at me, like a scientist studying a bug.
“I…um, got you some breakfast.” Nothing. I awkwardly shift from foot to foot. “Jake and I have to leave for school.” Reaching out, she picks up the orange juice and takes a long swallow. “Mom, are you okay?”
Pausing with the glass still up to her mouth, I can tell that she realizes how odd she’s behaving. Slowly lowering it, she blinks rapidly several times and finally smiles at me, cocking her head slightly to the side. “I’m actually feeling much better Alex, thank you.”
I wish she’d stop smiling at me. It’s making me very uncomfortable for some reason. Looking for something to focus on other than her, I see the crossword puzzles I left by the TV yesterday. Grabbing them, I hold them up so she can see them. “I got these for you; maybe you’ll feel up to it today?”
Nodding, she takes them from me and finds a pen among the cold medicine and Kleenex. Opening one, she begins studying the clues. It’s like I’m no longer in the room.
“Well, I have to go. I’ve got my phone if you need anything.” Without looking up, she waves me off.
Turning around to leave, I see that Jacob is standing behind me. He has a cross look on his face as he stares at Mom. When she continues to work the puzzle, he walks away and I follow.
We both pick up our backpacks that are hanging on hooks in the kitchen, by the garage door. I take an old looking banana off the counter before leaving, thinking I might get hungry before lunch.
“Did you feed Baxter?” I ask Jacob as we get into the truck.
“Yeah, I put him in the backyard. What’s wrong with Mom?”
I’ve always appreciated his ability to get to the point. You know just where you stand with him. “I don’t know Jacob. I think it’s because she’s still sick. Sometimes that can make you act weird.”
“It’s kinda how she was after Dad died.” I meet his gaze and wonder at how he can be so smart.
“You’re right. It is sort of similar, but I don’t think it’s the same thing. Before, she was depressed.” Turning my attention back to the road, I navigate a turn. “Right now, her body is getting over something really nasty so it’s going to take awhile before she’s back to her old self again. It’ll be okay.” Hoping I sound sure of myself, I try to hide my real emotions from my face. It dawns on me that I didn’t even consider telling her about what I found in the book; or share my dream. I don’t know why.
I briefly think about sharing it with Jacob, but decide that since it’s confusing and upsetting for me, it would be even worse for him. Right now he has enough to deal with. It wouldn’t be fair for me to dump that on him too.
Hopefully Missy will call me back soon and I can run it past her. She’s pretty silly, but very smart. While I work to maintain my 3.4 GPA, Missy has always had a 4.0 even with advanced classes. Perha ps she’ll be able to point out something obvious that I can’t see. Sometimes it takes someone outside a situation to see it for what it really is.
As we approach the Elementary school, Jake turns to me, arms folded across his chest. “I don’t understand why we have to go to school if this whole flu thing is so bad. Won’t it make it worse to have us all together?”
Once again, his common sense can’t be argued with. “I don’t know Jacob. You and I obviously aren’t going to get it, or else we’d already be sick. Maybe it isn’t as bad as the media is making it out to be. They always hype things up for ratings.”
Picking at some loose trim on the glove box, I can tell he’s thinking. “I think its worse.”
Looking at him, I know he’s right. I’ve been trying to avoid that truth, but he’s not. I start to say something to try and make him feel better, but stop myself. Instead, I decide to give in. “I know.”
We pull up to the
“I…um, got you some breakfast.” Nothing. I awkwardly shift from foot to foot. “Jake and I have to leave for school.” Reaching out, she picks up the orange juice and takes a long swallow. “Mom, are you okay?”
Pausing with the glass still up to her mouth, I can tell that she realizes how odd she’s behaving. Slowly lowering it, she blinks rapidly several times and finally smiles at me, cocking her head slightly to the side. “I’m actually feeling much better Alex, thank you.”
I wish she’d stop smiling at me. It’s making me very uncomfortable for some reason. Looking for something to focus on other than her, I see the crossword puzzles I left by the TV yesterday. Grabbing them, I hold them up so she can see them. “I got these for you; maybe you’ll feel up to it today?”
Nodding, she takes them from me and finds a pen among the cold medicine and Kleenex. Opening one, she begins studying the clues. It’s like I’m no longer in the room.
“Well, I have to go. I’ve got my phone if you need anything.” Without looking up, she waves me off.
Turning around to leave, I see that Jacob is standing behind me. He has a cross look on his face as he stares at Mom. When she continues to work the puzzle, he walks away and I follow.
We both pick up our backpacks that are hanging on hooks in the kitchen, by the garage door. I take an old looking banana off the counter before leaving, thinking I might get hungry before lunch.
“Did you feed Baxter?” I ask Jacob as we get into the truck.
“Yeah, I put him in the backyard. What’s wrong with Mom?”
I’ve always appreciated his ability to get to the point. You know just where you stand with him. “I don’t know Jacob. I think it’s because she’s still sick. Sometimes that can make you act weird.”
“It’s kinda how she was after Dad died.” I meet his gaze and wonder at how he can be so smart.
“You’re right. It is sort of similar, but I don’t think it’s the same thing. Before, she was depressed.” Turning my attention back to the road, I navigate a turn. “Right now, her body is getting over something really nasty so it’s going to take awhile before she’s back to her old self again. It’ll be okay.” Hoping I sound sure of myself, I try to hide my real emotions from my face. It dawns on me that I didn’t even consider telling her about what I found in the book; or share my dream. I don’t know why.
I briefly think about sharing it with Jacob, but decide that since it’s confusing and upsetting for me, it would be even worse for him. Right now he has enough to deal with. It wouldn’t be fair for me to dump that on him too.
Hopefully Missy will call me back soon and I can run it past her. She’s pretty silly, but very smart. While I work to maintain my 3.4 GPA, Missy has always had a 4.0 even with advanced classes. Perha ps she’ll be able to point out something obvious that I can’t see. Sometimes it takes someone outside a situation to see it for what it really is.
As we approach the Elementary school, Jake turns to me, arms folded across his chest. “I don’t understand why we have to go to school if this whole flu thing is so bad. Won’t it make it worse to have us all together?”
Once again, his common sense can’t be argued with. “I don’t know Jacob. You and I obviously aren’t going to get it, or else we’d already be sick. Maybe it isn’t as bad as the media is making it out to be. They always hype things up for ratings.”
Picking at some loose trim on the glove box, I can tell he’s thinking. “I think its worse.”
Looking at him, I know he’s right. I’ve been trying to avoid that truth, but he’s not. I start to say something to try and make him feel better, but stop myself. Instead, I decide to give in. “I know.”
We pull up to the
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