AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Why do I want this woman to like me when I can have one that’s unencumbered? I even googled what the fuck a plumeria was since the condo smells like a trip to Hawaii and resembles the set of a fifties movie.
“Mom!”
Oh yeah, her kid, that’s why. Bhodi needs a role model, and I’ve volunteered to pretend I’m an upstanding citizen. Little does anyone fucking know I’m as messed up in the head as the next guy. My issues are easier to hide.
Holly’s line of vision bounces to the stairwell. She gives me a weak smile and I take it as my cue to go.
________________
2
________________
If there is a God, he smiled on me when Bhodi called from upstairs. Lord knows Cary Cass has an ass you can bounce a quarter off of.
Like a lech, my body leans as Cary turns the corner so I can get a better view watching him leave. I roll my eyes at my lasciviousness. It’s not ladylike. How would I feel if my son acted towards a woman the way I just have with that young man?
God, he’s so fucking young.
At twenty-five, Cary hides his baby face behind trimmed facial hair. There’s not a damn trace of crow’s feet around his expressive hazel eyes and his cropped brown hair never gets shaggy, proving his standing appointment with the local barber. It’s the kind of perfect a girl would kill to run her fingers through. Not this girl, butagirl. One younger than me.
My attention to his appearance is all wrong. Thank fuck I’m not quite old enough to be his mother.
“Moooom!” Speaking of…
“On my way, Bhod!”
I reach for a few of Emory’s toys to bring upstairs with me to keep the house tidy. My son and I live in my sister, Laurel’s, three-bedroom condo with her and her daughter. It wasn’t that either of us wasn’t capable on our own. I make decent money assistant managing and from tips tending bar. Laurel and I simply realized combining forces made both our lives easier and cut a few unnecessary expenses; Daycare for her and an overnight sitter for me.
My ten-hour shift at Sweet Caroline’s ends in the predawn hours. Laurel’s amazing the nights I work. She helps Bhodi with homework and tucks him into bed. She even makes the coffee and gets the kids up and ready before leaving for the day, allowing me a few extra hours of sleep. Then my niece, Emory, and I walk Bhodi to the bus stop and it’s my turn to take care of my sister’s kiddo.
I’d thought Bhodi would have siblings. I loved every minute of being pregnant with him and couldn’t wait to do it again. The joke was on me when William broke my heart. In a sense with Emory, who is four, I’ve gotten to do all those little things over again that I’ll miss out on.
I jog up the steps, ducking my head into the large master Laurel and Emory share. My niece is happy, chatting to the figurines in her pink dollhouse. I stroll into Bhodi’s.
“What’s up?”
He stands there, all five digits on each hand emphasize the small brown speck on his shirt. “What do I do?”
“Put it in the laundry?”
“What if it stains?”
“Chill, Bhodi. I’ll spray remover on it.” I gag when he pulls the tee over his head. Having the olfactory senses of a bloodhound can be a blessing and a curse. “Why don’t you shower?” I suggest.
“I don’t want to shower.”
“Okay, then.” My hand rests on my hip. “I have a bit till I have to leave. Let’s see what you have to do for math over the weekend.”
“I’ll shower.”
“Good choice.”
English was my strong suit. On my last day off, I had to watch a twenty-minute online tutorial on fractions to help with ten minutes of homework. While I want Bhodi to do well, I also wonder how much of what he’s learning in school applies in real life once he’s grown.
I check one more time on Emory before heading back downstairs. Laurel is breezing into the house.
“Did I miss him?” Laurel places grocery sacks on the counter and smooths her pencil skirt.
