Chapter 165: Chapter 168: Father and Son Reunion
When he looked closely at the man cooking outside, he realized it was his father.
After being struck by illness, his father could only stay at home and could no longer work.
If he pushed himself to work, the illness might relapse. Because of that, they decided to stop him from working no matter what.
Their life used to be smooth when both of his parents were working. But when his father got sick, life became a little harder than before.
But life was still manageable, since her mother worked really hard to support both of them, while his younger brother was left to his father.
Since he is still in high school, the tuition is not that big because of his scholarship.
The man was busy cooking food when he noticed a taxi stopping near the house. He wondered who it was, so he can only wait and looked at it.
When the door opened and as he looked at the person who got out, he was surprised.
It was a handsome young man carrying several boxes and plastic bags. As the young man slowly walked closer to him, the man kept wondering who he was.
He felt that the face looked familiar, yet at the same time it did not. This made him confused.
Only when the young man called out to him did he finally realize who it was.
"Dad I’ve arrived," Jeff voiced could be heard.
"What... who’s your dad? Are you lost, kid?" Paquito asked.
And that was the name of Jeff’s father.
Seeing that his father did not recognize him, Jeff wondered if his change was really that big that even his own father could not tell who he was.
"Dad it’s me. Your son," Jeff said as he stopped walking.
His father who was very cautious was still holding the spatula in front of him like a sword.
"Son? I have no handsome son, only a beautiful daughter, is this a new scam for extortion or something, heh you think I’m too old to be tricked by this?" He scoffed at jeff which he found it very hilarious.
"If he had no handsome, then does that mean my little brother is also ugly?" he thought with a small chuckle.
"Dad it’s me! Can’t you even recognize your own son standing right in front of you?" Jeff said with an ugly expression.
"Name?" his father asked coldly.
"Jeff, listen clearly the name is Jeff," he said.
Accompanied by a face that is twisted with frustration, but he was still very handsome.
"Jeff? My son Jeff Evan is only a junior high school student, there is no way he is this tall and handsome. Who are you trying to scam? Leave now before I call the police," his father said with an icy face, showing no warmth of a parent.
"Is Dad suffering from Alzheimer’s or something? His illness was not this bad before, right?" Jeff thought, cursing under his breath.
After taking some deep breaths he continued.
"Dad it’s me. Jeff Anzon your second son, the middle child. Don’t you remember?" he said.
Hearing this, the man finally lowered his guard, but his face was full of shock as he stared at Jeff.
Because there was no way that person in front of him looked like his son.
"Wait that’s you? Je-Jeff? My son???" His face was full of surprise as he wondered if this was real.
He looked like he had seen a ghost while inspecting Jeff’s face, height, and everything about him.
He stared closely into his eyes, trying to understand how someone could change this much in just one year.
Jeff was not really fond of traveling, so he only returned home when he wanted to. This time, it had been a full year since his last visit, which made his father’s shock even greater.
"There is no way the change is this big. You have not even finished puberty yet, so how did you become this tall?" he asked, full of questions.
What caught his attention even more was how much his son had changed, it was not only his appearance, but also the way he carried himself.
Like the aura that seemed to carry a sense of nobility or someone great.
"Ahh milk," Jeff replied with a smile.
"Cut that crap, if milk had that kind of power, I would have been six feet tall just from your mother’s milk alone," he said seriously.
Hearing this, a look of disgust appeared on Jeff’s face.
"Why are you making that kind of face? Hmph, it is not like you will not experience that in the future," his father said as if it was something normal.
Jeff could only smile and shake his head. His father was still the same as ever, very open-minded and always saying whatever came to his mind.
This must be the greatest thing his sister inherited from him, because from what he remembered, their mother was not this talkative.
"Let’s talk about your changes later. What did you buy after coming back? From the look of those, they do not seem cheap at all," he said while looking at the tightly wrapped box and the special gift-wrapped package.
"The one that looks like a Christmas gift is for Evan’s birthday. The rest are groceries, so you will not need to buy food for a while. I think this will last for about two weeks," Jeff explained.
"Why did you buy so much? Do you still have money left after this?" Paquito asked, because they were not rich to begin with.
And if the money came from his wife that idea was already ruled out, since their money was very tight right now.
And to buy a lot of this, it can only mean one thing.
"Don’t worry dad, I have been saving this money for a long time, and I also have a part-time job now, so it is not really a big deal," Jeff said to reassure him.
When he heard the words part-time job, his father’s face showed a look of sadness and worthlessness.
It was really what he was guessing, if he were not ill, their family would not have to go through this.
Jeff saw his father expression and wanted to slap his own mouth for talking too much.
"Just wait a few more days Dad, Mom. From that day on, your only job will be to live a fulfilling life," he thought to himself.
"Don’t overwork yourself and next time, buy less and keep some money. Family bonding is much more expensive than these things," his father said while patting his shoulder.
"Alright Dad, I will take these inside for now," Jeff replied.
As he walked back, he carried the heavy boxes that were over four feet tall and about three feet wide with just one hand.
Followed by the rest of the bags were held in his left hand, stacking all together.
Seeing this scene, Paquito was shocked, "You... you... Is it not heavy at all?" he asked, his face full of confusion.
"Uhh.... Not really here, try it," Jeff said as he put it down in front of him.
"Alright then let me see," his father replied.
He leaned down and wrapped his hands around the box. As he tried to lift it, he used more force, and his face quickly turned red from the effort.
In the end, he could only lift it slightly but had no strength left to carry it inside the house. He put it down heavily on the ground, his face covered in sweat.
If he were still in his prime and had no illness, this would have been easy since it was only about 40 kg.
But now he could not even carry it. The craziest part was that his son, whom he had always thought was weak, timid, and clumsy, could actually be this strong.
"Did you not say it was not heavy? You unfilial son, you almost broke my back," he said with an angry expression, raising his hand as if he wanted to hit him, but in the end he did not.
"It’s really not heavy, look" Jeff just rolled his eyes as he lifted it with one hand again.
Seeing him lifted it so easily, even if he was on his prime he cannot lift it without shaking nor breaking a sweet.
"Alright, alright. Stop showing off in front of your father and go ahead and bring it inside. I will finish preparing our lunch and just leave it there and I will clean it later," he instructed.
From the way his father handled things now, it was like he had become the mother of the house, managing everything at home.
Jeff nodded and carried everything inside and by the time he finished, his father was already done preparing lunch on the table.
"Oh yeah Dad, did Grandma ever visit you?" he asked.
"Your grandmother? How could she come here? Your grandmother is a very rich and noble woman. Why would she take the time to visit our poor home?" he said while filling the lunchbox with food for later.
"I would rather wish that she will not visit me, that old woman’s mouth is too hard to handle," he added with an ugly look.
"Alright, enough about that go ahead and eat your dinner, then go visit your little brother at his school. It is just an hour away from here and use my motorcycle to deliver his lunch," Paquito said.
Jeff raised an eyebrow and asked, "Why did he not bring his lunch before leaving? Don’t tell me you go back and forth every day just to deliver his lunch?"
"No, he left very early today, and I had not finished cooking yet. If I remember correctly, they have an exam today, and he said he needed to print some papers early, or not he would be late," his father replied as they both started eating their lunch.
After they finished eating, Jeff said goodbye. He took his brother’s lunch box and used his father’s old motorcycle, which was covered in mud to visit his school.
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