A Second Chance with You

Chapter 5

“Mama, why don’t I have a father like James?” Steven asked his mother Maria for the umpteenth time.

His mother paused in her ironing and sighed.

“Have you finished your homework?” She asked instead of answering.

Steven frowned. Every time he asked his mother about his father she would find a way to talk about something else.

“Yes. Sir Martin helped me.” He replied referring to her mother’s employer. “He said Maths is easy, he taught me a tec- technique.” He added, testing the word Sir Martin used earlier.

“You shouldn’t be hanging around the main house too much,” Maria told her, giving him a disapproving look.

“Why not?”

“Because he’s my boss and I’m their maid. You should know your place.” She replied.

“But they’re really nice. Ma’am Eileen made me a sandwich, it was delicious!” Steven told her with a grin.

Maria’s expression softened. “Yes, they are kind but I still want you to avoid staying in the main house and just do your assignment here in our room.”

“Because of James?” He asked, remembering the scary look Sir Martin and Ma’am Eileen’s son gave him earlier.

“Yes and because we don’t want to keep bothering them,” Maria said, focusing her attention once more on his uniform she’s ironing. 

“I wish I have a Dad, too,” Steven muttered more to himself than his mother.

He saw his mother stiffened, then she turned off the iron and walked over to the bed where he was seated.

“Am I not enough?” She asked gently. “We’ve got each other, Steve. Isn’t that enough?”

Steven didn’t know how to reply. How can she explain to his mother how envious he is of his classmates? They get to play basketball with their Dads. He saw James riding Sir Martin’s shoulder and it looked mighty fun.

Maria sighed when he didn’t reply, placing her arms gently around him and enveloping him with her warmth. Steven inhaled, comforted.

“One day, you will understand. I will tell you everything. For now, let’s work on getting you a good future. I promise you, you will become whoever you want to be.” She told him, cupping his face in her palms.

Steven stared into his mother’s eyes and nodded. One day, he will find his father.

A loud honk broke into his reverie. With a start, he realized the light has turned green and the car behind him is honking to get him to move. He was thinking about his mother again. Maria always said he was the only one that makes her happy and yet, even in death, she denied him the truth. Leaving Steven with no clue where to look and terrified of what will happen to him.

His thoughts are still occupied as he reached his parking spot. He had been lucky to have the life that he has now. But it had not been easy. Steven was only thirteen when his mother died. Too young to be all alone in the world. His fate in the hands of his mother’s employers.

A day after the funeral, he sat on the bed they used to share, afraid that he was about to be sent to an orphanage. A knock came from the door before it opened to reveal Sir Martin.

 “Steve, can you join us in the dining room, please?” He asked.

He nodded numbly and followed.

“Sit down, dear.” Ma’am Eileen gestured to a chair beside James, who looked puzzled. He obeyed silently and watched Martin took his place at the head of the table.

He looked down on his lap and waited for someone to speak. Certain that they were about to tell him he can’t stay with them anymore now that his mother is gone. Would it be possible to remain as her replacement? He can clean the house and do laundry, he helped his mother numerous times.

Martin cleared his throat and looked at his wife. James looked from his father to his mother shrewdly. Steven kept his gaze on his lap, his heart a drumbeat in his chest.

“Steve,” Sir Martin called.

He looked up, his apprehension receding slightly at the smile on Sir Martin’s face. “We understand how you feel. We think of Maria as a family too.”

The mention of his mother’s name was like a dagger in his chest. He won’t see her ever again. He looked down again to hide the tears welling in his eyes.

“Your mother told us she was from Samar. She was only 18 when she came here and that she no longer have any relatives in her hometown. Of course, she may have kin in other towns or other provinces but there was just no way for us to know that now that she’s gone. Maria may not know about them as well.”

Steven swallowed painfully. Does this mean they do not know where to send him? How can his mother leave him the way her parents did at such a young age? Why didn’t she fight harder to live knowing he can’t survive on his own? For the first time since his mother passed away, he felt a twinge of resentment. He only had his mother in this world, and now she’s gone. He’s all alone.

”We’ve grown fond of your mother, Steve.” Ma’am Eileen said. “She was an honest, hardworking woman. When she got pregnant with you, she begged that we let her continue to work here and of course we agreed.” She paused as though deciding on how to phrase her next words. “She wouldn’t tell us who got her pregnant though. She was adamant that she would bring you up by herself and we didn’t feel right to pry. She saved enough money for her pregnancy and when she gave birth, she asked us to put most of her salary in a bank account for your future. That’s what we’ve been doing for the past thirteen years and of course, you will get her benefits from the government as well. We think it will greatly help you in the future.”

