The Italian Touch

Sidewalk Gum

I wake up soaked and remember last night. I should have acknowledged the storm clouds to the West. Eh, it's alright. I haven't felt too good in a while, and that rain helped. I get up and sit on the bench and look around at the garden. It's foggy, and I notice my mother sitting 4 benches to the right of me, reading a book. She really did read, just like my father always said. My mom had dark brown straight hair that reached her lower back if she let it down, but she normally kept it in a bun. She had light blue, intelligent eyes and a small nose. A thin smile and thin, dark eyebrows. A beautiful woman. She's only 36 but her mind is older, wiser. She has the biggest heart of anyway I've ever known.
"Good morning, mother." She looked up from her book and managed a weak smile. She was also never a great actor, unlike my father. She was really hurting.
"And to you, Cole. How'd you sleep?"
"Pretty good. How'd you sleep?" I noticed the ends of her hair were dulling to grey. I'm hit with a wave of sadness as I realize exactly how hard this is on her. I think I'm still in shock.
"Well. Come here." She motions for me to sit by her. I stand up and I'm met by stars and dots of light filling my vision and a gnawing, empty stomach. Low iron, just the greatest thing ever. I smile sarcastically in my mind. The stars wear off as I walk towards my mother and join her on the bench.
"You're very brave, love." My mother sets her book on the bench beside her and looks at me.
I smile slightly. "Thank you."
"I know that you want to go. I know that you weren't supposed to tell anyone. I know how much you trust your father, and I don't doubt him. I also know that I cannot stop you." I can hear my mom struggling for words and look at her face that desperately screams for help silently.
"You need to go. I love you so much. But you need to go tonight. Before you change your mind. You are an amazing young man and I'm humbled to be your mother."
"But mom I"
"Now now, Cole. No buts. You need to do it. Before we both change our minds. I love you more than anything, and so did your dad. Please go."
"Okay." I barely got the word out before my mother pulled me into a tight hug and kissed my head. I felt her place something in my hand, like a small portrait photo with something that felt like a small electronic chip on the back of it. "Never forget us, son. You are an amazing boy that I know will grow into an even better man. You can do anything. Remember though, don't fly too close." And with this she stood up and made her way into the house. I stayed on the bench for a few minutes after my mother left and looked at what she placed into my hand. It was a picture of me crouched on a stone post on a small bridge with my father sitting on the wall of the bridge and my mother standing behind Nickie (who was standing on the opposite side of me) with her hands on Nickie's shoulders with an electronic chip on the back. I remember that day, in New York. We live in New Jersey. We found a really nice hiking path that eventually led to this magical seeming clearing with a waterfall, river, and this bridge. My father was naming all the plants along the hiking path, whispering their long latin names and facts. My mom was taking pictures of everything. Nickie was writing about the views in French. She always said she needed to practice her French. Me and her could speak, understand, write, and read a bunch of languages. Spanish, Latin, German, French, and Italian to name a few. I get up and walk inside. My mom must've made breakfast before she came outside earlier. Pancakes, waffles, eggs, bacon, sausage, etc. And still warm, she must've been out there only a few minutes before I woke up. I take 3 or 4 of everything. I haven't eaten since the night before last, so I walk into our main living room and start eating immediately. The News is on the TV, the headline, "Government official Leonardo Marino found dead in bed July 4th. No word from his family". For the first time, I notice 20 or 30 paparazzi and news people outside. One looks directly at the window I'm looking out of from the couch and raises his camera. I think fast, chugging my orange juice and catching light on the glass and aiming it directly at the camera, crossing my fingers it reaches the camera to blind it. The camera flashes and I see the paparazzi look puzzled at the camera. Mental arm pump. I place my plates on the ground and drop to the ground, sliding my plates across the room out of view of the window then rolling like a seal towards them. Once I'm out of sight, I pick up my plates and head to the secondary, upstairs and out of view living room to finish my breakfast. It sucks being important.

I cannot sleep. My mind is going twenty thousand miles per hour, I'm pretty sure I've thought more in the last ten minutes than the average American does in two days. Haha, that'd be impossible considering I'd have to think at least 5,000 thoughts per second which would most likely-
It's only 10. My brain slows and I smile. I hop out of bed and tip toe to the garage.
"Karen, add "auto-tint" to the house command list." I speak to the house. A cliche, female robotic voice responds.
"Of course, Leonardo. And what shall be the set off perimeter?"
"20 feet."
"Done. I have set the windows to auto-tint when motion is detected anywhere from 20 feet around the house."
After about an hour and a half of hard work, I walk out of the garage holding my work.
30 pieces of chewed up gum.
Well, it's actually nanotech disguised as gum. I walk around the outside of the house in a circle about 30 feet away from the walls and occasionally stop to stick a piece of gum into a pavement crack. Come morning, paparazzi will be here to take pictures, step past the infa-red light line that "connects" one piece of gum to the next, and they wont be able to take pictures. It's a magnetic field that disrupts cameras. Now I'm somewhat content knowing I've helped my mother with privacy and I've had a good, cold walk at midnight. I walk back inside to my bedroom and sit down at my bed. It's time.