Serendipity & the Sequel

Motherhood

You were practically out the door the next morning when Johnny pulled you back in. Grabbing your arm, he yanked you backwards, twirling you into him.

"Don't go."

"Johnny," you laughed, "I have to go help my mom at the record shop."

"But the kids love you. They want you to come to practice today."

Before you could shut his ideas down, he placed an urgent kiss upon your lips. "Don't go," he taunted between kisses, "please."

His childlike begging made you laugh as you pulled away from him. "I let you sweep me away from the record shop all the time in high school and my mother nearly had my head. I can't imagine what she would do now. You're not setting a very good son-in-law example."

He scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Fine. But those kids don't listen to me the way they listen to you."

"Well then, I guess you better start earning their respect."

"I... did that." He spoke without confidence, "you saw Diaz when I first recruited him. Look at him now. I have a great influence on these kids."

"Johnny, I love you but if you had a great influence on the kids, you wouldn't be asking for my help."

He groaned in defeat. With a slight grin, you grabbed your coat and headed out the door. Before it could shut behind you, his arm stopped it abruptly.

"I love you."

Your smile widened. "I love you more."
•••
You stepped into the record shop, it's comforting presence filling the air. No matter how many times you walked through that door, it was still incredibly magical.

"Good morning, doll!" Your mother cheered.

"Morning, ma!"

You ran your finger along the records, collecting some dust in its wake. The sight made you sad, proving that most of these records were left untouched.

"Hopefully," your mother sighed, "we will get some new customers."

"Yeah... hopefully."

Your face dropped at the state of the shop. There was no life left, almost nothing to salvage. It had fallen to the fate of time, running its course until there was little left.

"What this place needs is a little TLC." You grinned.

Your mother winked. "That's why I called you."

"What can I say," you shrugged, "I have a special touch."

"Can that special touch bring in some new customers?"

Just then, the bell above the door jangled. You turned your head in its direction violently, the confusion clearly dancing on your facial features. You turned back to your mother, whose eyes widened in awe at the impeccable timing.

In came walking a young boy, probably around sixteen. His hair was midway between short and long, the ends curling around the bottom of his ear and shaping his chin. His face was solemn, communicating a sort of unknown fear brewing behind his tensed muscles. A part of him resonated as familiar, but you couldn't quite place it.

"Hello, welcome to Georgie's!" Your mother perked up, "how may we help you today?"

"Oh, uh... I'm actually looking for a job. I saw your now hiring sign out front?" The boy replied.

Your eyes shot back to your mother, who threw a lopsided grin in your direction.

"Sure thing kiddo," you stepped forward, "what's your name?"

The boy in front of you hesitated for a moment so small, you thought you had imagined it.

"Patrick."

You nodded your head in approval before walking back to the counter. On the other side, your mother extended a job application form to you. "Do you think we really need to give him this? I mean we need as many hands on deck as we can get if we wanna keep this place afloat."

You scoffed. "Ma, we can't just let a random kid in here. I don't know if I trust him."

"Oh please," she swatted at you playfully, "the least we can do is give him a test run. We don't exactly have time for the hiring process."

She was right. Somehow, her hushed whispers made the truth that much more prominent. There was no time to waste. Clearing your throat, you slowly turned on your heel, back toward the teenager in the doorway.

"When can you start?"

"Uh..." he looked around sheepishly, "right now?"

"Perfect. You're hired."

The boy was too stunned to speak. "Wait, what? Just like that?"

"Just like that."

He seemed to hesitate stepping any further into the store. Before he could open his mouth again, you held a finger in the air. "Don't worry, we will teach you everything you need to know.

"Alright..." he breathed out heavily, "but I should probably let you know that I also just started working another job. What will my hours be like here?"

"Wow," your mother's eyes widened, "that's really great, Patrick! Listen, we are just desperate for help. We close at 11 pm, so whenever you're available during the day, feel free to drop by. This is a very casual job, there's no need to worry."

"Thank you so much." He smiled.

As your mother gave Patrick the run down on how the record shop works, you found yourself zoning out. Something wasn't sitting with you right, and you were determined to find out what it was. Shaking the feeling from your bones, you stood up a little taller. One more look at Patrick was enough to send a shiver down your spine. You didn't know why, but he was the reason for your uneasiness.

"Hey, Ma," you called out, "I'm gonna step out for a minute."

"Go ahead, hon."

You turned to face the door, the conversation between your mother and her new pupil fading away.

The air suddenly grew hard to breathe.

You practically sprinted to your car, leaning on the hood of it, trying to regain your balance. Focusing on your breathing, you came down from your headspace of unfortunate feelings. You had no idea what had come over you, perhaps it was a feeling of longing.

That young boy in there...

A tear rolled down your cheek as you slid into the front seat. Turning on the car, you let the air conditioning hit your face and cool you down. Your hands gripped the wheel, but you weren't going anywhere. No, that boy needed someone to guide him, you could feel it. Maybe it was all of Mr. Miyagi's wise teachings that made you feel that way.

Or maybe it was your craving to be a mother.

Being at the dojo with Johnny had made you a mother of some sorts. You treated those kids like they were your own, and you loved every second of it. But there was that unknown feeling looming over you, the feeling of desperation that you couldn't quite fathom until this moment.

At one point in time, motherhood was in your reach. But you let it go without thinking.

Now, you would never be a real mother.