Mom's Date
It was just after two on Saturday morning when Rich pulled out of the driveway for parts unknown. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he did. All of his worldly possessions were in his old pickup truck. Today was his eighteenth birthday. Leaving home was not how he had expected to celebrate the milestone.
Before leaving, he had transferred half of his savings into his checking account online. Rich shared the savings with his mother, but the checking account was his alone. He had also closed all his social media accounts, deleted his e-mail address, and created a new one. His last act before closing the front door for the last time was to put his house key, cell phone, and a note to his mother on the kitchen counter, next to the coffee pot, where he knew she would find it.
Rich was a smart, capable, and a responsible young man. From the day his father had walked out on the family, when he was thirteen, he had stepped up to become the man in the household. Rich willingly took over the 'manly' duties his father had done all his life. He mowed the lawn, washed the car, took out the trash, shoveled the snow, and fixed things around the house as needed. YouTube had been a lifesaver with much of that. He also helped his mother with household chores, something his father had never done.
Rich, at eighteen, was a high school graduate and had gotten good marks. He had worked part-time from the time he was sixteen and gave his mother half his income to help with the bills. She didn't need it and put it in their joint savings account. He knew that but continued giving it to her since he felt it was the proper thing to do. He never dated girls. He and his mother had a standing Saturday 'date,' as they both referred to it, since the divorce. It usually consisted of going out to dinner and a movie. They rarely missed their 'date' unless one of them was ill. To Rich, this was the highlight of the week.
His mother, Helena, was forty-four. She was a Registered Nurse and the director of nursing at the hospital in McKinney, Texas, where they lived. Helena never dated and often told those trying to convince her to date that Rich was her man. Other than sexually, that was true for both of them. They lived a good life together. Helena was a very attractive woman. Her blonde hair, shapely body, and beautiful smile made her stand out in any crowd.
When her marriage failed, she took it hard. Her parents had split up when she was a teen due to her mother's cheating. Her father turned to alcohol and drank himself to death in just a few years. She never forgave her mother. Helena's husband was a cheater and had destroyed their marriage. She felt the same way about him as she did about her mother. Rich had learned about the cheating after the divorce and wanted nothing to do with his philandering father. The courts insisted that Rich spend time with him to fulfill the divorce agreement. That had only lasted about a year before his father moved away. Neither Rich nor Helena had heard from him in about four years. They were fine with that. They had each other.
Rich didn't have a destination in mind as he drove. He got on Interstate 75 and headed north. Just after sunup he pulled into the rest area just north of Tulsa to get some sleep.
*****
Helena woke early. The snoring man lying next to her in the bed had seen to that. She went straight to the shower. Last night had been her first sex in nearly six years. She had been left disappointed and was already regretting her decision and hoped that David would be gone before her son got up. She didn't feel bad about going on the date but didn't feel good about bringing David home either. Helena had seen the look on her son's face the night before when she had mentioned 'maybe getting lucky.' She knew he was less than thrilled with the comment. He hadn't been exactly thrilled when she casually mentioned her date just an hour before leaving. Helena hadn't told him earlier. She knew the idea of her dating would be something he would need to get accustomed to. He was out of high school and eighteen, it was time for her to start socializing. It was normal for a single woman to have her own life. She and Rich would be going out on their 'date' tonight to celebrate his birthday that night. Things would be fine, she thought.
After dressing, she went to the kitchen to make coffee. Finding the house key laying on top of his cell phone puzzled her. He was almost compulsive about plugging the phone in at night. She pushed it out of the way to get to the coffee maker and saw the note that was under the phone. She started the coffee brewing then picked up the note and read it.
'Goodbye Helena. I hope you find what you're looking for. I love you. Rich.'
Helena ran to the living room and looked out the front window at the driveway. His pickup was gone. In a panic, she ran to his room. Everything was gone except the furniture and TV. Even the bed had been stripped. The room showed no sign of having been lived in. There was no trace of her son.
"Why?" she asked aloud, then sat on the bed crying. After a few minutes, she ran to the bedroom and grabbed her phone, waking David as she did. She found no texts or e-mail. Helena hurried to the den and opened her laptop. No e-mail at her work address either. Her son was gone.
"Any chance of getting some coffee?" David asked from behind her.
She jumped at being startled. "You need to leave," she told him.
