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“Would you be back by 5? Don’t forget we have Mark’s farewell party….” Mrs. Bakers yelled at Julian, as he left the home to the campus, driving his father’s car.
Mark, Julian’s elder brother was leaving the country to start a new job in a cruise ship, as a marine engineer. It was Mark’s passion for the sea and the ships that drove him to take this job, although engineers had plenty of work to do on land. It is a fact that a father’s passion is contagious to his off springs. Mr. Bakers, being a captain of a ship was the key reason behind Mark’s love for the deep blue waters. According to Bakers family, that was the ‘sea-sickness’ – not that nausea and the discomfort any other person would understand when they hear the word.
Bakers were living in a small cottage, on a small cliff by the beaches and its inhabitants were mostly, Mrs. Bakers, Mark and Julian for Mr. Bakers was often far away in the deep blue waters than at home with family. Mark, Mrs. Bakers' favorite was a miniature version of Mr. Bakers in personality – quite stubborn and ambitious - with appearance resembling Mrs. Bakers, mostly. Growing up by the beaches, Mark’s play time was often riding boats, swimming or fishing in the sea. On the contrary, Julian’s obsession was either beach or land itself. He was either riding bicycles, climbing trees, camping by the beach with the focus mostly the land. Even though Julian resembled his father by appearance, his personality was more in common with his mother – passive and risk avoider.
“Mom, when I grow up I want to be off in the sea like dad”. That’s what Mark said at his 12th Birthday. Mr. Bakers gave a loud cheer to that. “That’s my boy! And what about you Julian?” inquired Mr. Bakers from the younger son as he loved Julian to follow the same example, for Julian looked more like father. “I rather prefer having a farm of my own. I would be having many horses…!” was Julian’s response. “Mother’s little brat!” Mr. Bakers exclaimed, as if sound frustrated, but with a wink at Mark, who both shared a wide smile.
Mrs. Bakers who was born and brought up in the hills, impulsively settled with Mr. Bakers by the beach as a result of a love-at –first-sight led to a flash marriage. At that stage, for Mrs. Bakers, Mr. Bakers was the ocean and Ocean was Mr. Bakers. As she gradually brought up her boys living in that cottage, all by herself for the greater part of the year around, she gradually developed a call for the hills where she was brought up. When the very ocean that Mr. Bakers loved the most, swallowed him for the good, during a sea storm leaving Mrs. Bakers alone with her sons, she was determined that both her sons would make a living in the land, and back in hills if possible.
When, Mark graduated with an engineering degree, Mrs. Bakers was overwhelmed. ‘Oh, only if your father was here!....So you can join one of the automobile companies. They look after their engineers really well. Mrs. Jones told me yesterday that her son also joined one and it is very promising.’
“Oh, mom, didn’t I tell you that my preference is for marine engineering? I’m going to join Dad’s company as a marine engineer.”
“But, how? They didn’t even pay compensation when your father was gone…I was fighting against their company in courts… I have even insulted them via press, Oh, how desperate I was back then? And here, you are going behind the same company begging for a job!”
“Mom, what are you saying? Have you gone to courts against them? But why?”
“Why?... Don’t you have senses? They didn’t pay your father’s gratuity. They were only nicely giving media statements that ‘we are sure that the vessel will turn up with all its passengers and staff safe and sound’- Mrs. Bakers, acting on the same monotonous tone they gave the media statement years ago – ‘we haven’t found a single body, which means the vessel must be still safe in the ocean’ …. Oh, Mark! You were all young, only 13 years. How could you even remember? You didn’t even know what was going on”.
"No matter what you say, YOU ARE NOT GOING TO WASTE YOUR LIFE in the ocean like your dad did..!"
Her eyes were nearly filled with tears. Seeing no point of explaining it further, she left the dining room and locked herself in the bed room.
Bringing them up was not easy for Mrs. Bakers. When Mr. Bakers was gone, the owner of the ship company denied any claims that the passengers were perished and refused paying compensation for the families. The endless efforts in filing cases and appeals at courts and spending for lawyers evaporated whatever the money she had been saving, leaving all the efforts fruitless. Her skills were mostly on sewing and knitting and it took a long time before she secured a continuous income by making and selling dresses and woolen items for the visitors to the beach. Beach being closer to the town where they had large shopping malls and the hot weather by the beach made sure she had little demand for her items and very little income.
“Mom, are you asking me to sell woolen caps, in your boutique? Go and ask Julian to do that. He won’t do that either…. I am definitely going for that job! Oh, why on earth you don’t understand me? I’m my Dad’s son, and I CAN'T THINK OF ANY OTHER JOB other than a job in the middle of the sea.” Mark declared standing out of her bedroom door. Mrs. Bakers heard the door slammed and she knew Mark is leaving the house. But she was sure he would be back for dinner, wherever he would go. Mark didn’t return that day, or the next, or next week, or next month either.
Mrs. Bakers didn’t ask Julian to go in search of him. Julian was getting ready for year-end exams in high school. Julian was studying biology and he aspired to be a Vet. For he believed that being a Vet would benefit a great deal in maintaining his own farm one day. Mrs. Bakers didn’t even call anybody she knew as Mark’s friends’ parents, as she used to when Mark left like that before. Mark didn’t bother to call her either, or write.
