“Because you and your brother are never very excited when I announce I’ve met someone new.”
It was true, but I felt bad that mom didn’t feel comfortable enough to tell me when she had a new man in her life. “I can’t believe you told him you were thirty-eight.”
“Can’t I pull off thirty-eight?” she asked me.
“Oh no, you totally could,” I nodded, and I wasn’t lying either. Mom had always been an attractive woman. She had light blond hair, pale blue eyes, and great skin. “But that’s not the point.”
“I like pretending to be someone different, ok?” mom said. “I like turning back the clock every now and again. I did the responsible mom thing for long enough, and I lost my twenties and most of my thirties to it. So I’m doing a few re-writes here and there.”
“He would have found out eventually…”
Mom shrugged. “We met, and we liked each other. When my age came up, I lied and after that… well, I couldn’t correct myself weeks into it when I realized he was sticking around.”
I laughed. “Ok, fair enough,” I said. “Should I be flattered that you told him about me but not Seth?”
Mom shook her head at me. “I told him about you because you called two days ago and asked to stay on my couch. I had to tell him…”
“Damn it; I was hoping to rub that in Seth’s face,” I said, snapping my fingers. “And you were hoping that we would just miss each other while I was here?”
“Well… I knew you’d meet him eventually… I just hadn’t thought that far.”
I shook my head at her. Sometimes it was hard to believe that she was the same woman that raised me. She looked happy, and I tried to tell myself that that was the only thing that mattered. I just hoped that Cliff woul
d turn out to be a good guy and not some bum.
“Ok, I have another question.”
“Yes, I am having sex with him.”
“What, ew, no,” I said, wrinkling my face up. “That was not my question.”
“Oh, ok… then what is it?”
“Why do you have a fridge full of cupcakes?”
“Oh,” mom said, and then she smiled. “My book club met last night, and everyone brings treats… except I overbaked.”
“That’s right,” I nodded, remembering that mom told me about the book club a few weeks ago. “How’s that going? Are you liking it?”
“I like meeting new people,” mom admitted. “Reading the books is a little hard to fit into my schedule though.”
I smiled. It was just like mom to join a club purely to meet people. In a way I admired her. I wouldn’t have the balls to do half the stuff she did.
“Actually, could you do me a favor?” mom asked.
“Sure,” I nodded. “What do you need?”
“I need to get rid of those cupcakes,” mom said. “And I was hoping you could drop them off at the station on your way to campus.”
“You want me to stop by Seth’s workplace with a bunch of cupcakes?” I asked, in amusement.
“Well why not?” mom asked. “I’m sure they’ll appreciate it.”
I smiled. “Ok, mom, I can do that.”
“Excellent.”
“Does Seth know about Cliff, by the way?”