Kiss of A Titan

Richard checked his wristwatch twice to make sure he was not going to miss the time he had planned to spend some time with his friends in an outing he had already discussed at a late night call the previous night before stopping by to meet his mom at the hospital.

He was sure he would succeed in making out time being present for both events if he leaves early as planned but his long awaiting for Linder's call was getting him filled with sheer apprehensive anxiety. To ensure he doesn't fail, he had finished taking his bath in no less than five minutes before six in the morning before getting himself dressed up early at dawn.

He paced back and forth in his bedroom, awaiting Linder's call as though he had never waited for something in his life. His patience was wearing thin with each passing minute and he felt he could no longer hold out his urge to leave the mansion to get a feeling of the fresh air he was longing to have after two days of spending lonely nights in the fancy mansion.

Two days hadn't passed when he felt like he was going to go crazy as hell living in a beautifully decorated mansion with nobody but the house-helpers to talk to. Total silence and silent whispering was something that he hated as a young man of a lively attitude that fancy living life outdoors than spending most times trapped indoors with nothing but yourself to be in the company of electronic gadgets and fancy household appliances that lacks the ability to produce speech sounds. Consequent to his father's absence from the mansion, the conversations he had with the servants particularly Robert, his dad's butler since his father's departure, were formally brief like he often talks with the man who bought the mansion for him to live with his parents and nothing more lengthy as well as amusing like the way he converse with his older brother, Ben who wasn't around to change the solemn mood which had befallen the numerous broad corridors in the house barely two days after his father went to Singapore.

As he kept walking in circles, Richard felt his feet aching inside the expensive white sneakers he wore to match the white long-sleeve shirt he left unbuttoned as well as the red T-Shirt he also wore underneath and black pants, the outfit he chose for the meeting with his school friends for the third time before the season of school begins. He had been careful to style his fawn hair to fit and enhance the neat apparel he used in hiding the slight bumps on his face which had appeared ever since he started crying.

He had expected Linder to return his call which he made an hour after munching his delicious breakfast and kept on wondering why Linder was still yet to call him when he knew from his first call that Linder was already ready for their day out in broad neighborhood of Houston where he was anticipating to set himself free to feel the wide open spaces around the townscape. Perhaps, Linder wasn't yet prepared for the outing or he had plans to cancel and was going to forfeit the entire plan to leave his sister home just for his sake. So did Richard think when he hadn't heard his cell phone ring from where he kept it in his left pocket.

Feeling a lot more frustrated than he was after thirty minutes of waiting, Richard went to the window and drew the curtain away to look outside through the window. He saw that the car was already parked in the spot waiting for him to leave. He had ordered Robert to park the car at the very spot facing the gate which he now sees from the window and felt inclined head downstairs to make his departure from the compound. Then he closed the curtains and brought out his cell phone to check if Linder had sent any text messages instead of calling but he found none.

He waited the next two minutes but there was no response from his cell phone. Then he gave up trying to wait for the call and walked out of his room. He went downstairs and strode out of the living room not taking a moment to stare at the same compartment he had fought with his dad. Richard searched for his keys in his pockets as soon as he arrived at the black SUV car but found nothing. He ransacked his pockets thrice but there was no sign of the keys with him after he came down from the bedroom.

"Shit! I must have left it on the drawers upstairs", He said to himself and turned around to head back into the house. On his way up the staircase after entering into the sitting room, he came across Robert coming towards him in the opposite direction. He wanted to move past him but Robert, anticipating what he wanted to do, obstructed his way on purpose.

"Sir...Pardon my importunity but may I say something before you go out with the car?" Robert requested politely and Richard felt inclined to listen even though he was about getting upset at Robert's willful intentions to stop his ascension. Richard let down his guard and pulled his right hand from his pocket as a means of surrendering to Robert's charms.

"Go ahead and say what you want to tell me but be quick, I don't have much time as it stands", Richard said, checking his wristwatch for the fifth time.

"If that's the case, I'll be straightforward", "Good thing you understand. What's it about?", "It's about the car....I noticed its' engine is having a bit of a problem and I suggest......", "You want me to cancel and have it fixed, right?" Richard retorted, anticipating Robert's suggestion.

"Yes....you took the words out of my mouth...", "But the last I rode it nothing happened", "I know it may sound untrue but I felt it when I parked the car earlier", Robert insisted despite knowing the consequences of toying with Richard's temper.

