PLAYDATE: First Encounter
Warning: slight mention of family and/or relationship issues and death.
“Excuse me, is this seat taken?”
Cher tilted his head to the side and found a man with his formal suit standing there with a polite smile. He immediately nodded his head as he moved a little to give him more spaces to sit. “No, you can sit here!”
The man slightly bowed his head and hummed a soft thank you before sitting beside Cher. Cher guessed that this man is probably older than him, judging from his appearance. He also looked very decent, probably working as a businessman or something.
Cher slightly patted his own forehead to chase away his thoughts about the man beside him. He shouldn't think and judge a stranger that he just met like that. It would be embarrassing if he had some kind of mind-reading power, Cher thought.
It was 3 p.m in Friday, the weather was kind of hot and Cher had to sit on a bench outside the daycare building, waiting for his little son to finish his activities there. Fortunately, there are a lot of big trees and some plants outside the building, so the sun didn't bother him that much.
After the brief conversation between him and the man with the suit, there was silence and personally, Cher found it awkward. Usually, Cher would talk to whoever sitting around him and approach them to form a friendly bond, especially in this daycare. He has to befriend almost all the parents to make things easier, just in case something happens and they need each other's help.
However, by the time Cher's eyes met with that man's earlier, he suddenly became an awkward coward. He didn't want to look like a fool by having a conversation with a decent person that he just met. Come to think of it, Cher never met this man before and he kept trying to guess which one is his child, because Cher couldn't recall his memory of meeting this man in the daycare before. He was curious about it and wanted to ask, but once again, he was such a coward that time.
It was a win for him as if God answered his prayer one minute later, the daycare bell rang—a sign that their activities should be over by now and they could come outside to meet their parents. Cher was excited as a smile bloomed in his face. He couldn't wait to see his little son and listen to his stories about his day.
Cher immediately stood up and widened his arms as he saw Archie, his son came from inside the building with his little yellow backpack while holding a little girl's hand. Within a glance, Cher recognized that she is one of Archie's best friends. So, he swung his arms to grab their attention while calling their names.
“Archie, Ella, I'm here!”
Both of them looked at Cher before they ran towards him with little jumps. Cher almost followed them to jump in excitement, but then he realized that the man that was sitting beside him earlier was now standing beside him.
“Pardon, do you know—”
Cher looked at the man as he wanted to say something, but was suddenly interrupted by Archie who jumped to him and he had no choice but to carry his son before he lost his balance. He poked Archie's cheeks before landing a kiss on top of his head before he tried to switch his attention to Ella who walked along with Archie earlier.
“Hi, Ella—”
“Daddy?! Daddy is here!”
Cher widened his eyes as he immediately looked to his right, and found Ella jumped into the man's arms as he easily carried her. He just knew that the man who sat and stood beside him for ten minutes was Ella's father. Honestly, though, he never saw Ella's parents before as usually, it was her grandma who picked her up from the daycare.
“Oh God. I'm sorry, I don't know that you're Ella's father. I've never seen you before.” Cher slightly bowed to him as a form of apology.
The man pulled a little smile while nodding his head and bowed to him as well. “No worries. I was about to ask you earlier, but the kids are here and yelling at us already,” he caressed Ella's back as the girl was leaning on his father's shoulder. “Ella often told me about her best friend, Archie. Is he your little brother?”
Cher slightly widened his mouth in disbelief before he chuckled. “No, no. I'm actually Archie's father. My name is Cher. It's nice to meet you here!”
The man couldn't believe him while looking at his own daughter. Like they could read each other's minds, Ella nodded his head to convince his father that Cher is her best friend's father.
“I apologize. I thought you were his brother. You look so young,” he giggled awkwardly, probably embarrassed because he got the wrong idea. “My name is Gungawin. I'm Ella's father. You might haven't seen me before. Usually, it's her grandma who picks her up. But, my mother was out of town for a week, so I had to pick her up by myself.”
Cher nodded his head, signaling that he understood the situation before he asked Ella for a high-five. Ella immediately reached Cher's hand and did a high-five with him.
“I usually take them to buy ice cream or cookies there while waiting for Ella's grandma. Archie and her are very close, but it's my bad that I didn't recognize you as his father,” Cher smiled at Gungawin.
“Papa, can I play swings with Ella for ten more minutes, please?” Archie asked, and Ella did the same to his father as well. Cher laughed and put his son down while taking his backpack and holding it, followed by Gungawin who did the same and holding Ella's blue backpack.
They immediately jumped in excitement and Cher had to remind them to not run towards the playground, but they didn't want to listen anyway. So, Cher patted his own forehead and shook his head.
“I'm glad that Ella has a best friend here. Thank you for taking care of her while you're here, too.” Gungawin said as he watched over his own daughter and Cher's son in the playground. “I was so busy with my work that I barely had time for her. I worried that she didn't make friends, but she often talked about how kind and funny Archie is.”
Cher giggled, feeling proud of his little son who grew up to be a playful and kind boy. “I'm happy that they get along well. Don't worry! I can help to drop her off to you if you're unable to pick her up someday. I'm not too busy because I work from home.”
Gungawin smiled before he cleared up his throat and asked, “I'm sorry if it sounds ridiculous or impolite, but I really thought that you're Archie's big brother. How old are you?”
“It's okay! A lot of parents here thought the same as you. I'm 23 years old.” Cher looked at Gungawin, did a quick glance to see his reaction. “I'm Archie's adoptive father, actually. His biological parents were my friends. They passed away when Archie was one year old because of an accident. They don't have any close relatives that can take care of him, and he's already like my own child, so he's now my little son.”
There was a brief silence after Cher finished his story. Gungawin was a little bit regretting his decision to ask about Cher's age as it might sound like he was too nosy about Cher and Archie. “I'm so sorry for that and I'm sorry for asking you that. Archie is so lucky to have you as his father.”
Cher chuckled and showed him two thumbs up. “Don't be sorry about that! I chose to tell you this, because Ella is Archie's best friend and automatically, you'll soon become my best friend, too,” he said jokingly and Gungawin laughed about it. “It feels like Archie was the one who adopted me because he changed my world for the better although you can say that I'm a single father. I'm so lucky to have him.”
“Anyway, how about you?”
Gungawin loosened up his tie a little before looking at Cher and hummed softly. “I'm five years older than you and currently handling my own company,” he tried to say it as politely as possible, so that he didn't sound like flexing himself in front of his possible new parent friend. “Ella's mother left us ever since she was still a baby. Nobody knew what the reason was, but I kept trying to take care of her even without a mother figure. It was hard for me, but Ella is the one who gives me the strength.”
It was now Cher's turn to regret his decision to ask back about Gungawin and Ella. But, before he said something, Gungawin told him that it was fine and he was glad to tell him about this because he felt like they could trust each other since they both shared quite the same stories of being single fathers.
Cher looked at his watch before he gasped and immediately looked at Gungawin. “I'm sorry, but I just remember that I have an online meeting at 4 p.m. If you may excuse me.”
“Oh, no problem! You should hurry now, you still have time. I'll also head home with Ella after this.” Gungawin made a gesture with his arm to let Cher walk towards the playground first, but then he stopped him for a moment. “If you don't mind, may I have your contact in case I need your help?”
Cher, who was a half way through the playground, slightly turned around and smiled while nodding his head. “Of course!”
Gungawin swore it was the prettiest and brightest smile that he had ever seen in his life beside his daughter's smile.
greatesturn, 2023