The Kings of Kentworth

52.

Saturday morning, the one day Trevor could ignore his annoying alarm clock and sleep in as long as he wanted. He was also happy because Saturday also meant no school drama today, but he deflated when he remembered he had to meet Lance at the town library today though. He looked over at the time on his clock.

"8:49."

"Shit." he hissed as he pulled himself from bed.
He did a few press-ups and sit-ups, before he walked out of his room and headed downstairs. He heard the sweet sound of his mum humming to herself while she prepared breakfast. She must have come back49AM quite early last night for her to be awake and already fixing breakfast.

"Morning," Trevor sang as he kissed mother on the cheek and headed for the fridge.

"Hey honey," she replied with her attention still in the carrots she was chopping.

"How was work?" Trevor pulled out a box of milk.

"Oh you know, same as always," Mrs. Bowman replied with her eyes still on the carrots. "Blocking bleeding arteries, delivering babies, fixing urinary catheters..."

"Wow," Trevor replied, even though he didn't really care. He screwed the cap of the milk open and was and took a gulp.

"Trevor Bowman," his mother's suddenly stern voice made him freeze. "How many times do I have to tell you to stop drinking the milk from the carton?"

He brought the milk down and met her stern eyes on him before he flashed her silly smile. "Sorry."

"Use a cup for Christ sake, that's what they are there for," she said before her eyes travelled down his body. "..And for the love of God, stop walking around the house in your boxers. Someone could walk in at any minute."

Trevor smiled and patted his abs playfully. "Oh come on Mum," he said. "What's the point working out when nobody can see my body?"

"Oh please," his mother rolled her eyes and flipped him off. "Save it for Lisa."

Trevor laughed and kissed his mother on the cheek again as he hurried out the kitchen. "Fine, I'll go put on a sweater."

Trevor went upstairs, pulled on a grey NYU sweater that Kim had given him as a gift, before he headed back downstairs. He was going straight for the living room when he heard the crackling sound of the heated oil on the gas stove and then he froze. He walked over to the kitchen door and stood there watching his mother slice a few onions. He knew she was about to fry them all together with the carrots and he was going to watch her do it. She scrapped the onions into the pan and began to stair them with a wooden spoon.

"Be sure not to leave them on for too long," Trevor couldn't hold himself any longer. "or-or else they'll burn."

Mrs. Bowman looked up at her son as he stood there at the door, watching her as if he was scared of walking in. "Yes sir," she said playfully.

"Uhm-we're eating it with bacon, right?" Trevor asked.

"Yes," Mrs. Bowman replied before she looked up at him again. "Why?"

Trevor opened his mouth to say something, but he then closed it again and shook his head. "Ne-Never mind."

Mrs. Bowman dropped the wooden spoon in the pan, raised her hands to her hips and gave her son a stern look. "Trevor," she warned. She always hated when he did that.

"Well," Trevor looked nervous as he kept his eyes on the pan on the stove. "I just thought if were using bacon with the eggs, a few curry leaves would be awesome with it."

Mrs. Bowman kept her eyes on Trevor until a smile slowly appeared on her pretty face. A proud smile.
"What?" Trevor asked as he stared at her with suspicion.

Mrs. Bowman stretched her hands towards him for a hug. "Come here."

"Oh come on mum," Trevor groaned. "I'm not a kid anymore."

Her smile suddenly disappeared and her face turned serious as her hands were still held out. "Trevor Bowman, you come to your mother right now," she commanded.

Trevor rolled his eyes and dragged himself into the warm embrace of his mother. She held him so tight, sighed and kissed his cheek before pulling away slightly to get a good look at his face. It sometimes scared how much of him he saw in her.

"You know I love you, right honey," her voice was calm and kind.

"Yeah," he replied as he looked to the floor and back up to his mother. "I do."

"Then you know I would support you in any decision you make with your life."

Trevor dropped his shoulders and exhaled before he looked away. He knew this was where the entire conversation was going; his interest in the culinary arts, his duty to his father to become a civil engineer .......and algebra.

"Now, I'm not mad at you for failing Algebra. I just don't understand why you hadn't told me," Mrs. Bowman said as she used her finger to pull back a strand of Trevor's blond hair to the back of his ear. Trevor was still quiet. He just looked at his mother, wishing he had something to say.

She ran her hands from his shoulders down his arm and held his hands. "I'm not going to stop you from being happy. I could never stop you from being happy, and if that means going against your father's dream for your-"

"It's okay mum, "Trevor cut her off quietly as he looked away and faced the island table beside them.

Mrs. Bowman reached out and gently moved his face to face hers. "Honey, listen you don't have to-"

"Mum, I said its fine," he cut her off again, before he looked up at her. "I'll be a Bowman. I'll put Civil engineering on my college application."

His mother looked into his eyes for a few seconds before she looked away, let go of his hands and rubbed her palms oh her apron. "Okay then," she sighed.

Trevor stared at her as she switched the stove back on and went on with the cooking. She avoided his eyes and he knew why. He had just told her he was going to respect his father's wishes and study Civil engineering and she was smart enough to know that wasn't what he wanted. Trevor was sure this was why his mother left his father. He remembered her telling him about the days she would come back late from work and he would fuss over where she had been. He would always lose whenever she called in and told him that she wouldn't be coming home that day.

"What the hell do you want from me?" he remembered his mother yelling from their bedroom a long time ago. "To stay at home all day and cook and clean for you?"

"That wouldn't be a bad idea, you know," he remembered his father firing back.

"I'm a doctor, Gerald," she growled back. "Like it or not, I have a career!"

Few months later, Trevor remembered his parents sitting he and his big sister for a family meeting in the living room; giving them 'the mummy and daddy have to stay apart for a while and figure things out talk.' It was surprising that neither Kim nor her little brother missed their dad, but they felt sorry for their mum because they thought she was lonely. Another sad change was the fact that his dad had won custody of Kim, and so, she had to stay with him in New York.

Suddenly, the loud ringing of the doorbell startled Trevor out of his thoughts. He looked up in time to see his mother cleaning her hands with a napkin.

"Who is it?" she yelled.

Trevor placed his hands on her shoulder and stopped her from moving past him. "I'll get it," he said.

He then turned away and walked out of the kitchen. He hurried into the dinning area and glanced up at the wall clock on the wall.

"10:30AM"

Shit, he had just thirty minutes to make it to his tutorial.

Trevor got to the door and pulled it open. "Morning, can we-"

Lance smirked mischievously at a dumbfounded Trevor standing at the door. "What's up dumbass?"