Afterlife Dream

It was such an exciting afternoon.

When I went back home with Jaden, we could not shut up about what happened during the practice.

"And Jordan, he totally flunked that one ball!"

"Yeah, he kept missing the hits!"

"I can\'t believe that we lost by one point!"

"And Mom can you believe it! Danny hit a home run!"

Mom shook her head and rolled with her eyes. "Great, another baseball freak in the house," she said with a smile lacing her lips. I knew that she was very happy for me.

"Now, Dad is coming back soon so I need all of you to help me prepare dinner!"

"Great Mom, what are we having for dinner today?"

Mom grinned.

"To celebrate Daniel\'s first day of playing baseball, why don\'t we order some pizzas?"

Jaden and I both cheered in delight.

"Pizzas! Pizzas!" we chanted while tapping spoons onto the table surface.

"Hey, quit it!" Mom shouted. She grabbed a few pamphlets and threw them onto the table.

"There are a few pizza places that are worth considering. Pick what you want and then go and take a shower, you guys. You smell like day-old chicken!"

"Ewwwwwww," we said in unison, wrinkling our noses in disgust while looking at each other as if we had just taken a dip into the trash can.

"What about Supreme Hawaiian Pizza???" Jaden shouted in delight while pointing at a pamphlet.

I took a look at the pizza shop\'s name. "Delizia Pizza Deli". Hmm. It sounded Italian enough.

"Pineapple piece in pizza? I don\'t know."

Jaden pursed his lips.

"You never even tried it!"

"I never did because Mom never allowed me to," I retorted in defense. Due to my weak constitution, Mom had been very strict about what I ate and drank. Pizzas, burgers... fries... all those were no-nos. Strictly forbidden.

"Fine," I agreed. "Why don\'t we get half of each?"

Jaden\'s eyes lit up in excitement. "Danny, you are so smart! There are four of us so we can order 2 pizzas with 4 different kinds of topping!"

I let Jaden pick the toppings.

After he deliberated for a while, he decided on half Hawaiian, half pepperoni, half four-cheeses, and half tuna. He also ordered side dishes such as butter baguettes and beef bites and also cheesy mozzarella balls.

"What do you want to drink? Oh never mind," he quickly said while scanning the drink list. "Let\'s get four big colas!"

Looking at Jaden\'s list, I had to swallow for a bit. I did not even look at the price list, but I was pretty sure that Mom was going to have some objection.

"Is it not too much?" I asked, my eyes darting up and down the list.

"Let me talk to Mom, I will convince him," Jaden said while puffing his chest.

I shrugged. I wanted pizzas with everything on the list, but I had no argument to bring against Mom. I merely prayed that Jaden could convince her.

After Mom got out of the bathroom, Jaden quickly approached her. I quickly slipped into the bathroom for a shower. Just before I closed the bathroom door, I could hear Mom\'s high-pitched voice. "Jaden Weston! Are you trying to host a party or something???"

Nothing beat a warm shower after a good afternoon of exercise. I was never so dirty and sweaty before. My clothes and shoes were also dirty from mud and soil. I contemplated washing them on my own. Mom would freak if I just tossed them into the pile of other dirty clothes.

I came out of the shower and heard Dad\'s voice. Dad was home. When he saw me, he came over to rub my wet hair.

"I heard that you hit a home run. Great job, Danny!"

I grinned at him. "Thanks, Dad."

Jaden was quick to report how the exercise went. The coach was so impressed by me that he wanted me to come again the next day. He even suggested that I joined the high school baseball team. I was not too confident. That was only a homerun. Maybe just a beginner\'s luck.

The coach grabbed my shoulders and spoke to me in all seriousness, "Daniel, you are a natural talent! I have not had any kid in my team who managed to hit a home run in his third trial of hitting the ball! It would be such a waste if you do not nurture the talent!"

I was not sure if the coach just said that to flatter me or not, but I was very happy. Who would have guessed that I had some knack for baseball?

