The Perfect Son by Kyion S. Roebuck Page B

you? For a while, my biggest fear was that Sean was going to be my son-in-law. Though I didn’t act like it at the time, I was never happier to find your secret flash-drive filled with porn, straight porn.”
    Cody didn’t know whether to feel scandalized, disturbed or disgusted, and it showed on his face.
    “For the first time, I am happy to not have some of my memories,” he said with his nose turned up. That was then quickly followed by a flash of pain. “However, it makes me sad, too. It sounds like we were indeed close. He hates me, now.”
    “Cody, don’t get down on yourself. You can’t help what happened to you, and Sean knows that. He’ll come around, and even if he doesn’t, that’s okay, too. People grow up and grow apart all the time. The accident made it happen faster for you two, but that’s just life.”
    Cody nodded, and then turned his gaze to the moving scenes outside the window, leaving Kelly to focus on her driving. She had never been a fan of her son’s greatest bad influence, but she felt sorry for Sean. She remembered how lost and confused she herself felt when she first interacted with Cody after his initial release. Instead of spending all of his money on the latest movie releases, listening to the worst quality rap he could get his hands on, and playing violent video games, he now watched world news channels, listened to classical music and voraciously read nonfiction literature. A person like Sean just didn’t fit into his world anymore, and secretly, Kelly was okay with that.
     
    ***
     
    “Cody, how’s the chicken?” Kelly asked as she awkwardly chewed around her mouthful of roasted poultry.
    “It’s very good,” Cody said, and then downed a glass of water.
    “Is that so? How interesting, we must have two different birds. Mine is dry and tough as hell.”
    “…I was being polite.”
    With that said, mother and son stared at each other, and then made a quick grab for their beverages, before bursting out laughing.
    “Cody, I’m sorry. I’m dead tired, so I figured I’d just heat up some leftovers. Note to self: Bad food only gets worse when it’s cooked a second time.”
    “It’s not that bad; it’s still edible. Though, I would prefer it if we didn’t try it for a third day.”
    “Don’t worry, I am not a masochist. I will pay for delivery before I subject us to that hell. Even Sandy wouldn’t tolerate that, and she’s obsessed with eating cat shit,” Kelly said flippantly.
    “Mother!”
    “What? I’m being honest. Let’s test it, right now.”
    At the mention of her name and food, the greedy Golden Retriever was already at the edge of the table, waiting. A few scrapes later, the stiff chicken and clumpy mashed potatoes hit the dog’s food dish, and she promptly gulped it down without even chewing.
    “Well, I guess that proves that your leftovers are at least as good as cat feces.”
    “That dog has no standards. We both tasted that food, yet look at her. She’s actually begging for more.”
    Sure enough, Sandy was licking her mouth, and searching her bowl for any missed morsel.
    “I’ll give her mine, too,” Cody said, before picking up his plate. Immediately, Sandy penned her ears back, tucked her tail and gave a low growl. It made Cody pause, but going against his better judgment, he approached anyway. As soon as he was in striking distance, Sandy lunged at him, knocking the plate and food onto the floor.
    “Sandy!”
    At Kelly’s yell, the dog whined, and then bolted to the upstairs level, while Kelly swiftly moved to check her son for injuries.
    “Oh my God, Cody are you alright?”
    “I’m okay; she didn’t get me. I pulled back in time.”
    Not trusting his assessment, Kelly continued to search until she was positive there was no broken skin.
    “I swear I don’t know what the hell has gotten into that dog,” she said, while looking up the stairs in anger.
    “It’s me. She hates me.”
    “No, she doesn’t. She has been your