Hug Of Love
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The next morning, I woke up to the sound of my phone ringing. It was a number that I didn’t recognize and after looking at it for a moment, I decided not to answer it. After all, who would be calling me this early in the morning?
The only person who called me before noon on weekdays is probably my mother since she’s always worried about what time I wake up or when I’m going to get home from work. So if someone had called me so early, they must have something important to say.
I lay there thinking about how much fun last night had been with Lizzy until I heard her voice again over the phone. “Hey!” She said cheerfully into the receiver. “It’s me! Are you awake?”
“Uh-huh,” I replied as I sat up and looked around the room. My eyes finally landed on the clock sitting atop my dresser which read 7:30 AM. As usual, I hadn’t set an alarm because I knew that I’d wake up naturally without one. But apparently, Lizzy needed some sort of external reminder to tell her when it was okay to call me.
She giggled into the phone, “Good! Because I wanted to ask you something.”
“What is it?” I asked curiously.
Lizzy paused for a moment before saying, “Well…” Her voice trailed off and then she started laughing nervously. “Okay… um… do you want to go out tonight?”
My heart skipped a beat and suddenly I felt like I was back in high school. Every guy has experienced this feeling where he gets nervous when his crush asks him out on a date. And while I wasn’t exactly crushing on Lizzy yet, we were definitely getting closer every day.
We talked more than ever now and even though our conversations could sometimes turn awkward, I still enjoyed them immensely. Plus, I loved the fact that she actually seemed interested in learning new things from me instead of just asking questions about herself.
So yeah, I was pretty excited by the idea of going out with Lizzy tonight. However, I also realized that I might need to talk to her parents first to make sure it wouldn’t cause any problems. Still, I figured that if everything went well, maybe Lizzy and I could spend some time together outside of class today too.
Maybe we could grab lunch somewhere or see a movie later in the evening. That way, I’d be able to relax a little bit before meeting her family tomorrow.
After hanging up, I quickly got dressed and headed downstairs to find my mom already eating breakfast. I walked up behind her and kissed her on the cheek as I said, “Morning Mom.”
She turned around and smiled at me, “Hi sweetie! Did you sleep alright?”
“Yeah, thanks,” I replied. “How long are you staying here for?”
“Oh, I’ll be leaving soon,” she answered. “Your dad wants to take me down to visit your grandparents in Florida sometime next month. He hasn’t seen them in a few years so he thought it would be nice to go visit them during spring break.”
“That sounds great,” I told her. “Are you guys flying down there?”
“No, we’re driving. Your uncle lives near Orlando so we can stay with him for a couple days while we explore the area.”
“Sounds good,” I said. “You know, I haven’t really met my grandparents yet. They live in California but they’ve never come up to see us either.”
My mother laughed, “They don’t travel very often anymore. You should try to meet them someday; you two will get along fine.”
We both chuckled as I continued, “I hope so. Anyway, did you eat anything yet?”
“Not yet,” she admitted. “But I think I’m gonna have some cereal before I leave. Do you want some?”
“Sure,” I agreed. “Do you mind making me some eggs too?”
“Of course not,” she said happily. “Is there anything else you’d like me to fix?”
“Just some toast,” I told her. “And some orange juice please.”
As she made my breakfast, I sat down at the table across from her and watched her cook. Then I leaned forward and took a sip of my coffee. When she finished cooking, she brought over a plate full of food and placed it in front of me.
Before taking a bite, I glanced at the clock again and saw that it was 8:45 AM. It didn’t seem like we had enough time left to go anywhere until after school let out, so I decided to postpone our plans for another day. Instead, I focused on enjoying the meal that my mother prepared for me.
After all, I knew that I’d probably only be able to enjoy these moments with her once before she left.
Once we finished eating, I helped clear the dishes away, and then we spent the rest of the morning watching TV together. The plan was to head out right after lunch, so we didn’t have much time to waste. So, I suggested that we watch a movie instead. Since she always liked movies, she was happy to agree.
When the credits rolled on the last film, I stood up from the couch and stretched. “Alright, I guess that’s it for today!” I announced. “Let me help you clean up the kitchen real quick and then we can start packing.”
Mom nodded and got up to follow me upstairs. Once we reached the top floor, I grabbed a towel and wiped down the counters while she put the plates in the dishwasher. As we worked, I couldn’t stop thinking about how lucky I was to have such an amazing woman raising me.
She truly cared for me and wanted nothing but the best for me. Even though I hadn’t known her very long, I felt as if I’d been blessed to be part of her life.
