{CHAPTER SIX}

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Lisa rushed through the streets, her feet pounding against the pavement as she hurried to help her Mom locate her medications.

The news of Lisa's mom's cancer diagnosis bore down heavily on the family, shrouding them in a blanket of sorrow. Upon learning of this heartbreaking news, Lisa's Dad, despite his usual work demands, swiftly set aside his tasks to stand by his ailing wife's side. Their profound love and the selfless sacrifices they made amidst adversity beautifully illustrated the resilience of family ties weathering life's storms.

Despite her Dad's hard work, and constant absence, the family struggled to make ends meet. Lisa bravely shouldered the responsibility of working at two different places to ensure her mother's medical needs were met. The weight of the situation was heavy on her shoulders, but her love for her mom drove her to persevere through the long hours and fatigue.

When I shared the news of a new job opportunity at her current workplace that promised better pay and stability, Lisa's face lit with joy. No longer having to exhaust herself with two jobs, she gratefully embraced the office position that could now cover her mom's treatments and household expenses.

In face of her mother's limited time left, Lisa seized the opportunity to care for her, even in her father's absence, cherishing every moment they had together.

Lisa dashed into the not-so perfectly furnished living room as she caught sight of her mom seated comfortably, engaging in a conversation with a young man seated across from her. He had a less-than-perfect physique, with a pot belly and a face as round as an egg.

Lisa's mom turned towards the front door, her gaze meeting Lisa's surprised expression as she stood there.

With a wide smile, Lisa's mom exclaimed, "Oh! there she is, my beautiful daughter!".

As Lisa stood there in great shock, her mom beckoned her to come in. "Come in, honey. Here, come take a seat," she said, gesturing for Lisa to sit beside her.

"Mom, what's happening here?" Lisa stylishly whispered, gently tugging on the hem of her mom's dress.

Lisa's mom smoothly removed Lisa's hand from her dress, flashing a smile at the young man to divert his attention without him noticing.

Lisa delicately pulled at her mom's arm, leading her to a secluded corner. "Mom, what's going on? I thought you couldn't locate your meds? Why are you here with that young man? Let me go grab your medication..."

Lisa felt a firm yet gentle grip from her mom as she started to pivot to retrieve her mother's medications, halting her movement.

"Too many questions, Lisa, but I'll give an answer. Firstly, I'm perfectly fine, and I already took my meds. I just mentioned that so you could rush down here quickly. And that young man? He's my friend's son, the one I mentioned was single. Luckily, he had some time to meet today," her mom replied with a smile gracing her lips.

"Goodness, mom, seriously? You dragged me down here for this? Do you even realize what just went down? I mean, look at me, all sweaty in my office attire and you couldn't ask why, all because of this?" Lisa expressed, pointing to the direction of the young man.

With her eyes closed, Lisa licked her lips quickly before speaking. "Mom! Hanna and I just got into a slight accident. But, thankfully, none of us got hurt. I was at the hospital with before you called," she shared, stealing a quick glance at her mom.

"Goodness, Lord! I had no idea. Are you okay? How did it happen?" Her mom asked, a mix of shock and worry evident in her voice as she checked Lisa, gently turning her around to see if she had been injured from the accident.

"I'm okay, mom," Lisa responded, her voice tinged with reluctance.

"Lisa responded, 'I'm okay, but Hanna wasn't so good," she added.

"My bad! I'm really sorry, honey. I didn't realize. You should probably hurry back to her," she quipped, her words laced with guilt.

Lisa inquired, "And what about him?"

"Don't stress about him, honey. I'll just come up with an excuse. You should be with your friend," she reassured Lisa.

"No need for that, mom. You already dragged me here, and besides, she was awake when I took off. Let's go meet the young man now," Lisa chummed in, keeping the banter light.

Lisa knew her mom longed for her to find a suitor, dressing the thoughts of her becoming a solitary old cat. But, Lisa, in deep depths of her heart, understood the raw emotions driving her mom's very move—a profound fear of leaving her daughter alone in a world where her father's absence loomed large, a haunting specter of solitude and struggle. Little did she realize the lengths her mother would go in the pursuit of a suitor for her.

"Alright if you insist," her mom said, nudging her shoulder in agreement.

Lisa clasped her mom's hand, eager to meet the young man. Her mom, wearing a mischievous smile, feigned exhaustion, subtly suggesting that Lisa and the young man have a moment alone. "You should go on your own; I believe I could use some time to rest," her mother said.

