Lunch time.

Formerly known as 1-2 pm.

Now known as 4 pm, as a result of the previous night's exploits.

Young Maximillian Hunter had there and then entered his dining room, finding his mother there, making what she knew would be lunch... while also listening to the radio.

Julianne: Hey, hon.

Max: Hey, mom.

He was then fully rested and ready to go.

At 4 pm!

What a legend!

As for what was to happen....

Max: What's for dinner?

Julianne: Rice and beans with a side of beef.

Max: Oh....

Ah yes, boring food.

What every afterparty always seemed to have.

Julianne: And I've still got some cake from yesterday.

Max: Oh, really.

Julianne: Mmm, hmmm.

Cake truly saves lives.

It really does.

And so, Max got to the living room and turned on the TV, not saying another word.

There was an awkward air in the room.

The simple fact of the matter being, something needed to be said.

Badly.

Julianne could sense it, and so could Max.

But, as for who would speak first...

Julianne: Is... everything ok, honey?

.. it was his mother.

It wasn't like she'd forgotten the occurences of the previous night.

All that had happened...

... Max had spoken much of himself... and of his life.

And also, his friends had learned much of him.

That, in and of itself, wasn't a bad thing, but...

... the things of which they'd learned.

All incredibly sensitive information.

But... that wasn't all.

It was also the fact that she said it.

The one thing she knew her son never wanted to talk about.

Max: Yeah....

The one thing.

And of that, she was responsible.

And so, the room remained as such, like a mother ready to give birth.

However, for whatever reason, the mother would not.

The simple reason was not a would, but a could.

Neither side felt ready to talk about that.

As for the mother, she felt absolutely responsible.

She, and only she was the one sole cause of this travesty.

Had she only had her wits about this, then... maybe... this tragedy could have been avoided.

As a mother, it hurt her in a truly fundamental way.

For a mother who prided herself on her understanding of human nature, and as the mother of this child, she felt responsible, as a mother would if she found herself in such a situation.

A wise man once called wives builders.

The same could be said of mothers.

A mother nurtures her child's potential.

That is the way the mother sees the child.

A child given birth to... that will also give birth.

And anything that got in the way of that, well....

... could one imagine if the mother saw herself in the way.

What, then?

Moreover, in such an easily avoidable way.

Had she just kept her mouth shut....

A sigh escaped her mouth.

In spite of all this, in spite of her perspective lens showing her that, as a mother, she had just blundered in a truly fundamental way, hindering her child's growth...., in spite of her hurt pride...

... she would not run from this.

That's just how Hunters do.

Julianne: I'm... sorry.... hon..

She stopped cooking and cutting.

This had to be said without a single sound from her... or what she was doing.

She, consequently, had also already turned off the music.

Julianne: I'm... really... sorry.

She knew all was well, but still....

... how could she mess that up?

Just... how?

So... dang easy.

Just don't say a word.

But still... she blundered.

And of that blunder, she had to make due.

Julianne: I'm really sorry, I said that to your friends.

Perhaps it could be said that in this grief filled moment, the mother had even neglected to tell her son to turn off the television... simply because she was that guilty in heart.

As for Max, he was watching a cartoon.

Super Powerful Guy and the Bright Light.

They were running across the city to find time bombs before they exploded.

But also, they were keeping track of how many bombs they'd caught so far.

Super Powerful Guy: 5

The Bright Light: 8

The one keeping track of all this was Squirrel Man, telling them it was not a competition, while, next to him, was Awe-woman, telling him to lighten up for once.

After all, it was no big deal.

Super Powerful Guy and The Bright Light were more than fast enough to catch all the bombs on time.

That was the beginning of the episode.

And, as the episode went on, it was blatantly obvious that more was to occur... and that more than met the eye was in the woodworks.

However, even in this entertaining plot, Max still heard every single word his mother said.

Nope.

Not a one was missed.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is the voice of a mother.

Julianne: I shouldn't have said that. I'm....

She took another deep breath. Truly, it was not easy.

In a sense, a part of the reason being that, the further she got to the apology, the more it felt like she was running from the opportunity to free herself from the responsibility of her actions.

After all, is it not true that by apologising, you are admitting that you are wrong?

Julianne: .... really... really.... sorry.

And, to top it all off, these were her son's first friends in years.

And she messed it up. Well, ... almost... at least....

So, she, understandably, felt horrible.

As for the boy by the name of Maximillian Hunter...

... a lot could be said of what had happened.

Once she said those words, a terror in his heart that he had almost forgotten was awakened.

One he didn't want to deal with.

One he felt he had to run from.

One he'd never wanted to fight.

However...

the boy sighed....

Max: It's ok, mom.....

Perhaps because it wasn't so bad....

... perhaps because he got to see his friend's kindness..

... perhaps because of those happy memories....

... perhaps because of how it all ended...

Those words came as a massive shock to her.

He... forgave her.

Max: It's.... ok.

She turned just a bit to see him watching TV, his face looking upon the ground.

Max: It's... ok.

Perhaps because he got to see his friends care.

Perhaps because nothing bad happened because of what she'd said.

Perhaps all that.

That was why Max felt no anger towards his mother.

Perhaps also, because he knew she'd tried so hard to make him have a good day.

And so....

Max: I... don't think it's worth worrying about.

... he calmed his mother's fears.

Because that was just who Maximillian Hunter was, at least in part, a boy who loved his mother.

As for Julianne...

Julianne: Oh....

Like a child forgiven by some kind of objective deity for a sin committed, she, simply, smiled, a few tears falling off her face.

Julianne: ... ok....

She winced slightly, hiding the pain and happiness in her heart.

Her son had forgiven her.

But, she would not let him hear her wince.

But still...

Julianne: Thanks, hon...

... she had to say just that.

She had to say just that, through tear filled eyes.