Ordinarily Random

It was a butt fuck to the heart, the way he sneaked in. 

Totally unexpected, an earthquake of magnificent proportions that left nothing the same in its aftermath.

They were in a cafe, late afternoon to early evening, because the fight between light and dark left her nervous, and this anxiety gave her a high she hasn't experienced since high school when she competed in tae kwon do. She never liked bars, the smoke and the noise and the overall horny air of the patrons repulsed her finer sensibilities.

He was there, with his Down syndrome face, a five year old with his foster mother, sitting quietly, peering at a dinosaur book with utmost curiosity, as if it was the most important thing in the world to do.

She was 19, in college, at the top of the world, yet with a gnawing hole in her heart.

His name was Lucas, his foster mother told her. His mother died from ovarian cancer and his father had to work abroad to keep up with the expense of educating him and having him treated. She is actually his second cousin.

"Hi," she smiled at him as she joined their table.

Lucas peered at her with minor curiosity, her beautiful form was no match to the dinosaurs in his book. 

However, he deigned to smile at her shyly and offered her a bite of his macadamia cookie.

"Do you want juice? I have some money left over from my allowance. I could buy you a glass."

"No. No thank you," he said. "But you could tell me their names," the child told her, pointing to the creatures in his book.

They spent half an hour huddled over his book while Minda, his foster mother took the time to enjoy her double shot espresso and banoffee pie.

"Well, this is rare. Wanna do this again?" Minda asked her. She was more than willing. They exchanged numbers and arranged to meet the following week same time, same place.

The weekly meetings became routine for both women and Lucas, with her arranging her school schedule around Lucas and Minda. But there were no home visits. It was strictly a cafe date, with Lucas graduating to more sophisticated books over the years. Her company, and her cultivated taste in books seemed to rub off well on him, as he did not manifest the acute symptoms that usually attended his condition.

On the fourth year after their meeting, one year after her college graduation, she applied for an offshore job to beef up her resume so she can pursue graduate studies. She broke the news to Minda on the weekend after she got news she was qualified for an interview with the company. "Oh," she said, looking crestfallen. "I don't know how Luke would take the news though," she mumbled.

"Hey, Luke. What if I were to go somewhere far? Would that be alright by you?"

"I don't know. Would it make you happy?"

"Maybe. I'll have to find out. Nothing's ever sure, right?"

"Well, we have to find out!" Then he squealed. "Send me picture books where you're from!"

She laughed through her tears and kissed the top of the boy's head. "Very well, we have a deal. Be a good boy while I'm gone, ya hear?"

Then he was all serious. "I promise," he said, hand on heart. "Pinky swear?"

She hooked her smallest finger in his. "Pinky swear."

She got the job and spent all of two weeks in her new workplace. The emptiness she felt from before she met mother and son came creeping  back and she knew, her place was with them.

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