Then I remembered what I’d promised myself yesterday night and thought about calling Lizzy to cancel our plans for tonight. But before I could speak up, my mom stopped washing the dishes and looked at me.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Well,” she began hesitantly. “Lizzy’s father called earlier this week and invited me to join them for dinner tonight. I wasn’t planning on going because I didn’t feel comfortable being alone with him, especially since he doesn’t even know who his daughter’s boyfriend is.
But now that I think about it, I do remember telling you that you needed to introduce yourself properly to Lizzy’s parents when you finally started dating her.”
I frowned and shook my head, “I forgot about that. I mean, I know I need to call and tell them that I’m gay, but…”
“It’s okay,” she interrupted. “I’ll handle it. Besides, I’ve already spoken to them. Don’t worry about it.”
“Okay,” I said reluctantly. “So…do you still wanna go?”
“Yes,” she answered. “If you’re sure that you won’t mind.”
I sighed, “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. Just make sure you keep your guard up around her dad. And don’t forget to bring your pepper spray.”
She smiled, “Thanks! Oh, speaking of which, I bought some pepper spray while I was shopping earlier. Would you like to see it?”
“Yeah, actually,” I replied. “I almost forgot to ask you about that.”
“Great,” she said as she pulled open the drawer underneath the sink. Then she removed a small box from inside and handed it to me. Inside were three different-sized plastic containers. Two of them contained a white powdery substance, while the other one held a clear liquid.
“Wow,” I exclaimed. “That stuff looks pretty potent.”
“Oh yeah,” she agreed. “It’s supposed to be used by women to fend off attackers. Apparently, it works great against men too, but I doubt anyone would ever try to attack someone carrying something like this.”
“Really?” I questioned. “Why’s that? Wouldn’t most guys just run away if they saw you holding it?”
“Probably,” she admitted. “But I also heard that it makes people really angry. That’s why it’s good to carry it with you whenever you leave the house. If you get attacked, you can spray it directly into their eyes or mouth, and they’ll immediately lose control of themselves.”
“Sounds awesome,” I commented. “Can I hold it?”
My mother laughed, “Go ahead. You look like you want to test its strength.”
I grinned and opened the lid of one container. It smelled kind of sweet, and there was a faint hint of cherry mixed in with the scent. I closed the lid again and gave the container back to her.
“How does it work exactly?” I asked. “Do you have to press a button or anything?”
“Nope,” she explained. “Just pull the trigger and spray it wherever you want. There are no buttons to push or switches to turn on. This way, you can use it without having to fumble around trying to find the right switch.”
“Cool!” I replied. “And how many sprays does each container contain?”
“Three hundred and fifty milliliters total,” she told me.
“Holy shit,” I gasped. “That’s a lot of pepper spray.”
“Yep,” she confirmed. “The manufacturer claims that you should be able to blind a man wearing sunglasses for thirty minutes at least. Of course, that all depends on how close you aim the nozzle.”
“You mean that you can only hit your target if you point the tip of the bottle towards it?” I questioned. “Otherwise, it wouldn’t work?”
“Exactly,” she responded. “This isn’t a toy; it’s meant to protect us. So please don’t play around with it.”
“Sorry,” I apologized. “I promise not to touch it unless you give me permission.”
We finished cleaning up after that, and then I headed downstairs to grab my backpack. When I returned, Mom had changed out of her pajamas and into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. She looked so sexy standing in front of the mirror brushing her hair, that I couldn’t help staring at her.
“Hey,” she whispered. “Are you gonna stare at me forever?”
I quickly turned around and pretended that I hadn’t been looking at her.
“Good,” she giggled. “Because I need to finish getting ready soon.”
“Okay,” I mumbled nervously, “but…Ummm…”
“What is it?” she asked. “Is there something wrong?”
“No,” I stammered. “Nothing’s wrong. I was just wondering what you planned to wear tonight.”
“Well,” she began, “I figured we’d dress casually since it’s going to be such an informal event. But I guess it doesn’t matter either way. We could always change our clothes once we arrive.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. “That sounds good.”
Mom kept brushing her hair until it was perfectly smooth. After that, she took a few deep breaths, and then she walked over to me. As usual, she reached out to wrap her arms around my neck, but instead of kissing me, she simply rested her head on my shoulder.
“Thank you,” she murmured. “For everything that you’ve done for me today. I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you sooner, but I wanted to wait until I knew more before I brought it up. Your father and I are very grateful.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I assured her. “I understand completely. Besides, I already know who you’re talking about. He’s a friend of mine, and he helped me save your life last night.”
She smiled and hugged me tighter.
“Then let’s go,” she announced. “I want to get there early so that we can make sure that we have a table near the dance floor.”
The End