A soft smile tugged at Sylvia's pink lips as she stepped into her son's room with a big white laundry basket on her hip. Like all other teenage boys who were developing into grown men, his room stunk with the remnants of puberty and old gym socks. She shook her head, her soft smile fading as the bittersweet emotions danced in and out of her heart. She could remember when this room smelled like nothing, and her worst complaint was him leaving his legos spread all over the floor for her step on. Now, he was taller than her, with a voice that deepened with age, and off to college once the summer ended.
She set the laundry basket onto his bed and started to pick up his dirty clothes, tossing them into the basket. Her fingers grazed his many baseball awards on a dresser as she picked up a stray pair of his boxers he had carelessly thrown off and landed on top on the dresser. She could feel the salty tears rimming her eyes as she thought about his new chapter starting once summer was over. Autumn would come, and Alex would go, and she would be all alone. A stray tear fell at the realization.
Alex was freshly eighteen and headed off to college, leaving his childhood bedroom, and her, behind. Her fingers ran gingerly over the pictures of him that he had sitting on his dresser; one of him holding up a fish he had caught with his father, a few of him and her sharing tender moments, and a new one that she had just noticed: him and his friends on their graduation day. He was very handsome, she thought, inheriting his father's boyish good looks, square jaw, and big perfect smile. He had a charming mole on his chin that Sylvia had always adored, and loved to kiss when he was a little boy. She watched as his featured matured through the pictures, with the most recent sporting a bit of facial hair on his chin and upper lip. "I need to make copies of this." She reminded herself out loud, picking up the graduation picture and tossing it on top of the clothes inside the basket.
She could hear Alex galloping up the stairs with all of his young, sporty energy, whooping and hollering in celebration to something she couldn't place since his voice was muffled by the walls. She snatched her sleeve up to her eye and quickly wiped her tears then turned to face the door just as he burst through it.
"Mom?" Alex asked, dropping a football near the door as he continued into his room. He looked at the bundle of clothes in the laundry hamper, with his photo resting on top. "I told you, I'd get the laundry, Mom. I'm gonna have to learn how to do it anyway. You're not always gonna be there."
"What's all that noise for?" She asked with a smirk and an eyebrow raised.
He grinned, his chest swelling with pride as he dropped his backpack onto a chair pulled out from his work desk. "The guys and I found a house near campus! It's so nice, it's newly renovated! And it's big enough for all five of us." He beamed. "And I already made you copies of my picture so... yeah." He pointed to the basket.
"Since when were you looking for a house?" Sylvia asked, frozen with shock. She could barely handle her son growing so fast before her eyes, and now he was planning on leaving? She couldn't bear it.
"I thought I told you! That's where I've been all day! Davy just dropped me off."
"You know it doesn't have to be that way, Ali-Bear." Sylvia sighed, grasping the picture housed in the black wooden frame out of the laundry basket and setting neatly back on his dresser. "You could stay here, live rent-free. Save some money. You could buy a house when you're finished with school, baby. Don't you want to get ahead?"
"Mooom," Alex sighed, throwing himself onto his bed in annoyance. The laundry basket bounced off of the bed and onto the floor, toppling all of the clothes Sylvia had just picked up. "The guys and I already talked about the house we found. We could all split the rent, and I make more than enough from my job at the bank. Plus, my sports page is picking up. My Google stats are climbing!"
"All the more reason for you to stay here." Sylvia sighed in slight annoyance, squatting down to pick up the basket and refill it with all of the dirty clothes. "Tell you what. I'll match every dollar you save. After 4 years of saving you could probably buy a house, cash. Especially if your baseball career takes off."
"No, Mom. That's money that Dad left for you, I can't take that from you." He shook his head, stretching out on his stomach like a lazy cat, opening his mouth for a big, wide yawn. "You've been talking about buying that beach house you guys always wanted. I think you should do that while I'm gone." He folded his arms and laid his head on them, his shiny, light brown hair falling over his eyes.
"I know, honey." Sylvia sighed, standing up and sitting next to him on the bed. She ran her hands through his silky hair, pushing it out of his face. "We talked about it all the time, but now that he's gone, I don't know if it would be the same without him." She instinctively started to massage his scalp, her fingers getting lost in his soft chestnut waves. He had hair just like his father; perfect. It was bouncy, silky and was the envy of all the women around him. It fell in in wisps on either side of his face, like the lead of a boy band or teenage heartthrob.
