I headed for the parking lot and stuck mom’s gift into the glove box of my car. I also grabbed my pack of smokes and a lighter before shutting the door and locking the vehicle. I felt like I deserved a smoke for what I had done for dad. I pulled one out and sparked it by the entrance of the parking lot.
Mom called me on my phone roughly halfway through that cigarette. She wanted to know why I was taking so long. She also told me she was in the food court section and had already ordered us a meal. I stepped onto my smoke not too long after the call and made my way back inside the mall.
Upon reaching the food court I discovered that mom had ordered me a burger which came with fries, a piece of fried chicken, a tub of gravy and a Coke. In addition, she’d ordered herself a plate of fish and chips and bottled water for a beverage.
The large eating area we were inside was surrounded by nothing but fast food franchises. It was also lit up by natural light and had a giant jumbotron like screen built in to it. Moreover, the screen was showing an EPL football match. But it wasn’t my team playing, so I wasn’t interested.
“Thanks for spending the day with me,” mom said as we enjoyed our meals.
“You don’t have to thank me, mom.” I used a serviette to wipe my mouth. “It’s a son’s job to make his mother happy.”
“Really now?” She smiled from ear to ear. “I’m gonna hold you to that. Wanna see the gift I got your father?”
“Mm-hmm.” I nodded and took a sip of my Coke.
Mom bent over her chair and pulled out a black box from one of the bags she was carrying. As she opened it, I was expecting to see a Cartier wrist watch or a Hamilton or something along that line. But I was pleasantly surprised, because she’d bought dad a golden Tiffany & Co pocket watch. Which looked like it was an antique and something that dad would love to have in his vintage watch collection-without a doubt.
“Wow. That’s a great gift, mom.” I nodded.
“I thought you’d say that.” She put the stunning piece away. “But it doesn’t compare to the one he’s gonna get later tonight.” She grinned.
“Mom, please. Can we not go there?”
“Oh, alright…spoilsport.” She pouted.
“You said we’d wing it after you got done with shopping. Got any ideas?” I put some fries into my mouth.
“Hmm.” Mom’s eyes rolled upwards. “Wanna go ice-skating?”
I swallowed my mouthful before I said, “Sure.”
“On second thought, I’m not about to go ice-skating in this dress.” She thought about another activity for a few seconds. “How about seeing a movie?”
I titled my head as I mulled over her idea. “I don’t see why not.” I shrugged.
After we finished our meals I quickly took mom’s bags to the car and we did exactly that. I was in the mood for the seventh Fast and Furious movie, which came out about a week earlier. But mom wanted to watch something a little more romantic. So guess what we watched? A chick flick, of course. It wasn’t bad though. In fact, it was funny and I liked the plot.
By the time we exited the cinema it was roughly quarter to five, which meant dad’s plane was scheduled to land in a little under two hours. Mom wanted to make sure she looked her supreme best before he arrived, so we decided to head back home. We got into the car and drove out of the mall. But about two-hundred yards down the road, as we got stopped by a traffic light, something caught mom’s eye.