"You just need an oil change," Zane said, closing the car's lid.
"Didn't I just do one of those a while ago?" Mama Sarfowa asked as she handed him a bottle of water and a washcloth, which Zane used to wash the dirt off his hands before drying them.
"Your last one was nine months ago — meaning you're three months past the due date for a new one. Let's head to the autoshop after we're done, and I'll get it done in half an hour."
"Alright."
Zane started the car and drove to the Bronx, where his mother kept most of her things in a storage unit. During the drive, Mama Sarfowa suddenly asked, "How is your father?"
Zane paused momentarily, causing the car to swerve slightly to the left. Luckily, he reacted swiftly enough to regain control. Ignoring the car next to him that was screaming his lungs out, he asked, "Why are you asking?"
"Can't I check on him?"
"I think he would be lucky if you didn't literally curse him every time something reminded you of him."
"True."
"So, let me ask again: why are you asking?"
"He's been bothering me," Mama Sarfowa replied. "Constantly calling and complaining that you block him — that you haven't spoken to him since before the Tower Announcement."
"I kind of forgot about him after he annoyed me the last time we spoke. I even forgot I blocked his number," Zane sighed.
"What did he do this time?"
"He wanted me to take a shady loan to repay the money I owe him," Zane explained. "If that was all, I could have forgiven him. But the bastard wanted me to convince Ali to put her and Sarah's house as collateral."
"He indeed crossed a line by involving Ali," Mama Sarfowa nodded. "But why does he suddenly need so much money?"
"What else could it be? That white son of his had another idea for a new business. After all, he's an entrepreneur," Zane sneered.
Mama Sarfowa was silent.
"I always wanted to ask you: why did you marry that bastard?"
"Watch your words: he's still your father."
Zane scoffed under his breath. Right now, it's hard to tell if that man is worthy.
"He wasn't always like that," Mama Sarfowa sighed. "His sister, Marylin — who practically raised him — was a powerful Hoodoo Witch; she was one of the best in all of New Orleans. In my early 20s, I did an apprenticeship under her, and that's when I met your father. Back then, he wasn't like that. He was handsome, charming, and quite intelligent."
"Pop? Intelligent? Those are two words I never thought I would see in the same sentence," Zane shook his head.
"You're letting your emotions cloud your judgment of him. Your looks come from me, but your intelligence is from him," Mama Sarfowa explained. "Your father was once accepted into Yale."
"He did? How come I never heard of this?"
"He dropped out after one semester to start his own business. Unfortunately, he failed, so he was embarrassed to mention it."
"Such an ego," Zane sneered.
Mama Sarfowa gave him a knowing look. If there was something else her son inherited from his father, it was the pride and ego. "Anyway, when we were 22 or 23, Marilyn died, and your father started spiraling. He started drinking and losing himself. It was during that time, when I was trying to help him, that we fell in love. I helped him clean up his act, and two years later, we were married, and I had you."
Mama Sarfowa's eyes shone with some luster as she reminisced.
"The early days were great. Although we had our own problems, they were nothing that most married couples didn't have to deal with. Unfortunately, five years into the marriage, he relapsed again. The worst part is he didn't tell me about it; I didn't find out until three years later. Afterward, I spent more than 6 years trying to help, but as you know, you can't help someone who doesn't want to help themselves. And with all the cheating and years of hiding a secret child, I just couldn't take it anymore."
Hearing his mother's words, Zane paused to remember his father without the filter of his bias and current disdain. His childhood was indeed wonderful. Back then, Jaamal was present in every aspect of his life. Every day since he was two, Jamaal would do a crossword and a Sudoku puzzle with him. After noticing his child's intelligence, Jaamal would stimulate Zane's mind with weekly essays, math problems, logic puzzles, and they would play geoparty together.
His father and mother worked tirelessly to put him in private school, help him with his math Olympiad, the International Spelling Bee, and his chess competition; they encouraged his hobbies such as fixing cars and building his own computer. They did everything in their power to ensure a bright and successful future. Even when the cracks started to show, Jaamal made an effort. Unfortunately, everything collapsed in the first year of high school when they announced the divorce.
