barbara thought, before her eyes met the stranger's gaze. 

He was tall, wore mostly black with blue streaks in his hair, obviously a few years older than her son she observed. The teen placed the bowl he was holding down on the counter with a smile before picking up the cat and placing him on his shoulder, like a parrot. 

"Ah," He started. "You must be Dr. Lake, name's Douxie. Douxie Casperan. A pleasure to meet you!" Hand outstretched for a handshake, a nervous gleam in his eyes. Huh, he oddly seemed familiar.

Resisting the urge to squint and analyse the boy, she took his hand and shook it. "The pleasure is all mine." She said with a small smile, taking note of how her son kept looking between the two of them as he cooked. 

A moment later, Barbara spoke up, not wanting to cause an awkward silence in the room. "So, what are you two boys doing?" She asked as she walked over to the dish drawer and pulled out three plates for them. 

"Oh, uh…" Jim trailed off, seems like he's nervous too, Barbara thought as she continued to observe both boy's body language. 

"Douxie was just teaching me how to make muffins." He supplied, not long after trailing off. It wasn't exactly a lie, but it wasn't the whole truth either.

Douxie walked out of the kitchen towards the table, cutlery in hand for them to use. "I had promised to teach Jim how to make them." placing the forks and knives on the table next to their dishes with a smile. 

"Is that so?" Barbara asked, leaning against the kitchen door frame as she watched the two boys move about preparing their dinner. Soon, the  three of them fell into a lighthearted conversation, mostly Barbara asking questions to get to know Douxie a little better. 

For a couple of hours, the three of them sat, eating and chatting about simple things. Their conversation topic jumping from the cat- Archie, she was told, to favourite movies and school life. Although, alarm bells rang in her head the moment she was told about how douxie has been balancing two minimum wage jobs, school life and band practice, she didn't question it, even if her mother side started to worry for the boy. But the look on her son's face was all she needed to see to know how much her son cared for this young man. 

That was when she made up her mind. Right then and there, she would show her full support to her son. Gently clearing her throat after a drink of water, both boys turned to look at her. "You know," she started. "The two of you don't have to worry about anything with me right? I'll support the two of you. Just don't go running off in the middle of the night without my permission, Jim." She said in a stern enough tone to set her point across, she hoped.

Both boys looked at her, eyes wide as saucers, confusion flashing in their eyes before they looked at each other in what Barbara could tell was shock and realization, before they started to laugh loudly. Jim doubled over in laughter clutching his sides and he leaned forward to place his head on the table. Douxie on the other hand, gently banged his fist against the dinner table as he shot back in his seat, wheezing before bringing his hand up to his chest, wiping away a tear that started to form as they started to calm down.