Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 128083 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128083 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
The door swung open, and she stood there wearing a pair of boxer shorts and a red-and-green Christmas sweater, despite the season. Her hair was in total disarray, and her eyes were bloodshot with the hangover he’d expected, even though it was two p.m. He grinned. “Hi, Mom.”
“Holy hell. Rexy?” She flew forward and wrapped him in her arms, and he hugged her back, inhaling the scents of stale vodka and Clinique Happy, the same perfume she’d worn for as long as he could remember. She pulled him into the house. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”
“I didn’t know if I’d be able to, until the last minute,” he said. “We finished a job early, but then I had to wait for some paperwork to come through. I called and left you a message on Monday and didn’t hear back. I’ve been staying at Grandpop’s for the last few days.” He’d finally looked up one of his mom’s old friends, and she’d hunted down the exact address where his mom was living.
“Well, shit. Sorry. I misplaced my phone last week and have been using one of those ones from the drugstore. I’ll give you the number before you leave.”
He closed the door and took a quick look around before she led him toward an open kitchen. It wasn’t the worst place they’d lived, but it was still cheap and messy, the carpet stained and the blinds missing several slats—things that could be easily fixed or inexpensively upgraded, but he knew from experience they never would be.
A large-screen television set weighed down a fiberboard stand that was far too small for such substantial electronics, and a gaming system and hundreds of video games littered the floor.
“Oh, you look so handsome. Sit down, and let me get you something to drink.” She opened the fridge. He noticed that she had the photo from just before he’d boarded the bus for boot camp hung on the front. That day felt so long ago. He’d been a boy. He’d thought he’d seen hardship, but he’d really had no idea what true suffering was until he’d set foot in a war zone across the world. “I’ve got sweet tea or diet pop. Water, too, but only tap.”
“I’m good, Mom. I just ate lunch a little bit ago.”
“Okay, well, I’m going to make myself a cup of coffee.”
“Where’s Saul?” he asked as she began filling the stained coffeepot with water. “Work?” The last he’d heard, his mom’s boyfriend worked at UPS as a delivery driver, which was a good job. He’d thought maybe she’d hooked up with a decent one at last, one who might marry her, put her on his health insurance, support them into their golden years with some savings and a pension.
“He got fired from that after a . . . misunderstanding. He’s helping his friend Scooter with some house-painting jobs in the meantime.”
“Ah.” In the meantime. It was the story of his mom’s life. Okay, well, there went the hope about the health insurance and the pension. She was always going to struggle and would never cease latching on to people who enjoyed chaos like she did. Misunderstandings that he knew weren’t any such thing. Each time she seemed to get ahead, she did something to sabotage it. His grandpop, her dad, had certainly thrown slurs at her too. She’d tattooed them on her skin as well, but the difference between the two of them was that his mother had never stopped believing the lies. She’d become them. She’d sought out people who confirmed the identity she’d embraced. Maybe she even knew it, but what good did that do if she never made an effort to change?
Coffee brewing, she joined him at the table, and now that he was really looking at her, she not only looked tired, but older. It made his heart give a small squeeze because despite all her issues, he loved her, and it was a reminder that she wouldn’t be around forever.
“You’ve been staying at your grandpop’s, have you? I’m surprised you found a place to bed down. He turned it into a shithole. I didn’t even step foot inside these last few years. I couldn’t even if I wanted to. There was no room for more than one person among all the junk, and it smelled.”
“The couch was fine once it was cleared off,” he said with a small smile. “And it’s pretty comfortable actually. It’s going to be a lot of work to clean the rest of the place out. But . . . I’ll be here for a couple of months, and I’m willing to do the work. The house is paid for, Mom. Would you consider moving in? If it was all spruced up?”
She picked up a vape pen from near the edge of the table. “God, no. Can you imagine? Every time I had sex, I’d picture that old geezer standing there, staring at me.”