Elbert was tired of being couped in the house all day. It was his off day from work. His house was impeccably clean, so there was nothing else to do. He wanted to go & clear his mind. He wanted some fresh air.
He got up & decided to go & walk to the gas station to buy a couple of packs of cigarettes & a beer. He kept saying that he wanted to quit smoking, & he did for a while. But then, he relapsed. He even vaped for a while, during the time he quit smoking cigarettes. He wanted to quit it all; vaping, smoking & drinking. Maybe he craved cigarettes & a beer because he was bored.
When Elbert went to the Valero gas station, he ran into his coworker, Reggie. Reggie's eyes filled up with tears because he had flashbacks of eyewitnessing his mother die of lung cancer from smoking so heavily. Elbert didn't know who that was that grabbed him, right after he purchased the cigarettes & the Heineken beer, just before he could turn around.
Reggie grabbed Elbert, took him outside & lectured him, like as if Elbert was his son. Reggie pointed in his face & said, "I better not catch you buying or consuming anything toxic again! You're better than that, man! I don't wanna see you end up like my momma!" & then he walked off, got in his car & drove off with his friend, Alonzo riding in the passenger side.
Elbert was confused & wondered what that was all about. He didn't get the opportunity to explain himself or question anything. He questioned whether or not Reggie's mom died of substance abuse. Elbert felt ashamed & then left the 2 unopened cigarette packs + beer right on top of the trash receptacle. He figured that he couldn't get a refund. He went back inside to buy a bottle of water, & he couldn't tell whether or not the cashier's faded name tag was trying to say, "Bryce" or "Bruce". He asked the cashier, & the cashier said that his name is Bruce Emmanuel Sylvester. Bruce has an older brother, named Bryce & a younger brother, named Brace. Bruce told Elbert, "I'm sorry you had to deal with such humiliating mistreatment of a so-called friend like that."
Elbert said, "Thank you, Bruce."
Just as Elbert walked right outside after he bought the water, a homeless man, who considered himself lucky, just excitedly grabbed the 2 packs of cigarettes & beer & then ran off, saying, "Now it's time to go find me a lighter!". Elbert let him have the stuff & keep it. He didn't say anything.
Elbert walked back home & tried to reason with himself & rationalize why he thinks that Reggie might've acted the way he did. He was angry & no longer craved any cigarettes or beer. He felt like a punished child. He then grabbed pen & paper & started writing a poem, entitled "The Samoan Wave", since Reggie is Samoan & Cambodian. Elbert is Belizean. The poem was about Reggie riding the wave to stay strong enough to survive his mother's death. Elbert said that he doesn't think he could live with himself, if his mother died. It so-happened to be Mother's Day that day, too. Also, in the poem, Elbert indirectly apologized for triggering or offending Reggie. He promised to never do any substance abuse again. No matter how minor. He kept the poem a secret. From that day, he changed his life around, because he felt like he didn't want for his mother to bury him. He didn't want to die prematurely, like Reggie's mother did.
THE END