"I was hoping we might...," he began.
"Get out of my fucking house!" she screamed.
"Shit. Good morning to you too, bitch," he mumbled, as he went back to finish dressing.
Helena sat at her desk crying and a few minutes later heard the front door open then close. A moment later she heard his car pull away. Helena ran out the front door, not bothering to close it behind her, and to the neighbor's house. She rang the doorbell, waited a few seconds, and rang a second time just as the door opened.
"Todd, Rich is gone!" she said anxiously.
Todd was a McKinney Police Sergeant. Heather, his wife, was Helena's closest friend.
"What do you mean gone?" he asked.
"He's packed up and gone."
"When?"
"Last night...this morning...I don't know," she said, still crying.
"Come inside. Let's sit down and figure this out," he said, taking her arm.
They walked to the kitchen where Heather joined them.
"When did you see him last?" he asked.
"Right at seven last night before I went on my date."
Heather and Todd's brows raised. They'd never known her to date.
"He wasn't there when you got home?" Heather asked.
"His truck was there, but I didn't see him."
"What time did you get home?" Todd asked.
"About eleven."
"No sign of foul play?" Todd asked her.
"No. He packed up and moved out. Everything but his furniture is gone. He left his house key, phone, and a note."
"What did the note say?" Heather asked.
"Goodbye. I love you, Rich."
"That's all?" Todd asked.
"That's all it said."
"Let me scan my security footage. You can see your driveway on it," Todd told her.
He grabbed his laptop and began scanning at high speed. Stopping at eleven pm, he turned to her.
"Who's this?" he asked.
"David. He was my date?"
Todd nodded and continued. About one-thirty they watched as Rich was loading his car. It was obvious that he was crying. Twice, he kicked the car parked behind his mother's. Todd and Heather looked at each other knowingly. Rich pulled away just after two am.
"Did you and Rich get into it before you left?" Todd asked.
"No, not at all. Can you help me find him?"
"Any idea where he might have gone?" Todd asked.
"I have no idea. He never mentioned anything about leaving."
"A relative? His dad's?"
"There's only my mother and his father. He wouldn't go to either. Can you do a missing person thing?" Helena asked.
"Not until he's been gone for seventy-two hours. By then he could be anywhere."
"Helena, did your date spend the night with you?" Heather asked.
"Yes, unfortunately."
"Did Rich and the man have words?" Heather asked.
"No. I'm positive they never saw each other."
"Do you still have the note?" Todd asked.
"Yes, it's in the kitchen."
"Let's walk over to your house. I'd like to look at his room and read that note," Todd suggested.
The three walked to the house and went to his room.
"It's pretty obvious he wasn't just planning a weekend trip," Todd said after checking the room.
After reading the note, Heather handed it to her husband. He read it.
"What's this part about? I hope you find what you're looking for." Todd asked.
"I don't know. That part makes no sense."
"Think about it. I suspect your answer lies somewhere in that sentence," Todd told her.
"Maybe he said something to Avery," Helena suggested.
"She was at a girlfriend's house last night," Heather said.
"Helena, I have to go to work. If you can get into his phone or his computer, look at messages, e-mails, browser history, those kinds of things. Check maps too. Anything that might provide info on his reasons or his plans," Todd told her.
"Avery will be home in about an hour. I'll check with her," Heather said.
"There's nothing else I can do?"
"Not really. Hopefully, he'll have second thoughts and come home. He's a smart kid." Todd advised.
Helena hugged both as they left her house, then sat at the table with a cup of coffee. She picked up her son's phone to try and figure out his passcode. Nothing worked. They had three computers in the home. Rich had his own laptop, which was gone. Helena had her work laptop, but since it contained sensitive work information, no one had her password. Rich never used it. The other computer was the desktop. Rich used that for gaming sometimes. They each had their own logons. She tried accessing his and again failed. Logging in under her password, she checked her social media. Her son's accounts had disappeared. She checked his work schedule on the refrigerator. He had the entire weekend off.
*****
Avery arrived home about an hour later.
"Honey, when was the last time you talked to Rich?" her mother asked.
"Yesterday afternoon. Today's his birthday, by the way."
"Did he say anything about leaving?"
"His mom was taking him out for his birthday tonight. Why?"
"But he seemed, okay?"
