“Hello?” It’s after eleven pm at my house. It can only mean someone is dead, my sister is having another heart attack or my brother is drunk. The area code was 208.
“Hello?”
“Hello?”
"Helloo!?”
“Quit that!” we laughed. “Heeey Guy. What are you doing? I was going to call you earlier! I charged my cell phone to retrieve your number and everything!”
“Did you talk to Mom?” he asked me hurriedly.
“Yeah! That’s why I was going to call you, she said you’re talking about moving back to Portland, that your g/f is driving you or something? I knew I had to call you to see if it’s true ‘cause Mom has been telling me you’re moving back since you left.”
“Yeah, I’m ready. I found my cat.”
“So.” I took a deep breath. “You need a ride?”
“Yeah. That’s why I was afraid to call you.” I let all the air out. Now that he’d said it there was only the planning on how to make it happen. Crisis control. I’m a whiz.
“Don’t ever be afraid to call me! I can’t believe that! Always call me. I pull through, don’t I? I mean worst case I would say I couldn’t do it.”
“THAT’S WHY I was afraid to call you!!!” he laughed and I laughed. I thought about the coming weekend. My staycation in Troutdale. The Blogger Break-out. The people flying in.
“So, Mom said you quit your job…”
“She wasn’t paying me anymore. I went in to get paid and she said ‘you’re just going to spend it at the bar’ and I almost lost it. But I didn’t! I kept my cool and I just said ‘It’s none of your business how I spend it’ and I walked away.”
“good. I’m glad. Not worth it. I would have been pissed too.” I didn’t say I told you so. I didn’t say that’s what happens when you work under the table. I didn’t ask him how he was feeding himself. Or his stray cat.
“I WALKED AWAY.” he repeated loudly. And then “Sorry…. I’m out of control! …… I’ve maybe had a few.” I laughed at him.
“So. You’re ready like right now. You want me to come get you right now?!?” I can always see a ribbon of road in the corner of my right eye.
“Well. I found my cat… and it’s an outdoor cat so.. It’s pretty much shitting all over my room and I keep having to clean that shit up and so yeah I’m ready NOW.”
“Well here’s the thing. I have a thing this weekend… and it has to be a weekend ‘cause The Man’s not going to want to take any days off and on a quickie trip I don’t like to drag the kids along. And I misplaced a couple five or eight hundred dollars but I’ll find that… it’s just…. I don’t know when. Is it pretty bad?”
“I’m okay, it’s just I’m ready to go.” So it’s bad.
“Well. I have to talk to The Man and Bigd and see what I can arrange for them watching the kids…”
“Can’t Mom watch the girls?”
“There’s a boy now too, ya know. That baby I had a couple years ago? He’s sorta a handful.” I laughed at him again. “And you know Mom doesn’t watch the kids. I could count on one hand the times….”
“She could watch ‘em one day!”
“She took them overnight a couple weeks ago and called me in the morning begging me to come get them they were wearing her out!”
“Anyway… so your phone has no minutes, am I correct on that?”
“yeah… I’m on a I’ll call YOU basis, right now” he joked
“You little funny shit, I’m glad you’re coming home, nobody else does the funny with me like you do. So I’m thinking that maybe I can split my staycation up and leave Sunday and go get you but I have to try and work it out with The Man and BigD and try and get the girls ahead on school stuff so it doesn’t set us way back and I think my rear tire is low and just call me tomorrow, will you be able to do that?”
“Yeah. Thanks Dew.”
“Don’t thank me yet. I’m still juggling. I’ll get ya, though. You know that. That’s why you called. Scaredy cat. I’m not scary!!”
“I’m just trying to stay positive like my sisters!” He joked, mimicking our mother, I’m sure. “Sorry for calling you so late. I knew you would be up.”
“It’s no problem. I don’t mind.”
“I love you!”
“Love you too. G’night Guy.”
*sigh*
Glad he’s coming home.
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