incandescent (3.)

The Healing Properties of Rum

BRAYLEN.

MY BUTTON-UP SHIRT felt like a noose around my throat.

        I was often grateful for my aunt's kind and forgiving nature, but days like this really made me wish she'd be a bit more pessimistic at times. Because if I was a recovering addict, a small party with a specially printed, neon, welcome home poster would make me wonder why I even left rehab in the first place. I'd probably take the first flight back.

        "Places, everyone! Her car will be dropping her off in just a moment," Oba says, clapping her hands as she floats around the room. Lennox and I exchange a look; he liked Oba well enough, but I knew her extroverted tendencies freaked my introverted friend out from time to time.

        I chuckle as he clambers to his feet, also dressed in a nice button-up, and stands beside me at the kitchen counter. "Don't you look all handsome," I joke, knowing that Nox's answering glare will be worth the teasing. Sure enough, he scowls at me so viciously that I can't help but laugh. "Thanks for coming. Really. I could use the support."

        He shrugs, smiling softly. "Of course. I'm just sorry the others couldn't make it."

        I shrug back. When Oba told me about this impromptu party and asked me to invite all my friends, I'd been on the phone with her in the living room. Nox was there and quickly agreed, though I never went to ask the rest of my friends. Besides Nox, Robyn, and Roman, no one even knew she was back. It wasn't exactly like I wanted any of them to meet my mother, especially not at her rehab recovery party. I figured the fewer people to witness this shit show, the better. Poor Nox was collateral damage, but a part of me was happy he was here. It felt nice to not be alone for once.

        I inhale sharply, the familiar feeling of anxiety pooling in my chest. I hadn't seen my mother since Sebastian and I visited her in Maine my senior year. So much had changed since then. Too much. And now, things were changing again.

        A hand touches my shoulder softly, and I turn to see Nox standing beside me with an encouraging expression. I'd had forgotten he was there, so lost in my thoughts. I smile. "Sorry. Just nervous."

        "Don't be," he responds easily. "We'll stay here for a little and then we can go to the diner and get milkshakes. We can even ask Betty to put a dash of rum in them. She's got a wild spirit, I'm sure she won't mind."

        I shake my head, imagining dear, old Betty harboring a bottle of rum and putting portions of it in our drinks. I don't think she'd ever even consider doing something like that, and the mental image of her doing so eases my anxiety enough for me to laugh. "You're an idiot," I say, still laughing. "But thank you."

        Lennox winks back at me and then Oba's rushing into the kitchen, flowy blue dress trailing behind her. "Her car just dropped her off. This is it, boys. Gerard!" she shouts and Nox and I both make a face at her excitement.

        Gerard rushes into the room, still working on tying his tie. "I'm coming, I'm coming." He tightens the yellow tie with a satisfied grin. "Is she here yet?"

        As if on cue, there's a knock on the door. Aunt Amanda's eyes widen for a moment before she goes to pull the thing open, exclaiming excitedly. There's a flurry of hugs and hair being flown around as the two of them embrace one another, Oba talking so animatedly that my mother hardly has a chance to get a word in. I wondered if she fell more on the introverted side of the scale, like me. I supposed that was something I would know if she hadn't become a stranger to me all those years ago. I swallow hard, wiping my sweaty hands on my pants.