Chapter One
It had been a long three days, but I had finally made it home. Well, at least to the airport. I didn't do anything stupid like kiss the ground or any of that crap, but it DID feel good to not be in a minority after three years in Japan.
I took that walk down the jetway, just the light carryon in my hand, and looked around, kind of dazzled as you do after a few hours in a silver tube six miles up in the air.
I walked over to the carousel where the checked luggage would come and in a few minutes it started up. My olive duffel bag was easy to spot among the fancy leather and plastic suitcases and I slung it over my shoulder and headed for the main hall of the airport.
And there she was, my mother, come to meet me.
It was the first time I had seen her in three years and, if we're being honest here, my first reaction was, "Jesus, she's SO big."
Mom was always a big woman, no question about that. But it looked like she had spent the last three years on one long eating binge. And not being careful to eat good stuff either. Her complexion was a mess.
But she was also still mom, redheaded, round-faced, pretty.
And I couldn't help the grin that spread across my face as she wrapped me in those big soft arms, kissed me a little mother-son peck on the lips, and buried her face in my chest. I reached as far around her as I could, my hands ending up a little short of her shoulder blades, and hugged her back.
I was surprised with my reaction, well, my body's reaction.
Well, that's not really true.
As she had since I hit puberty, the feeling of her against me brought me erect.
And she felt it.
She pushed me to arm's length, giggled a little, and said, "watch it buster," just as she had about a bazillion times between puberty and my getting on the plane to head off to the Air Force four years before.
She took my hand and led me through the exit to short-term parking.
I laughed and said, "Really, you kept it."
The 1965 Chevrolet Impala in a pale green color, the actual name is Willow Green, was the car I had purchased, used of course, with my lawn mowing and pool cleaning money, saved over the course of four years. It was freshly washed, the "spinner" style hubcaps, stock for that model, glistening like mirrors, the acres of chrome shining, the tires were fresh.
"Happy three birthdays," she said, smiling, and holding out the keys.
I opened the door for her, held her hand while she climbed in, and then went around and settled into the driver's seat. I moved the manual seat back for legroom, started it, and just sat back, suddenly 16 again for a couple of minutes, my driver's license fresh and my new car my pride and joy.
The big 396 engine ran smoothly, as it always did, and the big aftermarket Holley carburetor a friend of mine and I had installed made that soft hissing sound it did at idle, the air sucking through the unsilenced air cleaner feeding the engine.
She giggled.
"Still a gearhead, aren't you?" she asked, with a smile on her face.
I just grinned.
Then I turned on the radio, surprised not at all that it was still tuned to my favorite oldies station.
I didn't say anything else, just backed up, turned, and headed for the exit.
After three years of driving tiny cars powered by 360cc engines, I felt like I was driving some superyacht. I was also aware of driving on the "wrong" side of the road. But I made it, alive and unwrecked.
I was still in my khaki uniform and ANXIOUS to get changed. I had done my trick for my country but now I was ready to get back to real life.
So I headed home, smiling as I passed still-familiar street names. At the house, I ran around the car, opened her door, and helped her out before grabbing the duffel bag and carry-on.
Inside she smiled and said, "Your room is still ready and there are clean towels in the bathroom. Clean up and I'm taking you to dinner."
I had to laugh.
When she said my room was "still ready" she hadn't been kidding a bit. It was unchanged. Even my Star Wars poster and my poster of Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia in her slave girl livery still hung on the walls. Hell, there were still clothes in the closet and the drawers.
I dumped the duffel on the bed, hung what needed hanging, put things in drawers, stripped and threw my uniform into the clothes hamper that still sat on the floor of the closet and padded naked across the hall into the shared bathroom. It's a small house, far too small for a bathroom for each bedroom.
It was nice, not limited to a Japanese-sized water heater, being able to take a LONG hot shower. So I did.
Clean and dry I went into my bedroom to change for dinner.
I laughed as I tried to put on the jeans that I found in the drawer. I had worn Levi's sized 30-30 when I went in the Air Force. Now, 15 pounds heavier with even less body fat than I used to have, they needed to be donated. So I got out the dark blue slacks I had brought with me, found one of my dozen logo T-shirts, pulled on white socks, the tennis shoes from my duffel, loaded my pockets, and headed for the front room.
Mom was nowhere to be seen so I assumed she was dressing too. I raided the refrigerator, found beer, said a soft "thank you, Lord," and opened it. In the front room again I laughed. My xBox was still where I had left it. I managed to figure out how the new remote worked, found the directory, and started looking through the listings. The changes over three years were subtle, but a couple of programs I had always enjoyed seemed to be missing, replaced by others I didn't recognize.
"Well," I heard her say.
I turned and looked. And did a double-take.
She was in a very bright turquoise top with a black skirt that stopped slightly above her knees. A band of long fringe seemed to move constantly, hanging slightly below her knees.
Her auburn hair was up and her face had been done. Blue eyeshadow nearly matched the color of her top, a light blush gave her face a flushed look, and the eyeliner ended in small points at the corners of her eyes, giving her a slightly exotic look.
She was the very image of a big woman comfortable in her size and out for a night on the town.
"You are stunning, I said, "but I'm underdressed."
I kissed her quickly on the way by and went into my room. The closest thing I had to anything approaching "formal" was the Oxford cloth button-down shirts that had been my chosen style as far back as high school. I grabbed one in a blue pencil stripe that I thought would sort of match her top and put it on.
For dinner, I took her to Al's, a local steak house with the motto, prominently displayed over the door, "This is a steak house, if you would like seafood we can recommend several good restaurants."
Dinner was fun. My mother is a bright, witty, well-educated woman. She knows a lot about a lot of things, and since the very favorable divorce settlement with my father, she was a casual, part-time student who took classes based on what she found interesting at any given time. Now, she told me, she made a little money writing papers for lazy college students. It wasn't really a job, more a hobby. But she had learned even more about more things.
And the woman did know how to eat. No delicate lady's filet for my mom. She had the Porterhouse, so big it looked like a small roast, baked potato fully loaded, Chef's salad, the bread, and corn on the cob. She finished it with a chocolate lava cake for dessert.
She watched me watching her and smiled.
"I am what I am, honey," she said, patting her belly.
I grinned and said, "and all of you is still lovely."
She giggled, an oddly high-pitched sound coming from her big body.
We had a few more drinks, enjoying each other's company. She liked hearing about what I had done in the Air Force. I enjoyed hearing about the various courses she had taken and the papers she had written. When the waitress started looking a little anxious we went to a neighborhood bar, just a couple of blocks from the house, a place we had gone to from time to time. We shared a pitcher of beer and then went home.
I slept fine, the bed an odd combination of familiar and strange.
The next morning I got up, my need to pee absolutely overwhelming.