"Do you have any regrets about him?"
"Maybe in the past, but not anymore," Mama Sarfowa shook her head. "I've done my best for him. Marilyn even acknowledged my effort, so that's enough."
"Marilyn? You spoke to her spirit?"
"Yes."
Zane was silent. Although he knew magic was real and had been a part of the world for as long as history was written, sometimes, he still found himself thinking about how absurd everything seemed. Zane reassured himself that this feeling would pass after knowing more about magic.
"How did she die?"
"A car accident."
Zane was speechless. Based on what his mother said, his aunt was a powerful witch with a mental energy on par with a one or two-ring mage, yet she died from a car accident. On second thought, it wasn't so absurd. The mages or shamans of Earth can only tap into their mental energy for a brief period; at other times, they are no different from non-magical humans.
Currently, despite Mama Sarfowa's mental energy towering over Zane, in a fight, the former would die in a matter of seconds. Before she could cast the incantation to unlock her mental energy, Zane or any other mage could blast her with a powerful spell, rendering all that mental energy useless.
While these two were lost in their conversation, the more than an hour drive felt as if a few minutes had passed. Without wasting any time, they headed to their designated area, and Mama Sarfowa used her key to open the storage unit while Zane brought the boxes. Resisting the urge to use his mana channeling to carry everything in one trip, Zane finished the two trips as fast as possible.
This was his first time to this day — even when he lived with his mother — so Zane was shocked to discover his mother had kept everything from his childhood: drawings, toys, report cards, perfect-attendance certificates, trophies, medals, and some of his journals. And they were not just his, but Alisha's as well, but hers only started from high school, since that's when she moved in with them.
"Why did you keep all these…" Zane wanted to call them junk, but he stopped himself. As he asked the question, he understood why. Their family used to live in a big house with four rooms and two bathrooms. After the divorce, his mother worked extra to keep paying the mortgage, but after his accident, she had to sell the house to pay for his bail and other fees.
"Don't worry. It won't be long before I can help you buy the house back," Zane suddenly said.
Mama Sarfowa looked at him; she wanted to tell him he didn't have to, but she understood her son's pride. "Good, I'll be waiting. But, don't put too much pressure on yourself."
Zane did not utter another word. Instead, he sifted through all the boxes, reminiscing about his childhood. One of the large collections was all his Star Trek stuff. When he was young, he was obsessed with science fiction, primarily Star Trek. Zane even found his Spock costumes from his first convention in 1996.
Shaking his head at how embarrassing he was as a child, he glanced at the second-largest pile from his childhood. Most of that box contained comics, primarily about Iron Man or anything science fiction related. Zane even saw a comic he had written called [Science Man]. However, after flipping through it, his face burned with embarrassment because it was just Iron Man in a lab coat, with countless gadgets coming out of its pockets.
Zane picked up one of his journals and flipped through it. This one was about when he first started dreaming about creating his own company: Skylar Industry. Once again, inspired by the Iron Man comics, he took his last name and the industry from [Stark Industry] to create his own name.
While Zane was lost in his memories, Mama Sarfowa received a call from Alisha; she had arrived at the house, but no one was there. After explaining the situation, Mama Sarfowa told her they would be back soon, and she just needed to wait. Maybe take the chicken out of the freezer so they can start cooking as soon as they return.
"Don't forget we still need to change your oil," Zane reminded.
"Oh, right, where is my mind?" Mama Sarfowa sighed. "Did you hear? We might be a bit late."
"By how much? Should I…"
The conversation did not last long, and out of consideration for Alisha, Zane did not linger. He had already given Juan a heads-up, so after reaching the shop, he headed straight to work. And since his purpose was to fix his mother's car as soon as possible, he did not waste time; within less than half an hour, her oil was changed, and a few other minor issues were fixed.