"I understand, Robert, what you're trying to say here but I gotta leave right away", "But, Sir....", Robert said but he was cut halfway by Richard who was already getting upset by the fact that he might be going out like he wanted to. "Let me finish. If the car has a problem, I'll fix it when I get back but right now, I need it to go see my mom", Richard lied in spite of knowing he could take the public transit.

"But, Sir, you could take a cab to go see her if really want to go....", "Shut that darn mouth of yours!", Richard yelled out at him in anger knowing he had no excuse to take the car with him, "Don't make me get mad at you than I'm already am", He warned and refrain himself from hitting Robert. He didn't want the servants to have a bad impression about him nor did he want them saying untrue rumors about his attitude towards them but Robert's sound advice had infuriated him in a sort of way that reminded him of how his father treated the servants. He felt embarrassed and bad at himself at that moment. He wanted to apologize for his foul words but they were already out of his mouth. His quick-tempered nature had been the dent and cause of his many fights with his dad. He wondered when he will be able to control this habit of his which was by far too warring to anyone standing in his path of relieving himself from the shambles of staying in his room all day.

Wanting to save himself the shame of acknowledging his error, Richard felt he had to go take the keys from his bedroom and leave before Robert could further get him angry and test his patience which had run out completely after Linder's failure to call him.

Before he could persuade Robert to leave his path, His cell phone rang at that moment and he was quick to answer the phone call this time around, feeling relieved of being saved from Robert's tempting advice. Fortunately, it was Linder calling to find out if he was already prepared to leave and Richard felt a flush of happiness in his heart when he saw Linder's phone number displayed on his cell phone screen. He answered the call quickly and climbed upstairs in frenzy, jumsping past Robert who paved the way for him to pass.

Richard went to his bedroom, and found the keys lying on the drawer beside his bed exactly where he had left it with his phone against his left ear. He took the keys, putting it inside his right pocket and turned to leave but stopped, standing by the door when he was about speaking for the first time.

"Thank goodness you called at the right moment", "Is everything okay?", "What do you mean? Everything's fine", "You don't sound fine. Your voice sounds a bit weaker than before", "I said I'm fine, I was just panting after climbing the stairs to get my car key", "Really? But....", "But it's not important, James. So forget about it", "If you say so, Jefferson, Any luck getting ready yet?", "Yes, I am....but tell me, why did you take so long to call back?" Robert replied and stormed out of the

room.

"I was...huh...trying to reach out for some old friends of ours who just got back to town", "Old friends?", "Yep"..

"Who are they?", "Frank and Luciana, you remember them, don't you?", Linder replied from the other end of the call. By now, Richard was climbing down the stairs and felt a bit relieved not seeing Robert where he had left him. He walked briskly to the car a few minutes after striding out of the living room.

"I think I will when I see them", "I can't believe you forgot about those two", "It doesn't matter. Where are you now?", "Waiting for you to come pick us up at the park", "Us? Are they with you?" Richard questioned as he was about opening the door of the car that leads to the driver's seat.

"Affirmative and they have little patience compared to mine", "Tell them to keep waiting; I'll get there as soon as I can", He said and tucked himself into the car before sitting behind the wheel.

"Sounds like you are heading out right now, aren't you?", "Pretty much and that's a good guess, Linder", "Well.....Don't keep us waiting for long", "Alright, see you at the park", "You too", Linder replied and was the first to cut the phone call. Richard quickly put on his seatbelt and started the car engine, wasting no time to check if the engine was properly working. Luckily, it ignited immediately and Richard drove out of the compound in more haste and speed than he was meant to have done in accordance with Roberts's discovery about the poor state the car was in before he left the central park.

Fifty minutes later, he arrived at the park to pick up those that were already waiting for a lift in his father's black SUV automobile and they were off with him driving all four of them to have fun in the places they wanted to spend the day with. Linder was supportive of Richard's decision to leave for the hospital around two pm in the afternoon but the others that tagged along with them were not too pleased that their fun would end after midday.

Richard was pleased nothing upsetting was happening to the car since in a couple of minutes after a four hour drive around the neighborhood, the car showed no signed of what Robert had talked to him about but the car broke down not too far from Chloe's house, and one of them wasted no time in removing the bonnet of the car and a thick white fog of smoke issued out of the car when he opened it to check the engine. He coughed twice as the fumes gathered around him whilst his companions stood by idly waiting to see if he could fix the car. They found out that they needed support to get the engine working again and decided to ask around for help from the neighbors around.

