Red Operation

V: Farewell, Mississippi!

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Five: Farewell, Mississippi!

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April 29th

The sun rose and the rooster sang in time. This day, however, Stephen decided not to wait for it and rose even before the sun did. He found his mother downstairs, already preparing coffee. She was never much of a light sleeper, so he was surprised to see her up before the rooster.

"I don't know if I'll have time for breakfast today, mom. I want to get there earlier to make it up for getting there late Saturday. I'll still have to hear Glenn's bullshit about me not getting late, he spared me from that on Sunday."

"I need to talk to you." She said, sitting at the table.

"Can it be fast, I am already kind of late."

"You're just fine, no need to worry about Glenn anymore."

"Why? Did he die, too?"

"Can you sit, please? It's important." She said, pointing to the chair in front of her with her hand.

"Okay." He sat, "I'm listening."

"I spoke to your aunt Rose yesterday."

"When?"

"Last night, I called her while you were having a shower, I did not want you to hear it and get your hopes too high. But I spoke with her and she said that I can spend as much time as I'd like at her house."

"Mom..." She raised her hand.

"Stephen, I am putting this house for sale." He motioned to speak but she interrupted, "I don't want to hear whatever you're going to say, I have already made up my mind. I am going to speak to a real estate agent this morning to see if we can find a buyer as soon as possible and agree on a price. I'll send half the money to a bank in DC and you'll get it there so you can settle down with some comfort."

"Am I going to have to leave you behind?"

"I am not moving to DC with you. You need to find your space, you need to have some time for yourself to really be who you are and I fear that me living with you might interfere in that."

"Thank you for doing this." He said, getting up and hugging her.

"Now go tell Glenn you're out of that shithole."

"With pleasure."

He walked out of the house. Florence took her coffee and went upstairs to get dressed to leave. She had to pass by the laundry to leave her clothes there, then go visit the agency two blocks away to see how much she could get on the house.

She put on her best dress and a hat, she wanted to make a nice impression, put on some make-up, combed her hair and left home. She took the bus to the nearest stop, walked into the laundry, which was unusually empty, left the bag with the clothes there to be washed and walked to the agency.

The door was open, but nobody was inside. She rang a bell on the desk, hoping someone would come. "In a minute!" She heard a voice, soon followed by a man, who smiled at her.

"I am sorry it took me this long, I was trying to fix the telephone. What can I help you with?"

"I'm looking to sell a house."

"Oh, perfect, you came to the right place. Here, let's talk in my office." He said, showing her the way. "Good morning, by the way."

"Good morning."

He waited for her to sit so he could sit, too and began:

"So, you're selling a house."

"Yes. It's a two-story, wooden house in Pilgrim Street, 59."