“Hey Mom,”
“Hi Jason. What’s up?” she asked in a falsely cheerful voice.
“Oh not too much,” Jason answered, immediately put on alert at the sound in his mother’s voice. She had always been a calm, happy person while he was growing up, but in the last six years things had changed drastically. Once Trisha had gone to college it got even worse. There were times when none of the kids wanted to call her because it was so depressing to talk to her on the phone. She didn’t always complain, though that was frustrating too, but there was just something in her voice and manner that was completely and utterly disheartening. When he first started college it was a relief to call home and listen to Mom’s cheerful voice reassuring him that he could pass this test, or that class. But that hadn’t lasted long. Once the divorce was in full swing, things had gone downhill fast and Jason had learned not to expect the warm, comforting voice that had raised him. Instead, it was replaced with this new voice; the one with that wretched quality of misery and anger that he loathed to hear.
“You said you had a question for me?” Anne asked when Jason didn’t continue talking, completely oblivious to his distress. Anne’s relationship with the kids was strained at best. They wanted very little to do with her. If she offered her opinion on anything they became offended, and when she tried talking about their Father and how painful it was for her to be alone they became frustrated and unwill
ing to listen to her. It was the
often callous disregard for her feelings that distressed Anne the most. None of the kids wanted to hear of her heartbreak or her financial problems. In a way Anne resented their behavior; after all, she’d spent the entirety of their lives listening to every problem, quibble, fear, and joy they experienced. It seemed ungrateful for them to refuse to listen to her difficulties.
“Yeah. Well, I was thinking of coming there for Halloween,” Jason said, hesitantly.
“Really? That’d be fantastic. I can take the day off maybe and we can go to town; do some shopping or something,” Anne said, happily surprised. Jason had only been home once since he finished college, and that was only so he could move his things to his apartment. None of the kids came home much. It seemed to annoy them to stay in the same room with Anne; a feeling that didn’t go unnoticed.
“Well, you don’t have to take the day off, Mom. We’re staying the weekend,” Jason said, not terribly excited about spending more time with his mother than necessary. He just wanted to tell her the news and leave while the getting was good. If only Alex would agree.
“Oh? Who is coming with you?” Anne asked with bated breath, hoping it wouldn’t be the girl who answered the phone. She didn’t want or need proof that Jason was drawing away from her.
“Alex. We’re coming in on Friday. I thought we could help hand out candy Friday night. Maybe we could do something in town on Saturday, if you want. We have to come back on Sunday. We both work early Monday morning.” Jason didn’t really want to take Alex home to meet his mother, but she was adamant about wanting to meet Anne: to see where he’d come from and get to know a little more about his family. She’d met all of his sisters and his father. It seemed the girls all liked Alex and approved of her. Trisha didn’t seem to care one way or another, but she was young yet, and didn’t really have an opinion on the matter. Rose and Kelly adored Alex. They’d often call just to chat with her. His brothers seemed to like her too. After all, who wouldn’t? Alex was a sweet girl. She had a fantastic, patient personality.
“Alright, then,” Anne said, suppressing her sigh of relief. Alex must be a buddy from work or something. “Well, maybe I’ll just leave work early so I can be here when you get in. What time are you leaving?”
“I’m not sure yet, it depends on when Alex and I get out of work. We probably won’t leave until around three, but maybe a little later. We won’t be able to get there until at least five or six.”
“Oh, well, just in time for trick or treating, then. I’ll have to get some candy,” Anne said. In the last few years she hadn’t done much for Halloween. Even passing out candy had been a chore. When Trisha went to college, she’d quit celebrating it altogether, like most of the other holidays. “Is there something special you want for dinner?”
“umm…sure I guess,” Jason said hesitantly. He knew she didn’t cook much anymore, and while her food had always been delicious when he was growing up, he was sure she was a bit rusty. Besides, the girls always joked about the food being way past the expiration date on the packaging. It was considered a sin to throw away food at her house. She stored cans of food in the basement; most of it five years past its expiration date or more, and she used it without a second thought. It amazed Jason that she never became ill from eating expired food.
“Well, I can make the enchiladas you like,” Anne offered, not sure what to make Jason. He’d changed a lot since he went off to college, and his tastes had matured a bit. Hot dogs were no longer part of the daily menu, and she imagined that he didn’t like much of the same things.
“That sounds good,” Jason said, surprised. She hadn’t made enchiladas for him in a very long time, and it was one of his favorite foods. She normally didn’t offer to make food. She barely ate herself most of the time, and he could tell she didn’t cook much anymore. He was a bit worried that Alex would get sick eating his mother’s outdated cooking. He’d probably have to warn her about his mother’s penchant for preserving her resources. He doubted there was anything except milk and bread that wasn’t expired. Maybe he’d pack some snacks, just to be on the safe side.
“Okay. Well, that’s settled,” Anne said, a little uncomfortably. She
wanted to ask about the girl that
had answered his phone earlier, but she didn’t want to irritate him before his visit; he might just decide not to come if she pushed the issue. “So, how are things?” she asked when he was silent.
“Good. Busy. I’ve been working a lot of extra hours at the office. We’re changing over our system and we have to manually input the information from the old system to the new, so I’m looking from one computer screen to another all day long. It’s tedious work.” Jason looked at the clock. Alex would be back shortly; she’d run to the store craving something with strawberries and fresh fruit. He should probably get off the phone before his mother heard someone in the background and started asking questions. It was surprising in its own right that she hadn’t already starting asking questions about the girl who answered the phone.
“I bet. Why are you changing systems?”