The kids left the living room as soon as they were done eating and I was cleaning up the table with the napkin the dustman earlier gave to me alone with him in the living room when the doorbell rang.

I ignored it the first time, thinking that it was Chloe but it kept ringing incessantly that I was fed up by the sound of the doorbell. The dustman knew this but he didn't get up nor did he feign any sign of discomfort. "It will keep ringing if you don't answer it", he advised getting ready to leave for the upstairs room. I didn't answer him as he got up from his seat.

"I suggest you answer the door. If you need me, I'll be upstairs getting my things ready to leave", "Alright, Mister", I said and watched him leave for the stairs. Then I left what I was doing and went to the door to see who it was. My suspicion that it was Chloe who was at the door turned out to be wrong since it was another guy, not the pizza man guy who had long returned to his pizza shack and whose handsome features were nothing compared to the intruder who kept peering at me as though he knew who I was.

"You look familiar... Have I seen you around somewhere before?" he asked with a broad seductive smile across his lips which enhanced his attractiveness. I was taken aback by his perplexity which seemed to fit his charming charisma and was struggling to keep myself from stealing a kiss from a total stranger whose lips seemed inviting.

Though his sturdy chest was not that broad nor was it wider like the earlier guy but it was thicker enough for it to bulge against his shirt and had that curvy shape to make his masculine features more prominent. Not to mention that his bluish iris greatly enhanced the smooth curvature of his face while his fawn crisp hair matched his radiant look.

There was no doubt I was even more attracted to him than the pizza boy, not to mention that his outfit greatly outmatched the other guy which increased seductiveness but I barely refrained myself from falling into his charms. To me, meeting two guys in one day disputed my earlier wrong impression about this town and from the look of things, there were at least some good looking guys living in this small town, to spend time and this guy's ravishing gorgeousness was the best I have seen so far despite the fact that he was the second young man I have encountered.

Even without him dressing a bit fancy, his looks surpassed the boys I knew back home in Georgia and there was that flare in the eyes of his as well as something mysterious in his tantalizing smile when he first saw me open the door which the all the boys I knew lacked in one way or the other. Judging from the way he looked, his appeal was quite humble though there was no doubt that he was from a rich family living somewhere in town.

"I... Uh...No, you haven't" I said without thinking that I had in fact seen him the day we arrived in town.

"Huh...Oh really?" he said, further widening his cute smirk. He seemed to have liked what he saw which had been the cause for his hasty introduction.

"Yes..." I said shyly and adjusted my wavy black hair to make sure I was in the perfect state to savor his attraction. He knew his charisma had a lasting impression on me but the situation was making his presence on the front porch more temporal than I had wanted him to spend.

"I'd love to get acquainted but can I ask you something?", "Sure, go ahead", I replied, folding my hands as I rested my back against the closed door.

"My car kinda broke down way back and I was wondering if you had a toolbox or something useful to fix the engine", "I don't have any of those. Did you try the other houses nearby before coming here?", "We did but they were kind of hostile", "Sorry, I can't help you", "Damn it! My dad will definitely kill me this time", he exclaimed in frustration and placed his hands akimbo as he turned around looking for a clue to solve his dissatisfaction. I felt inclined to help his current predicament which wasn't looking good and it was no doubt to me that he was the owner of the car Tom and I saw earlier.

"I don't mean to pry but what do you need it for?", "My car broke down and my friends are waiting for me", he said getting ready to leave but something inside of me told me to let him stay a little while longer.

"Let me see if I can be of help", I said walking to meet him.

"You?" he scoffed and a flirtatious smile appeared on his lips which got me even more enthralled to continue with the engrossing conversation.

"Yeah. What's so funny?"

"You don't have a toolbox nor are you a mechanic judging by the way you look. Then, how are you gonna help me?" he questioned with his hands still glued to his waist. His looks was now suspicious of my motives which was clear that I wanted to hang out with him rather than help save him from a mess he had gotten himself in with his friends.

"Uh...I just wanna accompany you to meet someone who can help", "Where?", "That house over there", "You sure they won't refuse?", "Trust me, I know they wouldn't", "Alright, anything else will be better than to stand here and do nothing", he said and walked ahead of me climbing down the stairs of the porch. And I followed behind him. I felt a bit excited walking beside him and he too seemed to enjoy my company as we plod towards the main road which separated us from Chloe's house.

