Truth or Consequences

chapter 6

Mom wants to come to mine for lunch today. She's worried that her mobility will go down in the next couple of months and she won't be able to. Which I mean, is very likely... She has a Fentanyl pain patch she sticks on now. It gets changed every three days; she's sick of swallowing so many pills. Seeing her like this is hard, but she wants life to be normal. Girl, me too.

I go to her building so I can walk her over. I just don't trust that she's going to make the journey alone; she's starting to look fragile. She's waiting for me when I let myself in.

"Helene, baby, I'm so excited! It's like a field trip. But also, as you were coming up, I realized you invited a special guest!"

"I'm glad you're excited, mama, but there's no special guest." I'm utterly confused, and I know my face shows it.

"Oh... Okay, this should be good then!"

What is she talking about? She hooks her arm in mine, we take the elevator down, and we slowly walk across the street back to my building. It just barely registers that Felix's car is parked in front of us because he is sitting on my stoop, and when he looks up, he is smiling. I look at my mom, and she is practically trembling with happiness.

"When did you see this unfold?"

"The car pulled up as you were entering my building. I figured things were going well enough, and you wanted me to meet him."

I mean... Things are not, not going well. I suppose if you're going to share the ugliest part of you... You should rip off the band-aid.

"Hi."

"Hi. I texted you that Sundays are not good for me."

"Yeah. And I thought you sent that because of our conversation yesterday." He says this smiling and looking between me and my mom.

"You are a very attractive young man." My mom interjects, not wanting to be ignored.

"Oh, um... thank you. I'm Felix. I'm seeing your daughter. Well, trying to..." He shakes Mom's hand.

"Hi Felix, I'm Gabrielle. Helene is stubborn; she gets it from me. But stick around, she's amazing."

"I'm right here," I say, waving my hand.

Felix grabs my hand, kisses it, and entwines our fingers. "You are amazing."

My face flushes, and I clear my throat. "Okay, well, it was great seeing you. Bye"

"Nonsense," Mom says as she glares at me. "He's joining us. Felix, how about you help me up these stairs?"

He lets go of my hand and puts his arm around her waist, using his other hand to hold hers. What is happening? He looks back at me with that smile, the one that makes me smile... he is loving this. I follow them up and let them in. We all take off our shoes, and I see Felix has owls on his socks. Does he own any boring socks?

"Mama, you want the couch or the nook?"

"The nook... I want to know more about this handsome boy that makes my daughter happy." I roll my eyes and grab her a pillow to sit on. Hard surfaces have become really uncomfortable to sit on for her. I also grab her a pair of fuzzy socks before she even needs to ask.

"Oh, you talked about me??" He looks between us like a sweet happy puppy.

"No, not really... my mom's just a creeper." The look my mom gives me makes me look down. I'm in my mid-twenties, and she can still manage to give me that look.

Felix and my mom start talking as I bring plates and the food I bought to the table. I got us subs with snacks and fruit. I had planned to eat my sub between lunch and dinner, but I split it with Felix instead. He smiles when he sees this; the look in his eyes hit me to my core. I really do love the way he makes me feel.