Jet Set Medley

Prologue

“Don’t worry, miss, we’ll take good care of your son.” Suri looked up at his caretaker, Lily. She wore the typical servant’s uniform that was required: a white and black dress outfit with her brown hair wrapped up in a bun. He turned away from the servant and watched his mother’s servants pack an expensive, leather suitcase. She was busy talking to her agent on her shiny, new cell phone.

“Mother, when will Father be home?” He watched Lily and another servant neatly fold a pair of designer-brand jeans and tuck it away next to the other pairs. Selena Matto put a delicate hand over the receiver to answer her six-year old son.

“He’s on a business trip, sweetie. He won’t be home for another two or three weeks,” She said with a sugary smile. She didn’t wait for another response, as she immediately went back to talking to Mr. Fulani. Suri hardened his eyes and gave a small glare at his mother’s phone; he hated Mr. Fulani. He cast one last look on his mother’s beautiful face and quietly walked out of the massive bedroom.

He walked down the fully decorated long and wide hallways of the large estate he lived in. He was looking out of the windows, the afternoon sun seeping through the glass. The large water fountain below was sparkling as the fish sculptures shot out long, graceful streams of water. He wandered away into the depths of the mansion until he could no longer hear his mother’s voice.

Walking down towards the front of his house, he noticed on his right, some movement taking place in the large house next to theirs. Someone was moving inside. Suri remembered the old couple who used to live there—they were quiet, reserved people, but on holidays they would have large groups of people over, presumably their relatives. Were they moving out, or was someone moving in? Suri’s curiosity led him outside to his front porch. Soon enough, he was watching the workers in orange jumpsuits moving in exquisite pieces of furniture inside the house. The bushes he had climbed through had made his clothes dirty and his arms itchy.

He was slightly startled when a worker approached him. “Hey, it’s not safe to stay here. Why don’t you run along inside? Your mother is probably worried about you.” My mother? He glanced to his left, where his house stood. He was probably the last thing on his mother’s mind right now. The man held out his hand and Suri looked at it reluctantly.

“I’ll lead you inside. I don’t want you getting in the way of the other workers.” Suri gave the man one last look, pushed his hesitation back, and took the stranger’s hand.

The worker led him to a woman, standing near the center of the main room, giving polite directions. She took notice of the two and was surprised when she saw Suri.

“Merci,” she said, giving a smile to the worker who had brought him inside and taking Suri’s hand. She led them to the side of the room, where she bent down so that they were eye-level.

“You must be from next door. My father spoke of their neighbors having a small kid.” She plucked out a leaf from his hair. He simply stared at her, secretly amazed at how nice this woman was. “What is your name?”

“…Suri Matto.”

“Tu es mignon,” She said with a smile. “My son must be around your age.” He looked up at the stairs, where a boy was climbing down. He had brown hair, just like his mother’s, but his eyes were a cold blue. The woman stood back up but kept a hand on top of Suri’s shoulder.

“Mére, à qui-parles tu?” The boy quickly went down the rest of the stairs and hastily moved towards his mother’s side. She rustled the boy’s brown hair and gave Suri a pat on his shoulder.

“Reiko, this is Suri. He lives next door.” Reiko gave Suri a scrutinizing look. Suri looked at him with slight disinterest. Reiko’s mother guided them towards the stairs.

“Why don’t you show Suri your new room?” She said suggested to her son and then said to Suri, “I’ll go tell your mother that you’re over here.” Suri simply nodded and then followed Reiko up the stairs.

It was two hours later when Lily showed up to take Suri home. He helped Reiko put away the toys they had been playing with and headed towards the staircase, following Reiko through the hallways. He gave Reiko’s mother (whose name he’d found out was Marlene) a polite bow as a gesture of ‘thanks’ and followed the servant back to his home. He looked back and Reiko was waving at him, his mother standing next to him, waving as well.

“You’re always welcome to come over any time,” Marlene had told him as he left. He had nodded and smiled back at her.

When Suri arrived home, his mother was already dressed up, ready to leave. Her hair was in a quick, but elegant bun, and her heels clicked as she walked towards him. She bent down carefully, not wanting to wrinkle her dress. He looked at her with slight disinterest, his eyes hiding his hope that she’ll smile at him like Reiko’s mother did, that she’ll pat him on the head with such loving care—

“Suri, I’m going off to Milan for a photo shoot. I won’t be home for a while, but your father might be home earlier than expected.” She gave him a small, apologetic smile. Suri searched her eyes for any sign that she really hated leaving him.

She gave him a light hug and quickly stood up, smoothing out her skirt and turned to leave. He wanted to call out a ‘goodbye’, but the words never formed inside his throat. He watched his mother go out the door, followed by a younger servant carrying her suitcases.

He was led to his bathroom by Lily, where he washed up and was dressed to go to bed. “Don’t worry, kiddo, you’re not completely alone,” she reassured him. He didn’t answer her, going straight to his bed and climbing atop. He heard her sigh as she turned off the lights and closed the door behind her.

He briefly wondered what it was like being tucked in by a mother before drifting to sleep.