Eve was devastated when she discovered she couldn’t afford a modest supper for her son’s ninth birthday. She didn’t anticipate his kid to come up the following morning with breakfast, much alone in a food truck! How many different ways can you transform mashed potatoes, butter, and toast into a meal? As Eve discovered the hard way, not many. She’d lost her third temporary job this month, and there wasn’t much left in the kitchen or the bank.
“It’s been potatoes all week, mum! Can’t we just go to the restaurant for a burger and some ice cream? That’s all I want for my birthday!” Eve’s 8-year-old wrapped his arms around her shoulders and gazed at her with puppy eyes. In her heart, she wanted to give Dylan the largest birthday party ever, complete with balloons, lighting, a bouncy castle, and a large scrumptious cake topped with 8 lovely candles.
In actuality, Eve couldn’t afford any of it. There wasn’t enough money left after getting fired from the third temporary job in two months and paying the past-due payments. Not even at the restaurant for a burger and ice cream. “I’m so sorry, darling; I don’t have enough money for food…” Eve sighed. Dylan suddenly adjusted his tone as he saw tears welling up in his mother’s eyes. The youngster had watched her struggling to make ends meet and couldn’t stand the thought of hurting her.
“Actually, mum,” he said joyfully, “that potato salad looks delicious!…Can I have some more? That afternoon, the mother and son ate a simple supper and slept. But Dylan’s eyes twitched as he had another plan…While his mother slept, he gently removed a blue envelope from his little bookshelf, which was concealed between books. His mother had no idea, but he’d saved a few bucks from the lunch money she’d given him over the years.
He tallied the funds in the envelope. “$28!” Dylan exclaimed. “I’m sure we can have a decent supper for $28!” He crept out of the home with the envelope and a clear plan in his brain. He went a short stroll to the next street, where he nearly yelled with delight when he saw precisely what he had anticipated. “The food truck! I knew it was here!” Dylan had passed it many times on his way home from school and had always puzzled why it was so busy.
“Sir? SIR!” Dylan’s voice was lost in the mass of people waiting to order at the counter. He attempted to get the attention of the owner, but there were just too many people. He returned to the counter after a few minutes of waiting for the throng to disperse. “Sir!” he chirped, “please give me whatever I can get for $28!” But Martin, the food truck owner, frowned and replied, “I’m so sorry, kid. We’re out of everything! There’s just some bread and cheese left…and a somewhat molten ice cream bar.”
Martin saw the sweet boy’s face turn disappointed, and he wished there was something he could do for him. “That’s just great!” Dylan mumbled, stomping his foot and sitting on the sidewalk. “It’s my birthday, and I can’t even give my mother to a decent meal…She does so much for me…I thought, for once, I would do something good for her…” The youngster continued to speak aloud to himself, succumbing to the impulse to weep.
“Woah, happy birthday, big guy!” Martin exclaimed as he sat down next to Dylan and listened as Dylan opened up to him about his mother’s troubles and how they had been going through a tough patch for the last week. “Hey, sir, maybe I may come work for you? Just till my mother gets a nice job?” Dylan begged. “I’m not very good at culinary things, but I can learn!” Martin was affected by the innocence of the boy’s heart.
“Look, your mother seems like an incredible lady, and you are a great child; I’m sorry I don’t have anything for you today, but I have an idea. Listen up…” Dylan was back in bed next to Eve when she awoke from her siesta, pretending to be deep asleep. He was having difficulty concealing his delight at the secret plan he had devised with the food truck owner. The next day, Eve was awakened by a muffled voice calling out to her.
“Mum? Mom! Come on out here, mom!” Eve sprang up, glanced around the house for her child, and realized the voice was coming from outside. “What’s going on?” she wondered as she hurried to open the door. Eve took a minute to process the fact that her son was waving to her from inside a food truck. “What…how…going what’s on, Dylan?” Eve was attempting to make sense of what she was seeing.
“Well, I brought us breakfast!” Dylan said, chuckling at his mother’s ignorance. Martin was there alongside him, offering Eve a plate of perfectly shaped pancakes. “Here you are, ma’am! Your kid informed me that you like pancakes!” Despite the weird start to breakfast, Eve quickly saw her son’s heartfelt goal and the goodwill of the stranger who devised a method to achieve it.
“Thank you for this delicious meal, sir!” Eve said, her palm resting over her heart. “It’s my pleasure, but I do have a request…” Martin hesitated, leaving Eve intrigued. “Your kid couldn’t stop complimenting you on your cooking abilities, and I happen to be seeking for someone to work the kitchen and inspire some new recipes. Would you be interested—”
“Yes! Yes, I would!” Eve said in response to the inquiry.
She and Martin now own one of the city’s most popular food trucks. Martin cooks the greatest pancakes in town, Eve makes the best noodles in town, and Dylan is seeing that they are falling for one other…perhaps this is a fresh beginning in more ways than one!