My mom was a really special person. She always cared for me and helped me whenever she could. I really admired her. Ever since I was a young kid, I would go out with my mom at any chance I got. Even though eating out a lot could get expensive, we would continue to do it because she loved me a lot.

My earliest memories of my mom were of her and I playing with my toys. We would always play the standard “Dinosaur world” type of game. But the most vivid memory I have with her was on the Mother’s Day that she showed me how to win without throwing a single punch. 

…………………………………

After playing for some time with my toys, my mom and I grabbed our stuff and got ready to go to a restaurant to eat. I was eight-years-old at the time. We got into the car and began driving to a diner I loved to go to since they had lots of children activities. When we arrived, there was a long, LONG line. It was Mothers Day after all. We stood in line in the hot, late-spring weather. My mom was visibly sweating and impatient, but her love for me persevered. Even though it was her day, she wanted me to have the best time, so we waited and waited.

Finally, we were let inside and headed to one of the booths. The restaurant had a black and white checkered floor with red booths and brown wooden tables. The kitchen was visible from where the customers sat, and there was a karaoke machine and a pool table in the far corner. It looked like the standard diner you would see in all of those classic eighties films. Looking back on it now, I find it incredibly hilarious.

“May I take your order?” a waitress asked.

We both nodded. We were regulars there and often would ask to order as soon as we sat down. We both knew what our favorite dishes were, so that was the reason why we did it.

“Hey, Betty!” My mom said cheerfully.

“Hewwo!” I squeaked out around the free mints in my mouth that prevented me from saying “hello” properly.

Betty gave us a little wave and repeated the question.

“Oh, sorry! Yeah, we’re ready to order,” my mother replied.

My mom ordered her favorite huevos rancheros dish. When she was done, the waitress turned to me and asked for my order.

“Can I have a BIG stack of pancakes?” I blurted out.

The waitress gave me a friendly smile and asked how many I wanted.

“Give me four!” I said as I stretched my hands out wide.

“Very well, I’ll be back with your order shortly,” the waitress said as she bowed and walked away.

My mom let out a little sigh.

“Christopher, you can’t just order so much food!” she complained.

I gave her a cheerful smile that must have melted her heart, because she reached over the table and patted my head.

“Sorry, mom. I’m just very hungry today! It’s sad that Dad had to stay home and nurse Rhythm back to health!”

Rhythm had a fever and was in bed. What did she have? I can’t remember. It may have been an intense cold.

“It really is a shame,” my mom replied.

She let out another sigh and put her chin in her hands. We sat in silence for a bit until I asked her if I could go to the childrens’ room. She agreed and I walked towards the edge of the kitchen and followed a hallway until I got to the latter.

I entered and found myself in a giant space with a blue sky and clouds painted on the walls. There were many toys scattered around the floor and a couple of coloring books on the tables.

Most of the kids were coloring. I approached a table and sat down.

“Hey, you!”

“Hmm?”

Someone had yelled across the room. I turned to face them. It had been a kid that had yelled. He wore a red long sleeved shirt, black shorts and a pair of black sneakers.

“Hi!” I called out cheerfully.

The kid approached me and eyed me up and down. That made me quite uncomfortable.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“I’m trying to see if you’re a good fit to join this room,” the kid barked.

We stayed in silence while he continued to eye me up and down. After a while, he shook his head and pointed towards the door I had come from.

“Get out.”

“Huh?”

I was confused on why he was kicking me out. I didn’t even know if he could do that.

“You can’t do that!” I pointed out.

“Sure I can, my mom is the owner of the diner! I have complete control. Don’t make me repeat myself, get out!” he snapped.

I shook my head at him and walked over to one of the tables far away from the rest of the kids. I took my seat and grabbed a coloring book at the table.

“Hey! Did you not hear me?!”

I looked up to see that the kid had followed me. It seemed like he was drunk on power.

“I heard you fine, I just don’t want to leave.”

I was getting pretty angry. At the time, it took a lot to make me angry but this kid was just setting me off.

“If you won’t get out, I’ll have to drag you out!”

The kid walked over to me and grabbed me by the shirt. He pulled me out of my chair and headed towards the door. I clawed at the floor trying to stop him. I realized I couldn’t stop him unless I attacked him directly.

I kicked and squirmed and he finally let go. He approached me and swung a punch at me. It hit me in the face and knocked my glasses off.

Fueled by my own anger, I tackled him onto the ground and began punching him ruthlessly. It wasn’t enough to severely hurt him, but I did make his face quite swollen. I was screaming the entire time and the kid’s mom ran into the room along with my mom.

“What’s going on!?” his mom cried out.

I got off of the kid, stepped back, grabbed my glasses from the floor and put them on. They hadn’t been damaged. I was breathing quite heavily, but I was ready to fight again. It didn’t come to that, though. The kid’s mom ran to her son and hugged him. She began wiping her son’s bruised and bloodied face frantically with a handkerchief. 

My mom ran towards me and pulled me into a hug. She asked me what happened and I told her the whole story. When I was done, we began walking towards the door of the room to leave the restaurant, but were interrupted.

“STOP!” I heard the kid’s mom screech.

We turned and I found myself face to face with the angriest mom. She was sweating profusely and the white shirt she was wearing had several small droplets of blood.

“You hurt my kid! I’m going to sue you for this!”

I eyed the woman up and down and the conclusion that came to my head was: gorilla.

“Your son was bothering my-”

My mom started trying to defend me but was interrupted by the gorilla.

“I WANT YOU TO PAY ME A FEE OR YOU WILL BE ARRESTED AND SUED!”

“Listen, let’s-”

“SHUT UP WOMAN! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE-”

That was when my mom snapped.

“Listen, I’m a customer, right? Isn’t the customer always right?”

“W-well, yes, but-”

“Why did you assume it was my son that started that fight?”

“Well, because my son would never-”

“Hey, kids!” my mom said as she walked towards a table. She stopped and said, “Who started the fight? I’ll give you a dollar if you tell me.”

The kids immediately caved in and pointed towards the gorilla’s son, so my mom gave each of them a dollar.

“You’re lying-”

“If you want, we can review the security cameras. If we do, though, I will call the police so that they can watch them with us. You’re the owner, right? Go ahead and prove your son didn’t start the fight.”

I had to admit, my mom was very scary sometimes. In that moment, I promised myself I would avoid doing anything that would make my mom angry.

The gorilla said nothing. My mom grabbed my hand and made me follow her outside. We left the restaurant and never returned. I had no complaints.

“You know I’m always proud of you, right?,” my mom said.

I looked up at her and smiled. “I know mom, but fighting never fixes it, right?

“ That’s right. Next time, come and get me. As you can see, I’ll take care of things without hurting anyone. Or getting blood on my shirt,” she said as she wiped at a drop on my shirt front.

I knew she was right. And I knew she’d always have my back. “I love you, mom. Happy Mother’s day!”

With that, we went to a McDonalds nearby and stuffed our faces.