Superposition (Starting Position Sequel)

Chapter 6

"You sound strange, Ben – dazed – no, elated maybe? I don't know, but you sound different. What happened?"

Sighing, I said, "Nothing, Mom," as casually as I could, but it was no use: my mom could read minds – even miles away through a phone receiver.

"Is everything okay with Elliot?"

I sighed again. "Yes, everything's fine."

"Fine? Or fine-fine?"

Scrunching my forehead, I asked, "What does that even mean?"

"Ben... Did you – did you two –"

"Mom!" I interjected. "Stop, okay? Just stop, please."

A heavy pause filled the line. "Well, did you?"

I groaned, thought seriously about chucking my phone out the open bedroom window (even in the middle of winter, our bedroom needed to aerate), and then said, "Mom, it's none of your business. Okay? Can we please drop it?" The thought of my mom imagining Elliot and I having sex was disturbing. Actually, the entire concept seemed illegal. Why would any parent want to imagine their kid like that?

Drawing a breath, my mom said, "Fine. Dropping it. But just so you know, I'd be happy if you and Elliot had decided to take that step. I know you love each other and –"

"This isn't sounding like you've dropped it," I groaned, pushing aside the notion that the reason I had been so dazed (as my mom put it) was because Elliot and I had expressed that exact feeling only last night – my mom, however, didn't need to know that.

"You're right, you're right," she conceded. "Okay, dropping it... For now, at least" – I groaned again as she continued – "Are you excited to come home for Christmas?"

"I was," I said.

"Oh, don't be like that. I've got a lot planned. It'll be fun. We can all go get a Christmas tree, decorate the house. You know, the regular drill."

"Sounds fun," I said as I was slowly filled with the undeniable Christmas spirit that generally flooded the senses when imagining the holiday. "Elliot said she's never cut down a Christmas tree."

"Oh!" my mom exclaimed. "Well, then she will definitely have to join us – that is, if her dad is okay with it."

"I'm sure he will be," I said.

"Everything else going okay?" she asked.

"Yeah," I started. "Everything's good. We're taking finals, so it's been crazy. I think I got a total of six hours of sleep this week."

"That's not healthy, Ben."

I grinned into the phone. "I exaggerate. I'm fine. Just tired and... okay, yeah, I am looking forward to coming home." I was ready for a break; being at university was fun, but I missed my family, and the prospect of seeing them and spending the season with Elliot in the comfort of my home was making me happier by the second.

The power of the Christmas spirit.

"Anyway, I should probably get going. I've got running club in a bit." I switched the phone to my other ear, looking at the time in between.

"Okay, sounds good. Call me if you need me. Or if you're bored. Whenever. Love you, Ben."

"Love you too, Mom." I hung up and began putting on my running gear. One more week of finals and then Elliot and I would be on our way home for break. It would be our first Christmas together, and I left my apartment with a huge smile on my face.

xxx

Elliot had a pre-season event this afternoon. Pacific Northwest University, a neighboring college campus, and Western had established a good old-fashioned rivalry for as long as anyone could remember, and the two track teams took the competition as life and death – okay, not exactly. But they did take it seriously. Every year, the two teams would compete in a pre-season event to see who would come out victorious.