ON THE RUN (3)

How could she accuse me of being the reason he was not in touch with his family?

I stood there trying to make sense of the ongoing encounter between a mother and her son. What did she mean by her last statement or rather an accusation? How could she accuse me of being the reason he was not in touch with his family?
“No, mom,” Akin said calmly but firmly — that is until those words came out: “Then maybe you should ask yourself why we’ve lost contact.” His voice dipped low on purpose creating more emotion than necessary.

His mom smiled.

“I thought as much, there is no valid reason.’ she replied and walked away from him. She walked towards the framed photos on the wall and examined them. The photos we took in Cabo last summer, our anniversary dinner photos in San Francisco, individual photos, graduation photos, and childhood photos of Akin and I were in a nice collage on the wall.

He followed her like he expected her to do something crazy. The tension in the room was so thick and it made me uncomfortable. I was not sure of what to say or do and what it would trigger in his mom.

She took her eyes off the photos on the wall and looked at him.

“Is your name on this property?” she asked him.

He nodded slowly in agreement.

“And the mansion you left behind also belongs to you,’ she responded.

There was sadness in her voice.

“Mansion? What did she mean by mansion? Did Akin own a mansion?

We barely put down a significant amount of money to buy this place but in her sentence, the reality of Akin owning a mansion existed.

I was confused.

“What mansion?” I asked looking at him. I needed answers. He looked at me. The answer I needed was from his facial expressions. There was a lot more than what he had told me. I hated surprises like this. Akin's bank account didn’t reflect that of someone who owned a mansion as his mom claimed.

His mother gave me a confused look.

Akin was quiet.