Lisa caught on to her mom's sneaky plan, trying to push her to be alone with the young man. She scrunched up her face in frustration and exclaimed, "Mommm!"

Lisa, with deliberate quietness in her steps, advanced towards the young man. He remained seated, completely absorbed in the mesmerizing scenes playing out on the television screen before him.

"Hi," she uttered with a hint of disdain, clearly unimpressed as he didn't quite meet her standards.

"Hey," he responded to her greeting, "hope I'm not interrupting anything?" he said, stretching his hand out for a handshake.

Lisa responded with a strained smile as she returned the handshake. "You're not interrupting anything." Giving him a thorough once-over, she murmured under her breath, "Wow, he looks even worse in person than in the photo," making sure her words didn't carry.

Settling down her seat, she asked. "Tell me about yourself?"

The young man was a total mama's boy, as he wouldn't stop yapping about his mom's adventures and how he only listens to her. His story was like a watching paint dry for Lisa. He kept blabbering on about his mom, on how she instructed him to quit his job and start his own business, how she even loaned him the money, and how his business was on the up and up.

It felt like a never-ending saga of motherly advice and financial support, and with each word, Lisa's interest plummeted faster than a lead balloon. She couldn't help but let out a loud, exaggerated yawn, hoping it might somehow signal the end of his monologue.

Her face, once polite and attentive, now wore an unmistakable mask of boredom, her eyes darting around the room in search of a distraction from the endless table of maternal influence.

The young man, catching Lisa's less-than-enthused yawn, quickly piped up. "Oops, did I bore you with my story?"

Lisa responded with a strained smile, "No! You didn't, you're a real entertainer," she lied, being very sarcastic.

He chuckled softly, "Guess I need to work on my storytelling skills," he playfully responded, sensing Lisa's waning interest, subtly concluding their exchange.

"Hahaha, you crack me up, I'm really enjoying every word," she replied with a strained smile, beckoning for him to continue, though secretly wishing for the conversation to end.

Right smack in the middle of that cringe worthy moment, Lisa's phone buzzed, bringing a wave of relief as she saw a perfect opportunity to break free from the lackluster chat with the young man.

"Oh, look, it's my friend calling.... We'll have to catch up another time!" she chirped with a radiant smile, gracefully finding a polite exit from the conversation.

"Absolutely Lisa, no worries at all! We can definitely catch up later. Enjoy your time with your friend, and it was lovely chatting with you today!"

"Yep, definitely," she said, nonchalantly, stealing a quick glance at him, signaling that it was time for him to leave.

As the young man strolled by, making his departure. Lisa let out a deep, contended sigh, as if she had just been liberated from his never-ending monologue, feeling a sense of lightness wash over her, grateful for the chance to breathe freely once more.

"Ohhh! My dearest friend, I will forever be indebted to you; you have no idea the immense favor you've just bestowed upon me," Lisa exclaimed the moment she picked up the call, her voice filled with heartfelt appreciation and warmth towards me.

I let out a chuckle. "You seem absolutely thrilled to hear from me, forgetting that we narrowly avoided an accident a few hours ago."

"Oh, I completely forgot," Lisa mentioned, realizing their earlier oversight. "How are you faring now?" she inquired, showing concern for my well-being.

"I'm doing much better now, I've just been discharged," I relayed, a sense of happiness evident in my voice.

"Glad to hear that you're doing fine," she expressed with a smile in her voice.

Right as I was on the verge of sharing with Lisa the memory I had recalled from the earlier incident and checking if she had managed to get the name of the young boy who had rescued me on the night of the accident involving my Dad and I. She jumped in with her story.

"You won't believe what went down right before you rang me, Hanna!" exclaimed Lisa, eager to share the exciting news with her friend.

I could discern the sound of her taking a sip of water on the other end of the line.

She delved into the tales of the encounter between her and the young man, recounting how her mom had deceived her to get her to meet with him and how he droned on with his lengthy monologues.

As we discussed her predicament, I found myself engrossed in our conversation that I completely overlooked the question I had intended to ask. We bantered back and forth about the entire situation, only realizing after a while that we had been engrossed in our conversation for way so long.

Her narrative was so captivating that I failed to notice it was punctuated by her mention of her needing to shower and change. Recognizing that we both had indeed a lengthy day. I bid her farewell, inadvertently over looking the pressing question I had meant to pose to her.