A Toast to The New Millionaire

Mateo, clad in a pair of new chinos and a lovely shirt and looking fresh, sat behind the wheel of the van that he had brought to a stop outside the local child welfare department. Ruti, dressed in a beautiful black dress, took her place on the passenger's seat. She held a medium- sized envelope in her sweaty palms. She exhaled and turned to Mateo. "Wish me luck." She said, "Pray for me." Mateo smiled and looked back at her and said, "It is well." He reached for her hand and gently clamped it in his hand. Ruti, still keeping her eyes on him, nodded and stepped out of the van. Mateo watched her as she walked quickly to the entrance of the local child welfare department. This was the ninth time the duo was visiting the department in a quarter.

Ruti gently knocked on the door of the Department's superintendent and walked in with without waiting to be invited in. A fairly old couple sat at the couch by the window while Ms. Marjory comfortably sunk in an executive chair. As soon as she sat on the chair on the opposite end of the table, Ms. Marjory announced, "Thank you for joining us Ms. Raso." Ruti nodded and said nothing. Ms. Marjory continued, "This is Mr. and Mrs. Philips. They will be Arthur's adoptive parents. As you read in the Act I gave you, it is the prerogative of the department to act in the best interest of the child where the parent is irresponsive to choose from the nominees given." Ruti looked at Ms. Marjory with a devilish pair of eyes, "No one is taking my son away." Ms. Marjory chuckled and shot back, "we are acting in the best interest of your son. He needs all the help we can accord him." Ruti stood up and bent over Ms. Marjory's table, "I can take care of my son." Ms. Marjory shook her head in disbelief, "In a garage? You mean you want to raise a child a garage? In the industrial area?"

Ruti kept quiet. Silence had a firm grip on the proceedings but for a moment. Ms. Marjory looked at Ruti and said, "If you want to keep Arthur, show proof of a descent accommodation and a bank balance of $500 dollars." Ruti stood up straight and quickly opened the envelope she had held in her sweaty hands. She fetched some papers from it and threw them on the table. "That's the deed of my house and the bank statement. No one is taking my son away. Not now, not in a light-year." Ms. Marjory picked the papers and carefully studied them. Her eyes gaped. She drowned in disbelief. "I've a beautiful four- bedroomed house in a prime area. And my bank balance is way past the minimum you seek. Now give me my son." Ruti demanded in stern tone. Silence swept in again. And this time, it prevailed for good.

Outside the child welfare department building, Mateo kept his place in the van – waiting for Ruti. A black SUV pulled behind him and Deacon stepped out. Mateo did not see him approach. He was absorbed in thought. By the time he was alive to the lurking Deacon, a gun was aimed at his head. "I underestimated you." Deacon announced his presence. "But I won't be that foolish again." Mateo slowly retracted his hands from the wheel and raised them up. He said nothing in return. "Now," Deacon demanded. "Get out of the vehicle. Slowly." Mateo bobbed his head, opened the door and stepped out as ordered.

Deacon beckoned him to march to the SUV at gunpoint. Mateo walked to the SUV without saying a word. At the back door of the SUV, Deacon ordered him, "Open the fucking door!" Mateo obliged and opened it. Deacon looked around for a moment – no one was in sight. Deacon hit Mateo at the back of the head with the magazine of the gun. The latter fell unconscious on the back seat of the SUV. Deacon shoveled him in a panicky fashion. And after closing the door, he ran around the automobile to the driver's seat and drove away.

"No…" Ruti exhaled in despair. She was rooted just a few meters from her van, and she saw Mateo been marshalled away. She saw it all. But she could not do anything about it. She could not even call the police. Mateo was still on their most wanted list. And for good measure, she could not interpose on behalf of Mateo – she feared for her life and that of Arthur. Thus, she watched on. Tears streamed down her on either side of her face as she recounted what Mateo had done for and became to her. In that moment, the recent happenings flashed before her, and she could not help it but shrink in fear that she would not see Mateo again. She recounted:

Flashback…

Blindfolded, Ruti was led to the entrance of a beautiful house. The building boasted of a lovely garden and a host of towering trees. Mateo held Ruti in his left hand and opened the door with his right hand. And step by step, he led her into the beautiful haven. "We are here", Mateo announced softly. "I will help you with the blindfold." He thus stepped back and untied her. "Wow." She sighed with admiration, "It's beautiful." Mateo held either side of her shoulders, "You're welcome to your new home." Her eyes gaped wide as a sigh escaped between her lips. She turned around and shook her head, "tell me this is a dream." Mateo smiled pleasantly, "then don't wake up. Come on, let me show you around." Ruti clasped her hand Mateo's arm as the duo walked around the beautiful haven.

After a while, the duo stood in a spacious bedroom. It had a touch of famous figures from the animation world beautifully painted on the wall. "This, I thought, should be Arthur's room." Ruti disengaged from his hand and walked around before stopping to face Mateo. Tears streamed down her cheeks. She tried to push them away but the more she tried, the more they welled. "I wish I'd a better way of saying this... Thank you." Mateo smiled and made a thoughtful reply, "You saved me. This is the least I could do." Ruti charged towards Mateo and hugged him with everything in her. Mateo reciprocated and wrapped his arms around her.

Back to the lounge, Mateo raced his fingers on the phone. Ruti's old phone, placed on the table, beeped once. She did not pay attention to it. She was still absorbing what had just happened. She was still a prisoner of disbelief. Mateo walked to the Kitchen and came back with a bottle of champagne and two glasses. He quickly popped the bottle, poured the drink in the glasses and gave one to Ruti. He raised his glass and proclaimed, "To the newest millionaire in town." Mateo proposed a toast. Ruti picked her phone and checked the message she had earlier ignored. Mateo sent her three million dollars. She stood up in awe and walked to him. "You've already done enough." Mateo commented softly, "you need to get by." Ruti sprung to her toes and kissed Mateo gently. He responded with a few soft smooches. But that's all he could afford. He thus held her in his arms. It was a warm and long embrace…

… Back to present

Ruti snapped back from land of memories. Behold, Arthur stood by her. She had just won the battle at the Child Welfare Department, and she was more than thankful to take him home. At the same time, she was sad that Mateo was whiskered away right under nose. It was a bitter- sweet moment. Thus, she remained glued to the spot. Not knowing what to do next.