We came closer to the road and were still lost in our discussion when one of his friends who had sighted us from where he was standing near the damaged car, started walking towards us without minding if the distance was too far for him to trek.

"So, that's why you can't help me", "Yeah, we kinda moved in yesterday and we haven't settled down yet", I replied brushing aside the strands of hair that kept flying around my face with my fingers because of the wind. Then I stopped abruptly when I noticed his friend getting closer and from afar, I could see some other guy already repairing the engine of the car which was now emanating out some mild fumes of smoke into the hot air. He too had stopped walking and had seen his friend coming towards us.

"I can see that", he said to himself but he looked in the other direction from whence both of us can see his buddy heading to where we stood by the roadside.

"Richard, where the hell have you been?", "I've been trying to get help", He left me behind and went to meet his friend. I stood with my hands folded and watched them as they shook hands. I wasn't amused by the look on his friend's face which was in stark contrast to his handsome stature.

"Well, your search has ended. We've found someone who can, so let's go", "That's fortunate", Richard replied, exhaling in utter relief as he placed his hands on his waist. He looked up ahead and saw the repairs of the car engine being carried out by a man dressed in overalls while I realized at that moment he was going to depart from the vicinity anytime soon.

"Who's that?", His friend asked as he saw me standing behind them. Richard turned around and looked at me. Then he returned his gaze back at his friend.

"She's someone that was going to help me before you came", "Is that so? You've been talking with this chick while we've been finding ways to get the car back on", "Yes, I have but you really don't have to call her that", "Come on, Richard. Frank was looking everywhere for you and we had no choice but to call the mechanic when we didn't see you until now and you were with her", "Thanks for your efforts but please, don't cross the line next time. It ain't nice calling ladies that way", "Always the upright one", "It's a waste of time talking with you. Let's go see if the mechanic of yours has fixed the car", Richard said and left without saying goodbye while his friend trailed behind after glancing back at me who gave him a stern look. I knew Richard was pissed off by what his friend said and that probably was the reason why he didn't bother to wave at me. I was beginning to feel abandoned by someone I just met and whom I might never get to meet in the town where chances of a second meeting is somewhat impossible in this kind of town where everywhere seems so deserted and isolated even when there were fairly enough houses within the neighborhood. I took two minutes to watch them leaving the car and afterwards, I went back home to resume what I was doing in the living room.

***

Thanks to the mechanic, Richard was able to make it in time to see his mother at the Hospital but he barely arrived there alone without his friends a few minutes before the visiting hours came to an end. He was accompanied by two nurses to the ward room where his mother had been admitted for some time now. He entered into the ward trailing behind the nurses and waited at a corner in the cozy room briefly for the nurses to administer their periodical checkup on the patient before paying his usual greetings.

During the brief checkup, his mom was thrilled to have him by her side when she saw him waiting patiently for the nurse to finish their checkup but he was bit unhappy not to see his father whom he had thought would have come visited like they had discussed in the morning before he left for work at the office. Richard drew closer and stood beside the bed as soon as the nurses had left the room leaving them alone to themselves. Judging by the look on his face, his mum knew he was upset about the same thing that he had often quarreled with her about and she was unwilling to let it harm the rest of the smiles she had put on to make her son feel better.

Then she waited after the nurse had already gone before expressing how delightful she was for him to have come to visit. Part of her knew that his visit was jointly planned with his father and she didn't want to ruin the occasion with questions of his father's absence since she already knew too well that things often turned out differently each time his father didn't show up to see her in the hospital bed.

To ensure he wouldn't get too upset any further than he was already, she reached out to him and embraced him warmly without minding the fact that she was lying on the hospital bed with a good number of needles stuck in her veins for the drip to enter into her bloodstream. He broke free from her embrace after a brief moment of reunion and left her staring at him from where she lay on the hospital bed.

"You've all grown into a fine young man like your father", she said with her hands reaching for his face. A smile glistened in her wrinkling face and fondled a bit of his hair. He scoffed at her compliment and drew his head further away from her grasp.

"And you've gotten more wrinkles than before", he said jokingly. She laughed a bit at his words and peered at him with an even more gracious smile that almost melted his heart. He smiled childishly and shortened the gap between them to a few meters.

