handle this brand of romance. I couldn’t confess everything to her, but it was good just to hear her voice. And I was grateful for the physical mask the telephone provided.
“Sam, I’m glad you called. Could you bring an extra baking sheet tomorrow? I was thinking it might be fun to have a cookie baking marathon, like in the old days. What do you think?”
“That would be great, Mom. Sounds fun.” I just wanted to reach out and have her hug me. My mom was the best hugger in the whole world. I couldn’t wait to see her and my dad tomorrow.
“Are we still on track to pick you up at the BART station?”
“I’ll be on the 5:45 train.”
“Perfect. We’ll save room for your suitcase. What else is going on honey, any new boyfriends?” She always asked this. Normally I would groan and tell her to stop, but this time I was grateful.
“Well, actually, I have been seeing this one guy.”
“Oh yeah?” She tried to play it cool, but I could practically hear her eyes light up over the phone. My mom had always been a little boy-crazy. “What’s his name?”
“David Keith.” I wondered if she would recognize it.
“That’s a nice name. Don’t think I know any Keiths,” she said, referring of course to the populace of the small town I grew up in, which was also coincidently her reference point for the entire universe. “So, how’d you meet? What’s he like?”
“We met at a show opening,” I offered, selectively withholding the story about the wine. I didn’t think my mother would appreciate the symbolism of a white dress ruined with red wine. “He’s sweet. He took me to the symphony the other night.”
“Oh that’s very nice, dear. I’d like to go to the symphony sometime.” I could tell she was jabbing my dad as she said it. I heard him call out.
“I’ll take you to the symphony any time you want dear, as soon as you go snowboarding with me.”
My parents might have a cabin in Lake Tahoe, but my mother had always been adamantly opposed to skiing and snowboarding, instead preferring to tend to the shopping, cooking, and homemaking while my sister and I joined him on the slopes.
“Sorry, dear.” She came back to me. “He sounds lovely. We should all get together for dinner sometime.”
“Mmm. Yeah.” I murmured into the phone. “Anyway, I was calling to see if there was anything else you needed me to bring tomorrow.”
“I don’t think so honey, the sheet is it. I think we’ve got everything else all set.”
“Okay. See you tomorrow then?”
“5:45 at the BART station.”
“Ok, see you then. Bye, Mom”
“Bye Sammie.” I felt a little better. I checked my phone. Still no text back from David.
I decided to go for a run and work off some of this excess worry. I stripped down and threw on my black running tights and a white Cal sweatshirt. I pulled my wild hair back into a high ponytail and located my running shoes under my bed. I headed out the door, grabbing my keys, phone, and some ear buds along the way.
Out in the yard, I noticed Clark and Leslie were gone, and once I hit the sidewalk I broke into a brisk walk. I thumbed through my phone, looking for some good running music.
At the end of the block I started jogging just as a pop song started blasting in my ears. I ran hard. I kept mostly to the residential streets because they didn’t have traffic lights to obey. Cutting through a shopping center, my endorphins started to flow, so I headed up toward the cemetery. I loved running in the cemetery. It was peaceful and beautiful. There was also a big hill, and I charged up it, the beat of music pushing me on. At the top I stopped, and bent over to catch my breath. I looked out, the hill providing a clear view of San Francisco. The days were much shorter now, and the sun was already starting to dip behind the city.
The fog enveloped the city, and I stared into it, painfully aware that David was not there. I wondered what he was doing at that moment Was he thinking
“Sam, I’m glad you called. Could you bring an extra baking sheet tomorrow? I was thinking it might be fun to have a cookie baking marathon, like in the old days. What do you think?”
“That would be great, Mom. Sounds fun.” I just wanted to reach out and have her hug me. My mom was the best hugger in the whole world. I couldn’t wait to see her and my dad tomorrow.
“Are we still on track to pick you up at the BART station?”
“I’ll be on the 5:45 train.”
“Perfect. We’ll save room for your suitcase. What else is going on honey, any new boyfriends?” She always asked this. Normally I would groan and tell her to stop, but this time I was grateful.
“Well, actually, I have been seeing this one guy.”
“Oh yeah?” She tried to play it cool, but I could practically hear her eyes light up over the phone. My mom had always been a little boy-crazy. “What’s his name?”
“David Keith.” I wondered if she would recognize it.
“That’s a nice name. Don’t think I know any Keiths,” she said, referring of course to the populace of the small town I grew up in, which was also coincidently her reference point for the entire universe. “So, how’d you meet? What’s he like?”
“We met at a show opening,” I offered, selectively withholding the story about the wine. I didn’t think my mother would appreciate the symbolism of a white dress ruined with red wine. “He’s sweet. He took me to the symphony the other night.”
“Oh that’s very nice, dear. I’d like to go to the symphony sometime.” I could tell she was jabbing my dad as she said it. I heard him call out.
“I’ll take you to the symphony any time you want dear, as soon as you go snowboarding with me.”
My parents might have a cabin in Lake Tahoe, but my mother had always been adamantly opposed to skiing and snowboarding, instead preferring to tend to the shopping, cooking, and homemaking while my sister and I joined him on the slopes.
“Sorry, dear.” She came back to me. “He sounds lovely. We should all get together for dinner sometime.”
“Mmm. Yeah.” I murmured into the phone. “Anyway, I was calling to see if there was anything else you needed me to bring tomorrow.”
“I don’t think so honey, the sheet is it. I think we’ve got everything else all set.”
“Okay. See you tomorrow then?”
“5:45 at the BART station.”
“Ok, see you then. Bye, Mom”
“Bye Sammie.” I felt a little better. I checked my phone. Still no text back from David.
I decided to go for a run and work off some of this excess worry. I stripped down and threw on my black running tights and a white Cal sweatshirt. I pulled my wild hair back into a high ponytail and located my running shoes under my bed. I headed out the door, grabbing my keys, phone, and some ear buds along the way.
Out in the yard, I noticed Clark and Leslie were gone, and once I hit the sidewalk I broke into a brisk walk. I thumbed through my phone, looking for some good running music.
At the end of the block I started jogging just as a pop song started blasting in my ears. I ran hard. I kept mostly to the residential streets because they didn’t have traffic lights to obey. Cutting through a shopping center, my endorphins started to flow, so I headed up toward the cemetery. I loved running in the cemetery. It was peaceful and beautiful. There was also a big hill, and I charged up it, the beat of music pushing me on. At the top I stopped, and bent over to catch my breath. I looked out, the hill providing a clear view of San Francisco. The days were much shorter now, and the sun was already starting to dip behind the city.
The fog enveloped the city, and I stared into it, painfully aware that David was not there. I wondered what he was doing at that moment Was he thinking
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