“The one we have is outdated. It doesn’t work as well.”
“Why can’t your secretary just transfer the files?”
“She is, but I’m working on some of the larger, more important projects.”
“Oh, I see” Anne said, not really understanding at all, but keenly aware that Jason’s answers were getting shorter and more clipped. He was ready to end the conversation.
“Yeah, well I should probably get going…” Jason began, unsure what to say. Ending the conversation was one of the bigger reasons why he didn’t like calling his mother. She never seemed to want to hang up, yet she never really had anything to say. If he didn’t end the conversation quickly, she’d start talking about his Dad and how alone she is because no one comes to visit her. It was sad when he thought about how often his mother complained about his Dad and how the kids liked him better than her. True, but sad just the same. It was always hard for Jason to stop himself from saying something like, ‘well, at least Dad is happy with his life’ or some such biting remark.
“Okay, well, I’ll talk to you soon, or, if not, then I’ll see you on Friday.” Anne said, slowly.
“Sounds good. See you on Friday, Mom.” Jason said, trying to end the conversation before it went downhill; Alex had just walked in the door and he motioned for her to stay quiet while he finished his conversation with his mother. The urge to snap at her was getting stronger, even if she hadn’t said anything expressly offending.
“Okay. I love you honey,” Anne’s voice was desperate, begging for some sign of affection from her son.
“Love you too Mom, bye.” Jason hung up the phone, sighing. “Well, she knows we’re coming on Friday,” he said, looking at Alex, as she sat next to him on the couch. She smiled softly before kissing his cheek. “I still don’t think it’s a good idea to tell her while we’re there,” he said, resisting the urge to kiss her back. Alex didn’t know his mother, and he couldn’t convince her that announcing their engagement would be an unwelcome surprise. His mother had never accepted change gracefully, especially when the change was a surprise to her. Jason doubted his mother knew he’d been dating Alex for over a year, and he was certain she didn’t know he’d been living with Alex for six months. She would not be pleased. He didn’t blame Alex for wanting to share the news; he was excited about telling everyone, too. Everyone, that is, except his mother.
Anne spent the rest of the week readying the house for Jason’s visit. She dusted and re-organized the clutter, scoured the bathrooms and washed dishes. No matter how often she cleaned, it seemed like there was always more to do. She wanted everything to be perfect for his visit. She even left work early on Friday so the enchiladas would be ready when Jason and his friend arrived. Jason’s room had fresh sheets, as did the guest room next to it, and the house was as friendly and warm as it could get; she even turned the heat up an extra five degrees. There were three large bags of candy on the counter by the sink, which Anne anxiously opened and poured into the witch cauldron as she paced, looking out the front window.
Where are they?
she wondered, suddenly worried. Anne wandered around the house, feeling silly. Maybe he decided not come, she thought in dismay. It would have been nice of him to call and let her know. The kids never cared if she was left waiting for them, worrying, never calling to tell her that they decided not to come. They’d tease her with thoughts of coming home for Christmas or Easter and then never show up. She’d buy presents and get things around just to be disappointed a week before the holiday. She was an afterthought and they rarely took her feelings into account when they cancelled an excursion to visit and instead went to see Franklin. Jason had probably changed his mind this morning and hadn’t bothered calling to let her know.
The doorbell rang, and Anne found herself racing to the front door. She took a deep breath and opened the door. Batman stared back at her, followed by a small dinosaur, and further down the driveway a pumpkin was toddling in a half run/half walk towards the door. Anne smiled. “Well, hi,” she said, reaching behind her and grabbing the candy dish she’d left by the door. She gave batman a handful of candy, then the dinosaur. She waited patiently as the pumpkin hurried down the driveway, clearly trying to keep up with her older brothers. She was probably two, maybe three years old, and had the most adorable little smile and pink cheeks. She could hear the little girls’ mother yelling at the other boys from the end of the driveway to wait for their sister, but they hurried on anyway.
Anne was so intent upon the little girl when she finally managed to make it to the front door that she hardly noticed the small sedan that pulled into the second driveway and stopped next to the garage, parking just out of sight. The little girl was smiling profusely at the candy bowl as Anne reached in for a handful to put in her little pink princess bucket. Anne saw Jason out of the corner of her eye coming from the side of the house as the little girl said a timid “thank you,” before hurrying back down the driveway to her waiting family.
“Hey, Mom,” Jason said, smiling as he watched the pumpkin bob back down the driveway.
“Hey,” Anne said, finally turning her full attention to her son. She stared, stunned, when she saw the girl next to him, holding his hand. Anne wasn’t sure what to do. The girl next to Jason was about her height, thinner than Anne had ever been, and somewhat plain, with medium brown hair and eyes. There was nothing extremely distinctive about her. She stood quiet next to Jason, hardly moving and offering Anne a nervous, polite smile.
“Sorry we’re late. Mom, this is Alex. Alex, this is my mom, Anne” Jason said, gesturing from one to the other. He didn’t release Alex’s hand, but held it firmly within his own. He didn’t want his mother to think he was embarrassed of his relationship with Alex. If he released her hand now his mother would think that he wasn’t that serious about Alex. He did not want to have to correct that particular misunderstanding.
“Hi. How was the drive?” Anne asked, ignoring Alex for the moment as she gave Jason a hug. Frustrated by the clasped hands, she pulled away quickly, looking at Alex for the moment. “It’s nice to meet you. I thought Jason was bringing a buddy from work when he said ‘Alex’” Anne said, trying to disguise the irritation in her voice but failing, miserably. It was clear she was not pleased.