A Mother, A Son, and A Game.

This is just a short story I had an idea about last night before I went to sleep, figured I'd write it up. Just so we're clear this is a work of fiction. Nothing true or related to myself!

"Mom, I really want this new game!" Jackson said.

His mother frowned, "Jack, you know we don't have the money right now."

"Mom! Come on. I never ask you for anything." Jackson desperately pleaded.

His mother frowned again, this time with a more stern voice. "No, son. I'm sorry. Why don't you go around the neighborhood and see if you can do anything to earn the money?"

Jackson smiled, why hadn't he thought of that?

"I'm eleven, mom. What can I do?"

"I don't know, son. Get creative." She whisked him out the door and waved

He waved good bye to his mother as he left.

"Well, what can I do?" Jackson wondered.

He started walking down the street still thinking of things he could do to earn some extra money. "Hey Jack, how's it going buddy?" Mr. Reynolds said as he was pulling into his drive way.

"Pretty good," Jack replied, "trying to earn some extra money."

"Oh, that's great. Say, I'm putting together the kids playground set. Would you like to help? I'll give you five dollars." Mr. Reynolds offered.

"Sure! I'm not good at building though." Jackson admitted.

Mr. Reynolds laughed, "Trust me, I'm awful at it myself. But per wife's orders, I can't ignore it any longer."

As he got out of his car, his two children walked outside with their mother and waved. "Hey sweetheart, how was your day?" Mr. Reynolds asked.

"Good, you know what a handful these two are. We have to go out. I trust by the time we get back you'll have the playground up?" Mrs. Reynolds asked arching her eye brow.

"Yeah, Jack and I got this! We'll figure it out." Mr. Reynolds smiled.

"Figure it out?" Mrs. Reynolds arching her eye brow again.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Don't worry, honey. We'll get it done. Look at Jack's face, he's intent!"

Jack shrugged and smiled.

As Mrs. Reynolds and her kids pulled away, Jackson and Mr. Reynolds got to work. "Jack, can you go grab my tools in the garage? Make sure you grab the flat head screwdriver as well. We can get this bad boy out of the way in just a few hours."

Hours? I'm not being paid enough. Jackson thought. Jackson did as Mr. Reynolds asked and helped him assemble the playground.

"Thanks for your help, Jack. I really appreciate it. I know my kids will also."

"No problem, Mr. Reynolds. I have to go now. Good bye."

With a bruised thumb from a few miscalculated hammer misses, Jackson walked home with his five dollars and head held high feeling proud of himself. Over the next few days he was able to collect more money from around the neighborhood. He cut Ms. Benham's yard and watered her flowers. Mr. and Mrs. Foley both needed their car washed. And Ms. Jones wanted Jackson to carry boxes down to her basement. It was hard work, but Jackson knew if he wanted his game he was going to have to do it.

As he walked in through his door, his mother smiled at him.

"How was your day?" She asked.

"Good. I earned fifteen dollars. I just need fifteen more for my game." Jackson gloated.

"Awesome, sweety. I'm proud of you." She gave a proud and comforting smile back to him.

Exhausted and sore, Jackson headed towards his room, "I'm tired though. I'm heading to bed. Goodnight mom!"

"Goodnight. I love you." His mother replied.

Jackson yawned, "Love you too, mom."

Later that night Jackson woke up to get something too drink. As he walked down the stairs he could hear his mother crying. He didn't want to say anything, he just stood there and watched for a moment. He knew why she was crying. Bills again. His mother worked hard to keep them afloat. She would sometimes have to take on two jobs just to get through the month. It never seemed to affect her though, she always had a smile on her face. Except this time. He had never seen her cry before, it was heart breaking to watch. He should have walked over to her and gave her a hug, or some sense of condolence. He didn't. Jackson walked back up the stairs and went to sleep again.

The next day he stared at his mother while eating breakfast. She looked at him and smiled, the same smile that she always gives him. As if nothing is wrong. He knew better, of course.

"I have to go out today, Jack. Will you be okay while I'm gone?" His mother asked.

"Sure mom. I have to go help the Rodger's pack. They're giving me the rest of the money I need." He replied.

"That's great. I heard they were moving up north. Please tell them I said goodbye and to be safe. I should be back by the time you're done." She said.

He walked over to the Rodger's house where there was a big rental truck backed into their drive way. Mr. Rodger's was already loading some boxes into the truck.

"Hey Mr. Rodgers." Jackson said.

"Hey kiddo. You ready to get to work?" Mr. Rodgers asked.

Jackson flexed both his arms and laughed, "Sure thing. Where should I start?"

"There's a few boxes in the living room that can be brought out. The boxes to the left are glass so be careful." Mr. Rodgers pointed towards his house.

After clearing out the living room, Mr. Rodgers sent Jackson upstairs to pack and carry down some boxes full of books.

"Looking a little winded there little man. Sure them muscles going to make it?" Mr. Rodgers smirked.

Sweat beading down his head, Jackson gave an uneasy smile and nodded. Too winded to even speak.

As Jackson made it down the stairs, Mr. Rodgers padded him on his back and handed him fifteen dollars.

"You've done enough for today, thank you for all your help. I can get the rest from here. Go on home and tell your mother we said goodbye."

Jackson shook his hand and headed home. When he got there he noticed his mother wasn't home yet. He walked inside and went over to his mothers desk. Sitting there tucked under a few papers was the mortgage bill. Without hesitating, Jackson ran into his room. He packed all of his games he owned and console into a back pack and headed out the door to the gaming store about fifteen minutes away. He traded in everything for two-hundred dollars, mostly from the console. It wasn't much, he knew, but at least it would help.

When he got home his mother was sitting on the couch watching tv.

"Hey mom." He said.

His mother turned the TV off and turned towards him, "Hey Jack, how'd it go at Mr. Rodgers?"

"Tiring. Lots of boxes I had to lift." He replied.

"I have something for you." She stood up and reached into her bag and handed him the game he had been wanting all along.

Jackson's eyes started to tear up as he looked down at the game. His mother just stood there and stared.

"Is something wrong, Jack? Why are you crying?" She put her hand on his shoulder.

"Mom, I seen you crying last night. I'm sorry...I just didn't know what to do. When I came home today I saw the mortgage bill. So I went and traded in for all my games and console..." Jack handed her the two-hundred dollars plus all the cash he had earned over the last week.

His mom's hands were trembling, she was speechless. She sat back down on the couch as tears began streaming down her cheeks. Jackson sat down beside her and put his arm around her.

"You shouldn't have to do this, Jack. I'm so sorry. I promise you, I'm going to make this up to you. I promise."

Jack hugged her and said, "No mom, I'm making it up to you for doing so much for me."

The END