"Naughty kid, it's been awhile since you last said a joke", "Still trying to get used to not having you around", "You shouldn't worry too much about my health, I'll be fine in no time", she replied with a false smile.

"But it's been months already after you got admitted and.....", "And?" she retorted and looked squarely at him. He sighed, stopping himself from saying something that he wouldn't want to come out of his mouth and exhaled deeply with every bit of worry written on his face.

"And I really miss having you around", He finally said after a brief moment of silence.

"I know that, sweetie, but the fact still remains, I need to get better for that to happen and for the time being, you've got to be in good terms with your father", "His absence speaks a lot, you know that?", "Let's not get too speculative about his priorities, dear. You know your father's working harder to pay the bills while I'm not by his side to ease the burden", "But that doesn't keep him from seeing how you're doing being cooped here all day in this godforsaken room at least twice in a week", This time, it was his mother's turn to heave a sigh deeply letting all the negative energy out before continuing her heated discussion with her son.

"I understand how you feel but give him some credit. What about Ben? He hasn't visited me not even once after I was taken to the hospital", she said with all boldness unwilling to be dissuaded by Richard's refusal to be persuaded about his dad but Richard remained adamant and adhered to

"Mom, that's different....Ben's working his ass overseas and he might not be around for the entire summer. He might miss the entire season for the next tournament if he says he's not coming home", She remained quiet as soon as she realized that he was beyond any conviction about his father's choice to prioritize his work a lot more than dropping by to see how she was coping with the cancer chemotherapy which she had stopped discussing with her son a few months after her husband's absence drowned the subject out of her mind and that of her second son. Then she decided to change the subject for her own best interest in order for her not to buy his idea of her husband cheating on her which was the very last thing her mind wouldn't want to accept.

A presumptuous reality that she had been fighting hard to deal with being stuck in the hospital and she didn't want to lose the hope she had in her husband to keep the family united while Ben, her first son, was away from home. She sank further into the bed and sat upright to make sure the blanket didn't suffocate her to death.

"Speaking of which, how's your coach? Still talking to him or....", "Uh....About that, I'm still keeping in touch with him during the pre-season though I'm not sure if I'll be up for the tournament once school resumes", "You wanna quit?", "No, that's not what I meant....I just feels it's high time I start thinking of my future. Maybe this summer won't be all that sporty for me", he stuttered with the little feeling of reluctance in his voice. She sensed it that he was going to give up on the team but she was indecisive to ruin his plans.

"Is it because of me?", "Huh....Not really", he replied evasively but his countenance betrayed him. She knew his demeanor had to do with her health status and that he was refusing to tell the bitter truth which was a bit too hard for her to swallow. She exhaled and took a deep breath to relax her strained nerves more comfortably for profound silence to come between them. Deep down, she already knew a day would come when her health would affect the likes of her family and the inevitable was already staring at her face through the eyes of her son whom she knew would be ready to give up anything just to create enough free time to keep her company. One thing is that she hated herself for putting him in a condition that makes her feel as though she was robbing him of that time to focus on his studies in school and other things of great importance particularly the athletic team.

"Okay, son, if that's what you plan to do, I won't stop you but you have to promise me something", "Anything for you, Mom", Richard smiled radiantly and drew closer without the fear of being questioned of his decisions. "That you won't distant yourself from your father", "I get what you mean but..." Richard mumbled and looked away as a sign of him fighting to comply with the terms laid in front of him.

"But promise me, Richard. I know it's quite lonely staying the house alone with no one except your friends to talk to but you gotta be patient with him for our family to stay together", "I'll try to keep the father and son thing going even though it's going to be hard...." he said reluctantly, still avoiding her gaze. Then she began toying with his hair with a bit of radiant hope gleaming in her heart. A young female nurse opened the door without warning and walked in unannounced which interrupted their bonding.

"Sorry for interrupting but visiting hours are long over", she said and watched Richard standing up ready to leave. He hugged his mom briefly as he set out to exit from the room but she called him back before he could reach the door while the nurse stood by the door waiting patiently for the young man to leave the room "Oh, before you leave, here, I want you to have this", She said and removed the bracelet from her left wrist.

"There's no need for that", "Don't be stubborn and take it. Your father gave it to me on the night before our wedding",\

"Sure, I'll keep it if that'll make you feel better", Richard replied and reached out to collect the item. He shoved inside his pockets without taking a second look at it and exited from the room leaving behind the nurse to shut the door afterwards.