What’s the point of a future if he didn’t know where he would go now? Can he live on his own?

 “We also think of you as part of our family and it is our wish that you stay here, not to work but as our son. If that’s okay with you.” Sir Martin told Steven. Ma’am Eileen nodded with a fond smile at him.

James who had been quiet since this conversation started, blurted incredulously, “You’re going to adopt him?”

“Yes, son,” Sir Martin replied turning to look at him. “Wouldn’t you love that? You will have a younger brother.”

 The knot in his chest loosened. He didn’t have to go to the orphanage after all! He didn’t have to live alone. He can have a family and an older brother! Unable to speak in his relief, Steven nodded with a tentative smile.

He turned to James eagerly to express how happy he was, but something in his expression kept him. James was wearing a forced smile though his eyes remained cold. A sense of unease clenched his stomach.

“Welcome to the family,” Ma’am Eileen whispered in his ear, hugging him to her.

 “Thank you, Ma’am Eileen.” He replied, smiling shyly up at her.

“Mom,” Eileen corrected.

Steven hesitated, he can feel James staring daggers at him. “Mom.” He echoed.

“And that makes me Dad,” Martin interjected placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Dad,” Steven mumbled timidly.

Steven knew that James didn’t like him. Growing up, he tried numerous times to befriend him, calling him ‘Kuya’ as a sign of respect. The latter, however, did not appreciate it so he settled with just James.

Seeing the aversion her employer’s son to Steven, Maria encouraged her son to learn to play by himself. Indulging his love for reading that he discovered at such a tender age. Maria sought thrift stores for secondhand books that began Steven’s considerable collection.

He also discovered his passion for drawing and painting. Although the materials are expensive, Maria wanted him to nourish his love of art. She displayed his doodles and drawings proudly. By the time he was 10, his works became more defined. Painting and drawing became a hobby that occupied hours of his time.

Maria did everything to keep him away from James. In her death, his adoption threw all her efforts out of the window. It didn’t take long for James to let Steven know how he felt about his adoption. Right after he accepted their offer, they helped him move to an upstairs bedroom.

It was twice the size of the room he and Maria shared. His heart soared when he saw a table with a small pile of toys still in their boxes. He rushed to it in disbelief, picking up the one nearest to him.

“We thought you’d like them to distract you from... thinking about your mother,” Martin told him.

Eileen gave him a disapproving look. “We knew you love to read and draw, so we also think you should have your own bookshelf. And of course, you can access the library downstairs. We’ve got you drawing materials too.”

 His eyes grew wide when he spotted the bookshelf filled with books in the corner. In a trance, he put the toy back and walked over to it. His collection was already arranged neatly on the shelf along with new ones from his new parents. There are dictionaries, almanacs, classic stories from famous authors, and so much more. There were drawing books and painting materials stacked neatly on top of a study table.

“Let’s shop for clothes tomorrow,” Eileen said watching him indulgently. “We’ll leave you alone in case you want to rearrange things or just rest.” She patted his cheek.

“Thank you, Mom, Dad,” Steven said softly. He looked around the room, overwhelmed.

“You’re welcome, Sweetie. Remember dinner is at 7 okay? I’ll have Loleng come up here to fetch you in case you forget.”

Steven felt staggered to own so much and he sat on his huge bed gazing around the room with a grin on his face after they left. The smile slipped off his face as James sauntered into the room, a menacing sneer on his lips. Steven watched him apprehensively.

“You think you’re so lucky, don’t you?” He glared at him and caught sight of the toys.

Steven gasped as he watched him grab the red robot and tear it from the box. With surprising strength, he removed the head, tossed it on the ground, and stomped on it repeatedly.

“There,” he said, panting slightly. “I just improved it to match you. Trash. I’ll come back for the rest.”

James cast a disdainful look around the room and scowled at him before storming out. He collapsed on the floor weakly, picking up the unused toy gently, broken beyond repair. Unable to comprehend why James hated him so much.

Steven was bewildered at how much James loathed him and how much effort he put in letting him know but hiding it from their parents at the same time. He became a picture of a doting older brother in public. The first time he was nice to Steven, he felt a surge of hope that he finally accepted him. Then he saw the sneer curling James’ lips when their parents are not looking.

Steven took to locking his bedroom when he’s inside it after waking up in the middle of the night to catch James with a pair of scissors, halfway through cutting one of his Hardy Boys books. Only stopping when he let out a yell of surprise. With a wicked smirk, he showed the pair of scissors threateningly before leaving the room. It took him days to repair the book with huge amounts of clear adhesive tapes.

