I grew up in a small, southern Illinois town. And I mean small. During my childhood, the town had a population of about 1200 but it had been on a slow decline for the better part of the last 50 years, with a large portion of each subsequent generation moving away and never looking back. Wholly unremarkable, with no stop lights and the only grocery store being a Walmart about 15 minutes away, the only reason I ever had for coming back to this disappearing town was to visit my mom. Her health wasn't great and I had tried to convince her to move up to Chicago where I lived so I could be close if anything happened but she said that she would never leave the home that had raised 4 generations of our family.
I rarely visited, no more than two or three times a year, usually for her birthday in September and then again around the holidays. My birthday was in July and somehow, a guilt trip most likely, my mom had convinced me to come spend my birthday with her. She had been quite lonely and sad recently with my aunt passing away in February and, as I had no plans at all and 25 was hardly a special birthday, I acceded and drove down from Chicago. I was a flight instructor, working my way up in hours so I could eventually fly for an airline, and had moved to the city when I was 18, as soon as I legally could deal with life on my own.
I had planned on heading down Saturday morning but I finished up lessons on Friday and, ready to go, decided against waiting. I made the uneventful, though quite rainy, 4-hour drive south to the town, pulling in my mom's driveway just before 7. I could see my mom in the living room through the large windows facing the street.
Shit. I forgot to tell her I was coming early.
The house was a cute, single-story ranch built some time around the turn of the century. I grabbed my bag from the back seat and headed in. My mom met me at the door with a gentle swat on my shoulder and admonition about not warning her before giving me a huge hug and a kiss on the forehead. She asked how the drive was and we shared some quick small talk. She had eaten dinner with a friend already, not thinking to wait since I wasn't expected.
"It's not big deal, mom," I said, "I'll head over to Salem and get a bite to eat."
Her eyes widened and she smiled, "Perfect! You can take Blake and catch up with him."
"Who's Blake and why would I do that?"
"You know, Blake, Wanda's son." She stood, and moved to the end of the hallway leading down to the 3 small bedrooms and bathroom. "Blake," she shouted.
What the...?
"He's here? Why is some strange kid here?"
"He's not strange," she replied, shouting for him again, "And he's hardly a kid. His mom started causing all kinds of trouble before the school year ended and that shitty trailer that they lived in burned down so I offered to let him stay here until he leaves for school in the fall. He's headed to SIU in another month or so. I'm sure I told you. Regardless, It's been nice to have the company."
Oh, you soft-hearted old woman.
The door at the end of the dim hall swung open and a shaggy head of dirty blond hair popped out into the hall.
"Yeah Mrs. H?" his deep voice echoed down the hall.
"You remember Jason, don't you?"
"Uh, yeah, sure I do."
"Good. He's going to Salem for dinner and, unless I'm mistaken, you haven't eaten yet either. Go with him."
"Ah, thanks, I mean, but yeah, I'm not really hungry." He started to pull his head back into the room.
"Not gonna work for me, I'm afraid," mom said, her voice taking on an air of authority that brought back some mostly unpleasant childhood memories. "You will go and you will eat. You're practically skin and bones and I will not have anyone saying that I'm starving you to death. It's raining so grab your jacket."
He lingered for a moment, visibly weighing his options, then reluctantly nodded his head in acquiescence.
Been there, done that. Not worth the effort of refusing when she used that tone of voice.
"He's awkward like you are so dinner will either be great or absolutely terrible." She shrugged her shoulders, "either way, you both need to eat. Now, I'm already tired and am not long for this waking world so don't wake me when you come in. I've got to be up early to get to that Amish bakery in Mt Vernon before all the cream horns are gone." With that she kissed me on the cheek and retired to her room.
A moment or two passed before Blake came out of his room and walked down the hall. As he stepped into the well lit living room, I got my first real look at him. He was shorter than I, but most people were. I'm 6'5" and he looked to be just over 6'. His hair was quite unruly, a mop of dirty blond/golden brown locks. He had a fairly well defined jawline and a light bit of scruff, maybe a day or three of growth and full lips. He was wearing glasses of light blue frames that made the crystal blue of his eyes shine with incredible clarity. He seemed in good enough shape, though the loose fitting jeans and rain jacket hid most of his physique.
I do remember him. Gods he grew up.
He was 6 years younger than I, putting him at 18, maybe 19. He had been my best friend's little brother's best friend. I hadn't seen him since before I graduated high school in '07 and, apart from the blue eyes and goofy ears, I wouldn't have known him from a stranger.
Blake brushed his hair back off of his face and smiled. A gorgeous, genuine thing.
"Hey, Jason. It's been a while."
"You've got that right." I returned his smile and gave him a quick once over with my eyes. "Ready to eat?"
"Yeah, sure," he said.
The rain hadn't slowed in the few minutes I'd been inside but it looked like the storm had rolled past, just leaving the rainy dregs behind. We made our way into Salem, about 15 minutes down the road. The car ride was mostly quiet. Occasionally, one of us would ask a polite question and the other would give a polite, if curt, response. The dining choices in town were limited to a smattering of fast food options, an Applebee's and a Denny's. We chose the Applebee's and within minutes found ourselves seated at a booth along the front of the restaurant. We ordered some wings for an appetizer, I went with chicken Alfredo and Blake chose a western burger for entrees. The food was, well, it was Applebee's. It wasn't going to win any awards but it was better than being hungry.
We began talking more freely. The conversation was a bit stilted at first but as the dinner went on, we started to cover a bunch of topics. Blake was going to college in the fall with plans of pursuing his degree in graphic design. He thought my choice of career was exciting and asked a bunch of questions about the training. I told him that I'd rent a plane at the Salem airport before I left and would take him up if he wanted. He admitted it made him nervous, having never flown before, but he'd like the experience. More than once he glanced at the tall blue moon beer I was drinking, envy dripping off of him.
Gotta do something about that.
Before long we were done with the meal. I paid for us both and we left the restaurant. As we headed back towards my mom's, we passed a Circle K gas station and I pulled in. I parked near the door and telling Blake I'd be right back, ran inside and purchased a 12-pack of blue moon. The girl working the register had been in my high school class but she either didn't recognize me or blessedly had no desire to 'catch up'.
I got back in the car and handed the beer to Blake.
"Must be trying to get drunk," he joked.
"Something like that, yeah."
The rain had picked up again and it was slow going but we made it back safe and sound. The lights were all off inside the house as we pulled in the drive.
Good, she did fall asleep.
I took the beer and walked towards the door. Blake made it about halfway before slipping on patch of wet ground. He fell, landing in the mud to the side of the driveway.
"Shit!" He grunted. "Real nice way to end my day.". I concealed my smile and helped him to his feet.
"Listen," I said, "get dried off and changed into something clean and you can have a beer if you want."
"Really?" The annoyance of a moment ago forgotten.
"Yeah, why not? You're going to college so you going to be drinking a lot more than this soon." He smiled, my heart skipped a beat and my stomach fluttered momentarily. Once inside, he padded off down the hall and I put the beer in the fridge, grabbing two out. I sat down on the couch and turned the tv on, dropping the volume until it was barely audible. I put it on some random comedy movie, one of the Will Ferrel ones, but hardly paid attention.