T. SPEAR
“Oh, for the love. You never fed a stray cat?” I say to my mom.
“I fed lots of stray cats over the years. They all eventually became my cats. Once you name them, there’s no going back.”
“Fine, he’s, my cat. But he only seems to be my cat when he’s hungry and needs a comfy place to sleep.”
“That’s a cat for ya.” my dad says with a chuckle.
We finish dinner and my mom fills a reusable tote with leftovers for me.
“Night, son,” my dad says then heads towards the back of the house.
My mom walks me to the door, we pause, and she puts her hands on either side of my face.
“You know I love you and I am always here if you need to talk to me.”
“I love you too, mom. I’ll be back next Tuesday.”
She pulls me in for a hug, and I can smell the faint flowery sent of her perfume. She has worn the same one for as long as I can remember. That scent will always be my mother’s scent.
“You better.” she says, stepping back and looking at me. I lean over and give her a quick kiss on the forehead.
“Love you, mom”
“Bye, Grayson.”
WHEN YOU'RE READY
23
Chapter Five
Grayson
“HEY MAN,” CHRIS SAYS on the other end of the phone.
Chris has been my friend since first grade. The guy is super smart and once you get to know him, he’s a big teddy bear. We have been through everything together. Yet still, I don’t know how to talk to him about this. About this feeling of uncertainty.
“Hey, how’s it going?”
“Not bad, not bad. What about you bro, haven’t seen you in over a month. You got a lady friend up in that loft you ain’t told no one about?”
“I wish that were the reason. Works been hard.”
“I get it man. But hey, we are going golfing Friday. You should come. It’s during the day, so it won’t interrupt with work. You can’t be on owl all the time.”
I put my fingertips to my head and shake it, this guy, and his birds.
I love golfing with them. None of us really know how to play, it’s more just a reason to drive a golf cart around and drink beer.
26
T. SPEAR
“I wish I could, I already made plans to help my parents move hay bales before work.”
Lies