Changes

Mother

After Doctor Stephens' visit, Jack sat in anticipation of the arrival of his mother. He loved his mother dearly, but after his father disappeared they'd had a troubled relationship. First and foremost, she disapproved of Jack's heavy drinking, always quick to point out that he was following in his father's footsteps; his regular evening cruises had never helped to dispel that notion. They did get along for the most part, but it wasn't unusual for them to get into arguments. It might be over petty things, like how loud Jack's music was when he sat in his room, or his choice in clothing for the day. Sometimes though, it was over more serious subjects, such as how he had dropped out of high school when he was so close to graduating, or when worst came to worst, how the part of her that blamed him for his father leaving came to the surface. His mother was against drinking, but sometimes she would partake in it, mainly on the rare occasions she had guests over for the evening, or when the depression which plagued her became too much to bear.  It was on those nights of depressed drinking that the blame for his father's departure fell on Jack. It didn't help that more often than not, Jack was drunk also, leaving both of them in a battle of slurred words and cusses. But, these nights always ended in the same way: with Jack and his mother holding each other, crying away the pain from the memories of their lost love, which were growing ever so distant over time.

Jack laid down in his hospital bed, deciding it would be best if his mother found him asleep; this might ease her worries concerning him. Just as he was drifting off, he heard the door to his room open. He remained with his eyes closed, hoping to pull off the facade of rest. Not a moment later he felt his mother gently prodding him awake from his false sleep.

"Jack...Jack, wake up." His mother cooed softly, in a tone of voice he'd hardly heard since childhood.

He stirred a bit, then rubbed his eyes as he pulled the upper half of his body up to rest on his pillow.

"Hello Cynthia." He said dozily; calling his mother by her first name always got a rise out of her, though why he did it now he didn't understand.

"Hi Jack, how are you feeling sweetie?" She said this with love in her voice, but he could see what he called her had left its mark.

"Oh not too bad, just a bit sore is all. I was just trying to get some sleep when you came in." He said innocently, though inside he relished in the glimpse of anger he had witnessed in his mother's eyes. He now realized he called her that because he hadn't wanted his mother to feel sorry for him, but seeing the worried look in her eyes made him regret his earlier remark.

"Have they been feeding you well? I know those hospital portions aren't enough to feed a grown person, let alone the quality of food they usually serve."

"Oh the food's not too bad. I had Salisbury steak with peas tonight. It actually wasn't too bad, but not as good as yours, obviously." Jack let out a small laugh at this last comment, though this was the only truth is his words. He felt the need to lie to his mother, just to try and help dispel the worry which was clearly visible on her face.

"Well it won't be long until you're back home with me; I'll cook you up a big steak, rare, and with lumpy mashed potatoes, just how you like them."

"Yeah that would be great mom, I'm craving food that isn't cooked to death. You know I like it squirming on my plate." He smiled as he said this, and felt reassured when his mother did the same.

"Except I have one condition: you can't drink any alcohol until your arm is healed."

"Awe come on mom, what else am I going to do while I'm recovering. I can't just sit there and do nothing."

"Maybe you could try reading some. You used to do it so much, and enjoy it too. It may be a bit difficult with one of your arms being lame, but I think you'll manage. I'm sorry Jack, I just hope a little time away from the bottle will help you rethink things. Not to mention the fact that you can't drive, and I certainly won't be driving you to get any."