On the day after the party she had thrown for her son on the eve of Scott going off to college, having watched him drive away to Buffalo that morning and making her an empty-nester, Shawn Hermann sat on her deck and dawdled over a final cup of coffee while staring at the watch that was left behind by one of Scott's friend's yesterday.
It wasn't an expensive timepiece by any means, and since she knew who had left it behind it wouldn't be all that tough to get the watch to him, but in a perverse way she hoped that the owner would come back and pick it up.
Leo DiPace was the owner of the watch and he was one of her son's friends for all of the time they had lived in the neighborhood, and Scott had sort of looked up to Leo since in addition to being a year older than her boy Leo was also a better athlete than Scott was.
Leo had graduated a year earlier and was now going into his second year of college, so the two were not quite as close as they once were, but when she prodded her son to invite Leo to the party and he had accepted the invite Shawn was happy to see him.
Leo was a good boy and if Scott was going to look up to any of the guys in the neighborhood Mrs. Hermann was glad that he chose Leo as his role model even though they were quite the opposite in many ways.
Even though Leo was only a year - 10 months to be precise - older than her son Scott, Leo was much more mature acting, and that also was true in their physicality with Scott still being very boyish while there was no doubt Leo had become a man.
Is that why you want him to come by?
That was what went through Shawn Hermann's mind as she picked up the watch and looked at the second hand move. It would be nice to be able to sit and talk with her son's friend, since he had been monopolized by the other boys and girls - most definitely the girls who seem drawn to the handsome young man who looked a little like a muscular Sal Mineo.
Not that any of those silly girls would know who Sal Mineo was, and Shawn was kind of embarassed to be old enough to even know who the long gone actor even was. At 49 Shawn was old enough for a lot of things, and one of those things she thought she had an excuse for were the feelings that went through her body and mind when she thought about Leo.
"Menopause," Shawn determined aloud. "You must be going into the change of life because your mind and body supposedly get a little wacky when that comes."
"I wonder if talking to yourself is also a sign?" Shawn asked herself. "Shawnie baby, your kid has only been gone for about 4 hours and you're already lonely and daydreaming about some young hunk who would probably laugh if he knew what you were thinking."
Still, Shawn reasoned as she sipped the dregs of her coffee, he did look so good. He had always been attractive in his goofy way but now he had filled out as he matured with that 5'10" frame looking muscular but not excessively so.
And he had looked at her too, and while she had always noticed him looking at her over the years, the fact that he was no longer a kid but a man made it different.
The jarring ring of the phone inside made Shawn's heart jump, and after she recovered she hurried inside to grab the receiver as the third ring began.
It was Leo, and while she had been daydreaming about him actually calling, hearing his phone made it different. She tried to keep calm as he explained about thinking maybe he left his watch behind yesterday, and did he mind if she came over to pick it up?
"No Leo, that would be fine," Shawn said. "I'm going to be around all day. Come on over anytime,"
"Scott? He's gone, probably almost to Buffalo by now." Shawn said in response to Leo's question, and when he said he would be right over Shawn got moving because he was only about 5 minutes away.
Racing to the bedroom Shawn put on a more attractive top and shorts before hurrying to the bathroom to brush her hair, the dirty blonde mop top still that shade partly due to chemicals these days, and put on a little lip gloss. Lifting her arm, she frowned and grabbed a razor and raked the blade through her armpits that had been shaved yesterday, and in addition to mowing down the five o'clock shadow and make the little hollows pink in the process.
"Get a grip girl. The kid is coming over to pick up a watch," she scolded herself while rubbing some deodorant under her arms and checking out her look in the mirror.
"You need to wear a bra girl," Shawn told her reflection. "You don't need one but you NEED one."
Shawn frowned at the way her small breasts hung rather low, and while they obviously needed some support and looked sad like this, wearing a bra under this top might look worse.
"Mrs. Hermann?" came a voice that sounded like it was coming through the sliding door screen.
"On my way Leo," Shawn said as she clicked off the light and hurried to the back, wondering how he had gotten there that fast, and as she stepped out onto the deck she nodded to the watch on the table and added, "Hi there. I thought that might have been yours."
"Yeah, sorry about that. Thanks for holding on to it."
"No problem," Shawn replied as she looked at the strapping young man who was wearing the same shorts as yesterday but was now in a tank top instead of a t-shirt, which was a lot more flattering. "Hey, would you like some lunch? It's almost noon. Or maybe something to drink? Ice tea?
"I don't want to get in your way..."
"I take that as a yes for iced tea!" Shawn responded as she reached over and squeezed his bicep, wondering whether she looked as much a fool as she felt. "I would love to have some company and we can catch up."
"Okay, that would be great."
"It's on the way," Shawn said as she hustled into the house after gesturing to the chairs around the table. "Have a seat and I'll be right back out."
Shawn made a pitcher of Crystal Light in record time, considering her hands were shaking and her heart was pounding like she was a teenager again, and after filling a couple of cups with ice she brought the tray out for her company.
"Refreshments for my gentleman caller," Shawn declared as she sat down kitty corner from Leo, the idea of referring to the boy that way almost making her laugh out loud, and while she knew she was being silly it was a hell of a lot more fun that being at work or watching Maury.
"Never been called a gentleman before," Leo chuckled.
"Well, you've always been an exception to the rule when it came to Scott's friends," Shawn said. "So the term fits. So now that I have you here for a few minutes without all your fans hounding you, tell me what you've been up to."
They chatted about Leo's first year in college, where he said he was doing well although he was finding the athletic part more of a challenge, having spent a lot of time on the bench instead of being the star like in high school.
As Leo went on, Shawn was wishing she had put a little vodka in the pitcher because the more she sat there near Leo the hotter it was getting out there, and it was only around 70 degrees.
"Scott said a while back that you were seeing somebody - a lawyer or something?" Leo asked as they got around to her.
"Next question," Shawn chirped. and after she laughed Leo joined in.
"Sorry."
"Don't be. I'm not," she said. "Just a couple of dates but it's nice that my son was keeping track of my lack-of-love life. Too bad he didn't keep track of his father's - the ones he was banging while we were still married. Oops. Sorry for the rant. I'm not drunk or even drinking. Just still a little bitter."
