mean, you know, not like we’re planning it, like a date or anything. I just mean that we probably will run into each other again if you’re here and I’m here, it’s a possibility. That’s all I’m saying.”
I smile at her and let my voice drop as I meet her gaze. “I definitely plan to run into you again, if it happens to be with you ending up in my arms, that would just be an added bonus.”
“Snap, crackle, pop,” Candy laughs. “That boy is off the charts on the smooth and make you want to…,”
Tally slaps a hand over her aunt’s mouth as her eyes widen.
“That’s my cue, see you later,” she smiles and quickly walks away towing her aunt behind her. Before they make it around the next corner I hear Candy’s voice.
“If you don’t get you a piece of that tall, edible eye candy, I will disown you as my niece.”
I smile at her words and think that Candy might not be too bad to have around if she is going to advocate a possible relationship with the lovely Tally.
I resume my quest to find my mom and hope that she is having one of her good days. Tally was a breath of fresh air in the bleak existence that has become my life and I’m not ready to lose the energy she breathed into me.
“Hey mom.” I find her sitting in one of the chairs close to a window. She is staring out at the dead grass and dead trees. The sky is clear and the sun so bright that it is impossible not to squint. I wish that she had a better view, something that would lift her spirit. She has always loved nature so much.
She glances over to me and gives me a small smile. Her eyes are clearer than they were the last time I saw her and that is a good sign. I take the seat across from her and look out the window. I wait, letting her decide if she wants to talk. She is usually more apt to open up if I give her time to gather her thoughts instead of bombarding her with my own. She takes a deep breath and lets it out, the sound reminding me of a deflating balloon. Maybe it isn’t as good of a day as I thought.
“Bly tells me you got a job,” she finally says.
I nod. “Yeah, out at a ranch. I’ll be mending fences, cleaning horse stalls, that kind of thing.”
She reaches over and pats my leg. “You have always been so responsible, more than you should have to be.”
I cover her hand with mine before she can remove it. The touch brings back childhood memories of a time when it was more common for her to pat me, or hug me; a time when my mom took care of me and not the other way around. I push the memories away, refusing to let them get me down.
“I’m doing fine mom, it’s good for me to work. It keeps me out of trouble.”
She smiles at me and it’s one of her real smiles, one of the ones that lights up her face and I can see the beauty that she once was. “You wouldn’t know how to get into trouble, even if it chased you like a demon and beat you over the head.”
I laugh. She is right. I’d never had the urge to be wild, or rebellious. It was never appealing to me to drink and be out of control or date random girls and use them as many guys I knew did. What was the point? Where would the fulfillment in that be? I wanted more out of life. I wanted to really live, to experience things that alcohol and random lovers couldn’t give me. My grandmother says that I have an old soul and that is why I long for things that most guys my age do not. I don’t know if she’s right, but I do know that there are times when I wonder if I had ever been a kid because I had never felt like one.
“How are you mom?” I finally ask. My hand still covers her own on my knee and I feel her grip tighten.
“Today is better than yesterday and the doctor thinks the meds they have started me on are going to be a good fit.”
“That’s good news,” I tell her with a reassuring smile.
She nods and slips her hand out from under mine.
“I think I’m going to go lie down now. Dr. Stacey has said that initially the medicine will
I smile at her and let my voice drop as I meet her gaze. “I definitely plan to run into you again, if it happens to be with you ending up in my arms, that would just be an added bonus.”
“Snap, crackle, pop,” Candy laughs. “That boy is off the charts on the smooth and make you want to…,”
Tally slaps a hand over her aunt’s mouth as her eyes widen.
“That’s my cue, see you later,” she smiles and quickly walks away towing her aunt behind her. Before they make it around the next corner I hear Candy’s voice.
“If you don’t get you a piece of that tall, edible eye candy, I will disown you as my niece.”
I smile at her words and think that Candy might not be too bad to have around if she is going to advocate a possible relationship with the lovely Tally.
I resume my quest to find my mom and hope that she is having one of her good days. Tally was a breath of fresh air in the bleak existence that has become my life and I’m not ready to lose the energy she breathed into me.
“Hey mom.” I find her sitting in one of the chairs close to a window. She is staring out at the dead grass and dead trees. The sky is clear and the sun so bright that it is impossible not to squint. I wish that she had a better view, something that would lift her spirit. She has always loved nature so much.
She glances over to me and gives me a small smile. Her eyes are clearer than they were the last time I saw her and that is a good sign. I take the seat across from her and look out the window. I wait, letting her decide if she wants to talk. She is usually more apt to open up if I give her time to gather her thoughts instead of bombarding her with my own. She takes a deep breath and lets it out, the sound reminding me of a deflating balloon. Maybe it isn’t as good of a day as I thought.
“Bly tells me you got a job,” she finally says.
I nod. “Yeah, out at a ranch. I’ll be mending fences, cleaning horse stalls, that kind of thing.”
She reaches over and pats my leg. “You have always been so responsible, more than you should have to be.”
I cover her hand with mine before she can remove it. The touch brings back childhood memories of a time when it was more common for her to pat me, or hug me; a time when my mom took care of me and not the other way around. I push the memories away, refusing to let them get me down.
“I’m doing fine mom, it’s good for me to work. It keeps me out of trouble.”
She smiles at me and it’s one of her real smiles, one of the ones that lights up her face and I can see the beauty that she once was. “You wouldn’t know how to get into trouble, even if it chased you like a demon and beat you over the head.”
I laugh. She is right. I’d never had the urge to be wild, or rebellious. It was never appealing to me to drink and be out of control or date random girls and use them as many guys I knew did. What was the point? Where would the fulfillment in that be? I wanted more out of life. I wanted to really live, to experience things that alcohol and random lovers couldn’t give me. My grandmother says that I have an old soul and that is why I long for things that most guys my age do not. I don’t know if she’s right, but I do know that there are times when I wonder if I had ever been a kid because I had never felt like one.
“How are you mom?” I finally ask. My hand still covers her own on my knee and I feel her grip tighten.
“Today is better than yesterday and the doctor thinks the meds they have started me on are going to be a good fit.”
“That’s good news,” I tell her with a reassuring smile.
She nods and slips her hand out from under mine.
“I think I’m going to go lie down now. Dr. Stacey has said that initially the medicine will
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