Reborn

Chapter 13

Darius just turned 9 and because of our situation, we had a few traditions that didn't cost a lot of money. This month was an expensive one though. Darius and Sean were born a day apart. And Mothers Day got thrown in for good measure. What I loved and admired about Darius was that he was never demanding.

He didn't ask for expensive clothes or shoes. The child didn't even play with toys. He liked boardgames and electronic gadgets. But he wasn't demanding. He knew that we couldn't afford it so he never asked. He also knew that I felt really guilty if I couldn't buy something that he wanted. The child didn't even ask for junk food. We hardly bought chips and chocolates and cooldrinks these days, but he never asked. He was happy with the bare necessities. One day, I told him that he is an old soul and he asked me what that meant. I told him that he was wiser beyond his years. And he was. He seemed to understand life so much more than most adults.

But one thing that darius loved and that I was going to make sure that he always got was good food. As long as we had food, he was a happy camper. Normally, he would have cerial every morning for breakfast or just toast with peanut butter, but not on his birthday. On his birthday, I would wake up extra early and make him sausages, baked beans and eggs. That's another thing he loved, baked beans and eggs. He could have that for breakfast, lunch and supper.

Whenever Sean's mother cooked something that we didn't eat, Darius and I would have breakfast food. Even if it was just fish fingers and eggs, that was good enough for us.

Next year my small man is going to be ten and even though we couldn't afford much of anything these days, I felt that it should be celebrated. It's a milestone after all. I spoke to Sean about it and he gave me the response that I was expecting. We can't afford it. I know we can't, that's why I want to plan it from now. With just a few of his friends. If I saved up from now, I'm sure we will be able to have a party.

Eventually, he gave in. After all, I was paying for it. I was so excited. I love planning parties and planning darius's tenth was an even better feeling. The other thing was, I didn't want him to know. It was going to be a surprise.

Over the next few months, I busied myself planning his party. We had to hire chairs and crockery. I had to get a jumping castle, no party is complete without one. Darius loved magic, he was obsessed with it. I bought him this little magic kit once and he perfected all the ricks in no time. I needed to find a magician for his party but not a fly by night kiddies magician. I wanted a proper magician. I started checking around and making all the phone calls. I found the jumping castle and after a few phone calls, I found a magician. He wasn't cheap but I knew it was going to be worth it.

Now that I knew more or less how much everything was going to cost. It was time for me to put money aside. Every I managed to save a little. Sean insisted that we should buy alcohol for the adults and with a sigh, I just gave in to him. So, there was the jumping castle, the magician, alcohol, food, party packs, chairs (cause our lounge was still empty), and extra crockery and cutlery. Oh and offcourse the birthday cake. I saved and saved as though my life depended on it and when the time came, I felt a sense of accomplishment. I took the day off from work for Darius's birthday and so did Sean. It was a Thursday, so we had time to sort some things out for the party while Darius was in school. We waited for him to get home from school and took him out for ice cream. We told him that we had invited 5 of his friends and we were going to take them out for lunch on Saturday.

Sean and I had also taken Friday off from work and Sean spent his birthday washing windows and helping with things for the party. This was the side of him that I loved. He was never shy to get his hands dirty and help around the house. That afternoon, we told darius that we had to drop him off at Sean's Aunts house to spend the night because sean and I were going away for the night. We told him that we will fetch him on Saturday in time for the lunch.