Aside from destroying anything he can lay his hands on, James hit him as well. Punching him in the stomach, tripping him, smacking his head, all done when no one else was around. After a while, Steven learned to avoid being near him unless necessary.

But it was James' words that got to him the most. His snide remarks and taunts that he’d whisper in Steven’s ears. He’d call him servant, thief, trash, loser, and other names he can come up with. But he never retaliated. The fear of being sent away was enough to keep everything to himself.

Less than a year after Maria died, Steven was once again first in his class. Instead of the quiet dinner celebration he was accustomed to when Maria was still alive, his adoptive parents decided to treat the whole family to a lavish dinner. He watched James warily when Martin announced this, knowing the storm brewing behind the smiles. True enough, he pulled him aside as they entered the restaurant looking angrier than Steven has ever seen him.

“You took Mom and Dad from me. It’s bad enough that I need to call you my brother when you’re just the maid’s son! Now, you want to be better than me?” James hissed, looking around once to ensure that they were out of earshot.

“Is there a problem?” Martin asked mildly, he came back when he noticed his sons lagged.

James gave him a warning look then plastered a smile on his face. He put an arm around Steven’s shoulders, turning to his father. “No, Dad. I was just congratulating my little brother here. I’m just so proud of him. Isn’t that right, bro?” He asked, giving him a little shake. He nodded shakily and followed them inside the restaurant miserably.

That night, he tossed in his bed wondering whether he was better off in an orphanage after all. He was petrified to say anything about James’s attitude towards him. What if they don’t believe him? Maybe he was right, maybe he did something wrong. James blamed him for a lot of things. He said it was his fault that he didn’t pass the 9th grade. He couldn’t concentrate on his studies because Steven was in the house. He kept distracting him, he said. He tried to help James, to make it easier for him. He tried not to make too much noise when James was around. He spent a lot of his time in the family library, his love for reading became his companion to avoid James.

Then he finally passed 9th grade and became classmates with Steven on the 10th. He tried not to outshine his older brother. He volunteered to do all of James’ homework and school projects, even gave him his allowance money if he asked for it, but it wasn’t enough. By the end of the school year, Steve asked to be transferred to a public school. He also told his parents he wanted to experience commuting to and from school. This puzzled the couple but honored his request.

When it was time to go to college, Steven elected to go to a state university choosing Psychology as his major.  Declining his parents’ suggestion to take Business Administration in a prestigious university like James. In the end, they relented when he explained he wants to join the Academe world someday. In return, he agreed that they would fund his studies. They didn’t want him to work part-time or use his inheritance money from his mother.

“That’s for your future. When you want to have a family of your own.” Eileen had said. 

The couple treated Steve and James the same, something the latter resented. Being the biological son, he expected preferential treatment from his parents. Steve, on the other hand, loves them dearly but he couldn’t bring himself to tell them how much James hated him. At first, he was scared they would decide it’s too much trouble to get them to build a brotherly relationship and decide to send him to an orphanage after all. As years progressed and he came to think of them as his parents, he felt the need to make James think of him as his brother too. He did not want to cause trouble in the family. It was challenging to interact with his brother when their parents are around knowing that his kindness and brotherly affection were all for a show.

James’ attitude towards him worsen over the years and avoiding him became his top priority. College graduation couldn’t come fast enough and when it finally did, he was itching to move out and start on his own. Eileen begged that he wait until he has a stable job and his father asked that he worked for the family business as his first job. At the time, James was still in college after getting kicked out from three universities necessitating Martin to threaten to disown him if it happened again.

Seeing how disappointed his parents were at James' antics, he obliged their requests. He knew Martin wanted him to learn everything about their company in the hopes of passing the business on to his sons eventually. Steven loved working for his father but his brother made it clear that he did not want him there. As far as he’s concerned, the business is his by right. When James finally graduated from college, he started working for their company right away. He wasted no time telling Steve that the company is too small for the two of them and he should leave it to the biological heir.  Since he only accepted the job as a favor to their father, he was only too happy to resign.

Steven refused their offer to buy him a condominium unit and opted to rent an apartment for himself. He knew that one day, he would want a house with a garden where his children can play. He envisioned a day when he would stand by the altar, watching as his bride walked towards him. Ready to start a new life, like what Martin and Eileen have. He was willing to wait for that special person. The women he dated once or twice were nice, but he didn’t feel that connection he was looking for. And then he met KC.