"That was mom. She says she's coming to pick you up tomorrow." The words didn't register at first.
"Pick me up?" I shifted in my seat.
Robin nodded and bit her lower lip. "Yeah. She sounded...calm. I'm not sure what to make of it." Robin looked away and then looked back at me. "It's been ten days. Laura is back at school. Mom's always been a process thinker. Maybe it's just time."
I wasn't really sure what to make of it. On some level I understood I'd eventually have to go home; I knew living with Robin wasn't a long term option. This just seemed soon. All of the real world stuff started occurring to me now. I had missed two weeks at work with almost no explanation. Did I still have my job? I was out of pot. Did I have any money lying around so I could buy some? What the hell was Dad going to say? Was Mom likely to forgive me? Would she want to have a "talk"? I even considered going to school to escape all of it.
I took a deep breath and decided that my mother was going to just leave things alone. That seemed like her. Just move on and never discuss any of what happened. It was the WASP thing to do.
* * * * *
I didn't sleep well at all. Neither did Robin. Despite sharing the bed, it felt like we were complete strangers. We weren't intimate at all. I think Robin was putting a little distance between us to make the morning easier. Mom was coming by at 10:00. I got up earlier than normal; showered, packed what few things I had, and sat in the living room and read a Canadian novel about a dysfunctional East Coast family.
Robin stayed in her bedroom until the door buzzer rang. She came out in sweats and a pony tail, looking what appeared to be a practiced dishevelled. She forced a smile. "Mom's here."
"Yep," I sighed. I stood and walked over to the door. We were about a foot apart. "Thanks for everything, Robin."
"You're my brother," she said softly and then looked over at the door to cue our mother's knock.
I opened the door and Mom looked me up and down as though she was searching for something. She stood with her shoulders slightly slumped and held her purse by its straps so that it almost touched the ground. Her raincoat was undone, and underneath she wore a salmon blouse and brown patterned slacks. She wore sensible brown flats. She looked like an upper middle class mom, which was what she was. I looked like I didn't belong with her. She took a breath and stood up straighter. I tried not to notice how her raincoat opened around her impressive chest. "Ready?" was all she said. I nodded and stepped out of Robin's apartment.
"Thank you, honey," she said to my sister. I started to walk to the stairs that led down to the street. I couldn't hear Robin's reply.
* * * * *
The drive was, as I expected, quiet. The only comment out of my mother was in reply to the radio when the traffic report indicated an accident near the airport. "Just missed that," she observed.
We arrived home and it was lightly drizzling. I followed my mother into the house like I was expecting a firing galley. But the house was quiet and warm and waiting for us. My mother shed her coat and ran her hands through her hair. "Your father should be back early next week." I looked around in reply like I was just fully grasping the emptiness of the house.
"Work?" I asked rather dully.
"Yep," she nodded back at me. "They like flying your father all over the place."
That was true, I thought to myself. He'd become the fire-fighter βslash-problem solver at his office. They valued him enough to send him all over the world and he was by all accounts quite good at his job. I suppose in my self-indulgent haze I hadn't noticed how often he'd been gone the past few years.
"Anyway," my mother sighed, "I figured you should be home and we could just get past everything." I looked over at her with what I'm sure was a blank expression. "I didn't tell him about anything and I knew we'd be awkward around each other after what happened, so it's good that we can get that out of the way before he gets back." She was speaking quickly.
I barely whispered agreement before I started looking around like I was searching for an exit.
"Why don't you go up to your room and get settled? Call the gas station and see if they have any shifts for you."
I did just that. Back to normal, as my mother wanted. She was a woman used to getting things the way she wanted them.
* * * * *