"Yeah, it's still weird that he's not here anymore." Alex agreed, his eyelids flickering to a close. Thick, dark lashes fanned out against his high cheekbones and Sylvia snorted; she always did wish she had Alex's long, thick lashes.
"You have to know that he would be so proud of you. You're going to school on an athletic scholarship. Our baby got a full ride playing baseball just like he said you would." Sylvia was glowing, unable to contain her pride for her only son. She grinned at him, blinking back tears. "You really should stay here, Ali-Bear." She ran her fingers through his hair and pulled her hand back to her lap. "You really have such an opportunity to grow here."
"Mom. I'll be fine." Alex didn't bother opening his eyes. "The campus isn't far away from the house-"
"All the more reason for you to
stay here."
Sylvia stressed, trying to mask how she was pleading for him to stay.
"I can come visit you, every weekend Mom. No. I want the chance to live on my own with the guys for once."
Sylvia sighed in exasperation and stood up, picked up the laundry basket, blinking back her tears of frustration. "Dinner will be ready in about an hour."
"Mom!" Alex called out to her sympathetically, knowing he had hurt her feelings, but she ignored him. She shut the door behind her and could hear her making her way downstairs.
Sylvia huffed, walking into the laundry room, overturning the basket and dumping its contents into the washing machine. She tried to calm herself by taking deep breaths as she measured the liquid detergent into a little plastic cup and poured it on the clothes in, going around in big, distracted circles. She closed the lid of the washing machine softly and pressed start.
He is so ungrateful!
She fumed to herself, setting the basket on top of the washer. She washed her hands in a small sink next to her and walked out of her laundry room and into her kitchen.
She smiled, running her hands along the countertop of her kitchen island, reminiscing the times when Alex was younger. He would sit atop, his eyes bright with curiosity and wonder as she would mix Sunday morning's waffle batter. He would always stick his finger into it, and he would always he scolded for it. She smiled sadly.
He's just like you, Bill. Hard-headed, and stubborn. Always wanting to go his own way.
She grasped the locket around her neck that housed the small picture of all three of them in it happily and closed her eyes, tears spilling from the corners of her eyes and running down her cheeks.
I'm not ready to lose him too...
Sylvia, despite being in her late forties, was still incredibly beautiful. Although her thick red-brown hair was starting to streak with silver, and her once taut waistline was starting to fill out, she still had incredible D cup breasts that sat large and round on her chest. Since having Alex, her hips had widened, giving her much-appreciated curves. Her piercing green eyes had started to line with crows feet but all in all, Sylvia still had the majority of her youth in her looks, something she was very proud of. Even though she got lots of male attention while out and about, she often faltered. Never returning the calls, never giving out her number, never taking the men up on dates. She was solely focused on the well being of her son.
She turned the dial on a small radio on the corner of the countertop, enveloping the room with the soft Motown grooves that she and Bill had once adored. She could remember dancing with him to many songs the old-school radio station played as she pulled out her wooden cutting board. She turned towards the fridge and started to prepare dinner, pulling out an assortment of vegetables and thick, bright orange cuts of salmon. Alex's favorite. He adored her garlic salmon and it was something he often begged for.
She grinned excitedly, knowing that her son just couldn't resist his favorite meal. As she went to rinse the asparagus, she swayed her hips to the beat of the song, shaking off the water from the bright green vegetable and setting it on her cutting board. "He's going to absolutely die." She said to herself out loud, thrilled.
Alex came walking down the stairs meekly. "Mom, I just want to say I'm sor- Are you making garlic salmon?" His tone suddenly changed to excitement as he saw the array of ingredients all over the kitchen island.
"Yes, baby, I am. I thought you wouldn't mind that," She smiled sweetly, cupping his face with the palm of her hand as he sat down on the bar stool in front of the kitchen island. "What were you saying though?"
"I just wanted to tell you I'm sorry. I know you miss dad a lot, and it helps with me being here..." He paused.
Sylvia held her breath, her body tense with the excitement. Her eyes brightened, although she tried to mask the anticipation of him finally telling her that he was going to stay, she could barely contain herself.
"It's just that you've taken such good care of me. I know it's hard without dad. I want to be a man now. But I promise that I will come and visit you every single weekend. I'll stay during every holiday, especially Christmas and Thanksgiving. But I guess..." He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I just want to know what independence feels like. There's no men in the house, Mom. I want to be around my boys."