But deep in their hearts, they knew each other. Mrs. Bakers knew where exactly Mark is residing and what he must be doing. Mark knew what his mother could be up to. It was not necessary to call. When it was Mrs. Baker’s Birthday, she found a bouquet of flowers and a coffee cake lying on the cashier’s table in her boutique. The girl in the cashier desk said that a man wearing a coat and hat dropped in, said that there is a parcel for Mrs. Bakers and vanished.
“Madam, I couldn’t recognize him because he had the coat collars high up and hat lowered. When I asked him his name, he grinned to himself and left. Madam, may I call the police? he appeared strange…” Mrs. Bakers was not interested in listening to her or making a reply, for she knew it was Mark.
When Julian got his results, she was over joyed. She hugged him so closely and whispered “Julian, now I only have you, I know that you would never leave me. Do whatever you like but live in the land, in a place that I can at least see you”, deep down she missed the group hug they used to have some years ago when all four were together. At this, she heard as if someone moved by the window. As she peeped at the window, she noticed some one going out of the gate and the dog barking. As she went to the front door to check, she noticed a hand written note saying, ‘Congradz Julian!’. She didn’t need further explanations.
One thing she realized was that no matter where her sons prefer to proceed in their lives, the values she has taught them – love, care and assurance, are rightly implanted in their souls. No matter what they do in their lives, the brothers will be there for each other. That is exactly what she wanted. Members of a family, should be together through thick and thin. Each member of a family should feel that belongingness and the need to be with each other. That has been her purpose of holding the family together. She brought them up, keeping the sons under her eyes, for she always felt the insecurity of the family falling apart. That day she realized that she doesn’t need to keep them ‘under her eyes any more’. She has brought them up right. It was time to let them go.
Next morning, she handed over a note to the post man, without stamp and asked him to drop in to the letter box of the house she guessed where Mark resided. She did the same the day when Julian got his results, and she knew that the message delivered. The offer for the postman, in return of the help was a set of hand knitted accessories to their new born baby, who eagerly offered the help and accepted the gift, not as a payment but as a help for the lady who had always been kind to him.
Weeks later, Julian received a letter stating that he has been selected to enroll for a Bachelor’s degree in Veterinary Sciences at the City Campus, but the college fees were quite high. Mrs. Bakers didn’t want to disappoint Julian, on one hand he had always been there with her in her life, on the other hand she is now guilty for hurting Mark when she was against his passion. Wondering how on earth she could fund his education she left home to go to the bank to inquire for a loan. The bank was happy to offer her a loan but with a high interest rate. Mrs. Bakers had nothing else to spend for and gave consent.
Julian joined the city campus. He would ride in the bicycle to the campus everyday instead of staying at the hostel so that he could be with his mother and also save the money. On a rainy day, he opted to take the train, though it was never there at the time he wanted to go there.
One rainy evening, Mrs. Bakers was waiting for Julian to come home, for it was the usual time. When the door knocked, she hastily ran to the door assuming that the train must have come on time, but Julian must sure be like a wet goose. It was not Julian. It was Mark.
“Mom, you may be still mad at me but I don’t think you would close the door for me… in this rain?” and was straightway looking at her eyes, waiting for her response. “Mark! Where the hell have you been?”
Mark grinned in the side of his mouth, “as if you didn’t know…. These notes cannot be from another world...!” showing all the notes Mrs. Bakers were handing over to the postman.
“Mark, what are you still doing standing by the door?”
“You still didn’t tell me whether you would take me in”
“Why not!”
The next couple of hours were spent doing a lot of catching up between mother and son. After Mark left the home that day, he has gone straight away to meet the previous owner of the company and had barged at him for the injustice they have made to his family. The current manager of the company, who was Mr. Bakers friend, took the situation under his control. After hours of bargaining from the side of the company and by Mark, the discussion was concluded by agreeing to pay the compensation to the current rate and also hiring Mark as a marine engineer. Mark also had to make an apology note and set sacrifice a month’s salary in compensation for the insult his mother has made to the company via newspaper giving it a bad reputation. As weird as their demand appeared to be, Mark has had no choice because he badly wanted that job. After all the battle, Mark had to take the late train home and it was nearly midnight.
As Mark left the home in a rush he hasn’t taken the key with him. As he was about to knock on the door, he heard his mother exclaiming to Julian, “If he wants to go, let him be gone. I’m not going to keep the door opened”. Hearing this, Mark has given up the idea of knocking at the door and left. He was staying at Mr. Thompsons, dad’s old friend, who happily offered him to stay as they were alone after their son went abroad for higher studies. Mark’s descriptions on how he came to offer the birthday gift to his mother and how he was recognized by Jimmy, the dog, when he came to wish Julian when he passed exams were so dramatic and they were both laughing when Julian came in like a wet goose.
“Mark!”
“Julie…!”
So the brothers were together after a long time. Mark had to repeat the same story to Julian while Mrs. Bakers were busy preparing dinner ensuring that she include Mark’s favorite dishes as well as Julian’s. At the dinner, Mark announced that he would be joining the ship that leaves the shore next Wednesday. Mrs. Bakers didn’t fret this time. She knew that the sons would pursue their passions, one in land and the other in sea. She instantly decided to have a small farewell to Mark, for the onset of his career.
The party was simple, as a party could be and yet it was the loveliest gathering they had for ages with all the closest family friends around.
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