The Love Receipt (English)

Chapter 5

It's Monday, and I am really worried about Liam. Since last Wednesday (the day we had 'the talk'), he's been on the couch, drinking beer (luckily for me, my whiskey is still full in the cabinet) and eating potato chips. I thought things would get better, but I don't see any change in him.

In fact, I think he was really expressive and he is doing what he told me: he won't be a pain in the ass anymore. However, he is, because this is NOT the Liam I want to have in my house. I want the responsible one, the one who cleans his dishes and doesn't accumulate beer bottles under the sofa. Ideally, I want the version of him that doesn't drink, is 16, and goes to high school. But, of course, I'm not going to have that because he is 23 and is doing exactly the things I don't want him to do.

Lord, save me. I need a real vacation. I took 20 days off work before mom's death, and I've already used 10 of them. I can't believe I'm going back to the office so soon. I need 50 liters of coffee, five bottles of Jack Daniel's, and a new brother before that. Because when I return to work, I won't be able to keep an eye on Liam anymore; I fear I'll come home and find him buried under chip packets and beer bottles.

I need to prevent that.

"Liam, do you want to go shopping?" I ask, attempting to initiate a conversation that could get us out of the house. As I gaze into the kitchen, all I can think is how sick I am of this place right now. "I'll buy you an Xbox, like an early Christmas gift."

"You what?" I hear him jump from the sofa, and luckily, from here, I can only hear him. Not seeing Liam in the same position all day is the perfect way to fake dementia.

Liam appears in the kitchen, looking a bit surprised. I guess the mention of an Xbox caught his attention. Anything to get him out of this couch-potato routine.

"I mean it," I insist, "A new Xbox. But first, we need groceries. Are you in?"

Liam hesitates for a moment, then nods. He is not drunk, which is good. It's a small victory, but it feels like a step in the right direction. Anything to break this monotony.

"Groceries from Gigi's shop?" he asks while he enters the kitchen and puts a beer in the fridge (YAS, one that is not under the sofa), "Because I think I bought something in there the night I invited the homeless people around and maybe, just maybe, I flirted with Gigi's daughter."

"You didn't!," I laugh. Gigi is a super old woman who owns the grocery shop closest to home. Every time Liam came home (every six months, and only because his favorite soccer team played here) we would stop by Gigi's shop and shop a lot of snacks and apple juice (our fav, ever). It was actually mom's favorite shop because she always stayed talking to Gigi, but that was before Gigi got sick (fucking Alzheimer) and now her daughter was running the shop by herself, "Gigi's daughter is at least 40, you idiot."

"I know, I am sorry. I will appreciate your discretion."

"Okay then, we will have to go to another one. Maybe Ahori's, is that okay?"

"Who?" He looks at me with his eyebrows furrowed, as if I had just spoken in another language.

"Ahori's Shop Shop," I say, "Please tell me you didn't flirt with anyone there."

"Guess no." He laughs and then takes his sunglasses from the bookshelf (why did he put them in there? Idk), "But if there is a woman in there, I can't promise you that I will keep my composure. I am mom's son, after all."

This is the Liam I want so much. This funny-egocentric guy who always laughs. I just want to put that sound in a jar, close it, and put it on my nightstand. I want to keep him like this, forever. But I don't know if I would ever be able to do that.