"A home run, huh?" Dad still couldn\'t believe it. "My, my. You must have really strong hands, Danny."

Strong hands? How could I? I never lifted anything heavier than two books at once. I looked at my hands. They looked normal to me. Not strong or anything. Dad put an arm around the couch and turned to face me.

"Say, Danny, are you not interested to join some baseball club? I agree with the coach. If you like baseball and you have a talent for it, you should try to go big. Do you like baseball, though?"

Did I like baseball?

It was exhilarating, yes. But I didn\'t know if I wanted to pursue it for life. Now that I had recovered from my illness, the whole world was open for me to explore. I could do anything. I might just want something else... Yes...

Ding dong.

Jaden jumped from the couch like a real athlete. "It\'s the pizza!!!!" he shouted while making a beeline toward the door.

"Honey,"

Mom gave Dad a look. Dad looked a little puzzled, but he eventually caught on. "OH! Yes dear, let me uh, get some plates and stuff. Danny, help me?"

"Sure, Dad."

What was that about? I saw Mom sneaking into her closet with my peripheral vision. Dad and I walked to the kitchen to get some plates and cutleries for the pizzas.

"Get the wooden chopping board too. Your mom will rage at us if we cut through the glass over the dining table."

I agreed. That was not a good idea.

Dad and I made a few trips back and forth between the kitchen and the dining room to get everything ready. The chopping boards, the knives, the plates, some forks, and also some glasses for the cola.

Jaden had both hands full with the delivery. I helped him to hoist the food onto the dining table and we opened the boxes as eagerly as one would a Christmas present.

A delicious smell wafted from the boxes as soon as they were opened. I could not help but salivate when gazing at the pizzas. Wisps of steam were still rising from the top. It was amazing how the delivery guy managed to keep the pizzas warm despite the cold weather.

"Can we can we can we please dig in???" Jaden asked, giving both Dad and me puppy eyes.

"Not until your Mom comes out," Dad decided.

"Where is Mom? What is she even doing inside? MOM THE PIZZAS ARE HERE!"

"Ssssh, no need to scream," Dad chastised.

"Well, well did someone call for me?"

We all turned our heads to look at Mom. She was not dressed in her usual casual outfit of a T-shirt and baggy pants. She wore a white blouse underneath a black striped blazer with matching black striped pants. Not only that, she even curled her hair and let it fall gracefully around her shoulders.

"Wow," Both Jaden and I mouthed in amazement.

"Well?" Mom looked so nervous. "How do I look?"

Dad closed the distance between him and Mom and kissed her on the cheek.

"You look beautiful, my darling."

"Yes, Mom, so beautiful," I agreed.

"Mom, you look pretty but what is this about? Why are you dressed like you are going to work?"

Jaden\'s comment was spot on. I guessed it this afternoon when she had the suits in the car but I didn\'t want to say anything to ruin the surprise.

Mom lifted her shoulders and broke the news to us, "I got a job as a secretary in a newspaper printing company!"

We all broke into a loud cheer.

"Wow, congratulations, Mom!" I shouted while running over to hug her. Jaden did the same. Dad, Mom, Jaden, and I were hugging each other messily.

Mom was close to tears but she kept babbling. "But I will still pick you guys up! It is only a half-day job. Just enough to keep me occupied while you kids are at school. When I pick you up, I will also go back and be your mom. You will not even miss me!"

"Oh, Mom," I shook my head. "Don\'t worry about that. We are very happy for you."

Mom pressed a kiss on my forehead. "Thanks, Danny."

I knew that Mom wanted to go back to work so badly. If not because of me, she would have done so ages ago. Now that I was finally doing well, naturally she should go and pursue her dreams. I was so happy for her.

I was so happy for all of us.

Before I slept that night, I said my thanks to God.

Thank you for giving me the miracles.

Thank you for all the blessings you gave to this house.

I could not be happier.