"Mother!" Saxon James yelled down the hall. "Coffee is on, I gotta run!"
He paused a moment until he heard his mom grunt and he could hear her shuffling around before he left the house, heading for work.
Saxon didn't mind living at home with his mom, even at 25. He could afford an apartment, or maybe get a house to share with one of his buddies, but, in light of the circumstances, he felt that his mom needed him more.
She and his step-father finalized their divorce three months ago after having been separated for 2 years. It was a bad situation for him because he loved his step-father very much, called him 'Dad' even, and he hated what they both were going through. It wasn't a case of cheating or anything crazy, they just said that they had fallen out of love, and they were heading in different directions.
His step-father had moved on, dating a very nice lady that worked in the same building as he did, however, even though she had initiated the proceedings, his mother sometimes moped around too much for Saxon's taste.
After college, Saxon landed a good job with an advertising firm and was working diligently up the ladder of success, a serious girlfriend that he lived with in the Upper East Side in what he considered to be a great high rise, the ball was in his court, so to speak.
Not quite 90 days ago, just after his mother received the final divorce papers and went into her mini tailspin, Saxon's girlfriend decided that they were going too fast and that she needed her space. Wonderful.
Due to his mother's state of mind, Saxon decided that she needed to move in with him in his flat until she got herself together, no matter how long that may be.
He sat in his office and noticed the flashing red light on his desk phone. His sister had left a message for him that she and her husband and the kids couldn't make it to dinner tonight, he had to work late, just go on without us, etcetera. Saxon erased the message and dialed his home number.
Allie Shukis answered on the third ring, smiling as she heard her son's voice on the other side.
"Hi baby!" She cooed into the phone.
"Hi mom, Meredith and the brood can't make it out tonight, Steve has to work late."
"That's too bad. Maybe later this weekend, huh? Maybe we can go out and visit them?"
"Possibly if I can make this deadline, I won't be able to go Upstate if I have to work this weekend, which is what it is looking like."
"I have a pretty intense deadline as well, and I have SUCH writer's block!" Allie moaned. "Well, you get to work, and let's just play it by ear. By the way, you looked so chic and debonair in your suit this morning. Soooooo handsome!"
"Thanks, mom."
"Maybe we can just watch a movie or two tonight?"
"Sounds good, mama, I love you."
"I love you too, baby."
Allie hung up the phone and got up yet again from the table in her sons dining room, getting away from the laptop that seemingly mocked her. She worked from home, writing a monthly column for a national lifestyle magazine and a weekly fashion column for the Times, and both of them were kicking her ass.
Allie had done a bit of modeling in her youth, none for over two decades, yet she smiled at her reflection in the window of the apartment. She had hardly any wrinkles, even at 47 years of age, a strict diet and regular exercise saw to that. She has been described as being a doppelganger of Christy Turlington, and Allie definitely didn't mind that, 5'10" tall, 34C-23-36, size 4 dress, long, flowing brunette hair, big, thick all natural lips. So why hasn't she dated in nearly eight months?
"You never leave the house, Allie." She said to her reflection, grinning wryly.
Saxon made it back home a little after seven, hardly in a mood for anything, which was reflective of the mood that his mother shared.
"Are you up for some TV?" Allie asked him.
"No, ma, I think that I'll work on this project a little, turn in early."
That weekend and the rest of the next week went like that, both of them working late, the tensions running through themselves like a ticking time bomb.
The following Friday, it hadn't dissipated much, even though they had both met their deadlines.
Saxon had just returned from the gym and was freshly showered. Allie reveled in his scent.
"You smell good, baby." She smiled at him.
Saxon grinned sheepishly.
"Thanks, ma! I'm famished, what's for dinner?"
"Lasagna and mixed veggies...there is a plate in the microwave. I am going to get cleaned up and you owe me that movie night, Mister!"
Saxon looked up and smiled, a mouthful of tepid lasagna in his mouth, giving her the thumbs up.
Allie stopped and looked at him. He looked so much like his father, who had passed away when he was barely two years old. Sandy blonde (dishwater is what her mother called it) hair, fit and tall, probably six three and devilishly handsome. He used to be able to get away with anything with her just by flashing his pearly whites. She smiled as her heart beat out its love for him.
Twenty minutes later, she came out of the shower, dressed in her normal evening attire: a pair of boy shorts and an oversized t-shirt, sans bra. This shirt drooped off of her still perky breasts, accentuating them perfectly.
"Damn, mom!" Saxon smiled. "You are as hot as always! Is it cold in here?"
Allie glanced down at her breasts, seeing her nipples poke out angrily through her shirt and immediately crossed her arms in front of her breasts and kicked out at him.
"Saxon Forsythe James!" She squealed. "I am your mother!"
He pulled her down next to him and placed his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his chest as he kissed the top of her head.
"I know, I know!" He chuckled. "Scroll through the On Demand, and I'll go and break out some wine."
They sat down to dinner prefaced with a salad and white wine and watched "I Love You Man", which was one of Saxon's favorites.
Allie peered at him during the scene where they went to Sydney's house for the first time and talked about masturbation. He could see her in his peripheral vision and did his best to ignore her.
"Saxon?"
"Yes?"
"Are you lonely? I mean, sexually?"
His head snapped towards her, his eyes wide.
"MOTHER!"
She grinned sheepishly, reddening deeply before grabbing her wine glass and draining it in one gulp.
"What I meant was that you haven't been dating anyone and I know that you and Janine were, um...active. I remember when I was your age, I was always, well, you know."
Saxon suddenly felt very aware of his dress, which was his normal evening attire around the house-nothing but boxers.
"I have urges mother, yes." He admitted. "But I have never been a one night stand kind of fella, so I just, well..."
"Masturbate?" Allie grinned and looked at him in what he thought was a very seductive sidelong glance.
It was now his turn to blush furiously. He crossed his legs subconsciously.
"Mother, please."
"You're right, Sax, subject change."
He laughed. "Please."
She got up and grabbed his plate in order to take them to the kitchen.
"I do, you know." Allie stated matter of factly as she walked to the kitchen, not waiting for a response.