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“It will only aggravate me.”
I don’t know why Pop is essentially sticking up for her. She never calls him either. But I didn’t say that. There’s no reason to point out what is a touchy subject.
Theoretically I suppose I love my mother, I just don’t like her very much. She’s the quintessential stage mom and once I removed that element from our relationship, we no longer had one.
“Well, she sounded worried.”
I snorted.
“She probably has a deadline for whatever she wants me to sign up for. If she just wanted to reconnect, she’d leave a message stating that.”
Our food arrived and the conversation was paused while we dug in. Thinking about my mother always raises my blood pressure, which is why I try to avoid it. Usually it’s easy. It’s an out of sight, out of mind kind of thing.
I’ve been living in Seaside working as a handyman for twelve years. I feel so far removed from my life before that, sometimes I can’t believe it actually happened. Unfortunately, there’s proof of that time showing daily in reruns.
“I’m not getting any younger, you know,” Pop said. “I just don’t want you to be alone when I’m gone. Your mother is the only family you have.”
I popped the last bite of burger into my mouth and chewed as I pondered his words.
“First of all, I don’t want to talk or think about a time when you’re not here. And second, my mother has let it be known that she only wants one kind of relationship with me and that’s not one I’m interested in.”
“There has to be a middle ground for the two of you.”
“Pop, she wouldn’t take my calls for five years after I moved here. Five years. And she only called me then because she wanted me to do an interview for one of those stupid where-are-they-now shows.” I shook my head. “As if I want people to know where I am now.”
“She’s getting older too. Maybe she’s changed her priorities.”
If that was the case, she’d work on her relationship with Pop too, and that hasn’t happened.
“I doubt it.” I took a drink. “For years I wished Tally Corbin was the kind of mother who made me peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and tucked me in to bed. Instead, she ran me from one audition to another and negotiated contracts.”
Our relationship worked until I decided I didn’t want to act anymore, which was right around the time I turned eighteen. I was overweight and pre-diabetic, but was reprimanded when I made some lifestyle changes to lose weight. In Chase and Corbin, I played the chubby, unpopular geek. The role of handsome ladies’ man belonged to my co-star, Chase Collins.
“I didn’t think it was all bad. If I did, I would’ve stepped in.”
“It wasn’t until I got older and wanted some control,” I said. “But I’m grateful for the experience and the fact that Mom always protected me. You know the nightmare lives some child actors had. So it could have been worse.”
I’m also grateful for the fact that while my real name is Maxwell Kendrick Corbin, I acted under the name Corbin Kendrick. Obviously that could be discovered with an internet search, but Max Corbin is a common enough name that I haven’t had issues with fans knocking on my door. I suppose I have my mother to thank for that, too. Even though I’m not willing to do interviews anymore, she could certainly do them and tell the world what I’m up to these days.
Pop fought me for the bill and he paid, then we walked back to the Beckett garage.
“I’ll start taping,” he said. “You can fill in the rest of the drywall.”
As I got to work, our lunchtime conversation ran through my head. Even though I feel far removed from Chase and Corbin, it’s very much a part of my life. I haven’t mentioned it to the women I spent time with because most of them were transient. Even though we’ve only had one date, I already know Eve is different. So I suppose I should tell her.
It actually works in my favor that she’s a little older than me. She’s probably never even seen the show.
Chapter Eight
Eve
“This is delicious.” Aunt Winnie said before placing another piece of salmon in her mouth.
“Thank you. It’s been one of my go-to meals for years. It’s fast and the cleanup is easy.”
I learned how to make the dish at a cooking class I took years ago. You simply place
salmon and zucchini in foil, add seasoning, and toss it on the grill. I usually serve it with jasmine rice, but you can skip the starch if you want to keep it low carb.
