I shot to my feet and switched the phone to my other ear. "Oh my God, you are a miracle worker! How did you pull it off?"
"I have a friend at GMAC that owes me a favor." Normally Mom was her own biggest fan, but today my admiration was super nova to her satellite moon.
"But my credit..." I started. "A defaulted school loan, a repo--"
"Hey, it's me we're talking about now."
"You sure got that right. You're the best!"
Mom let it soak in for a second. "So when are you coming then?"
"Jeff and I are making a mini-vacation out of it and are going to take an Amtrak. We'll be down next week."
"Great. But do me a favor?"
"Sure Mama-san, anything."
"Don't tell Jeff about Scotty, ok?"
"Like you had to tell me. I wouldn't say anything about that."
"I know," she said, "but that is very personal to me and I had to make sure."
"Don't worry about it Mom. I'll keep my mouth shut."
***
The Amtrak tickets were almost as expensive as airfare, but the seats were as comfortable as first-class. Jeff and I were enjoying the experience, traveling in time-honored fashion.
"Listen," I said to Jeff, "That stuff I told you about Scotty..."
Jeff perked up from his seat beside me with a devilish grin. "Yeah?"
"Don't say anything to my Mom about it. She specifically told me not to say anything, and of course I already opened my big mouth."
"You're not very good at keeping secrets," he laughed.
"I don't know why I run on so much about personal issues that are best kept to myself. That was Casey's big complaint--"
"The bitch?"
I raised an eyebrow. "Thank you Jeff. The bitch told me that I lack healthy boundaries."
"I don't know why you would take stock in anything she had to say anyway." He rested his head against a pillow that looked more like overstuffed ravioli and closed his eyes.
***
"Mom, this is Jeff."
She took his hand. "Hello Jeff, I am so glad to finally meet you. Scott says the most wonderful things about you."
"All untrue of course," Jeff said.
"You are a good friend to take this trip with him."
I clapped him on the back. "Only the best Mom."
Pictures of family and friends adorned the walls; stand-up 8x10 frames were propped on end-tables and atop a green faux-antique entertainment center--featuring a high quality portrait of Mom and Scotty where Jeff's eyes came to rest.
"Your husband?" He asked.
"Yeah," she said as she waved it off, "but he's in Huntsville for dealing drugs. He got caught selling to a cop. How smart was that?"
17 comments:
What characters you've had in your life... So your Mom then married a man also named Scott?
I don't know if the question has been answered before but are you and Jeff still friends - or is that a story for another time? :)
How did you like the train ride? I love riding on trains.
Tee - My mom's husband was Scotty, a wierd coincidence. The train was a lot of fun, but I glossed over the details. Unfortunately, Jeff and I are no longer friends. You can read about it here. I enjoyed writing that post, but it made me sad.
Ouch. Definitely shouldn't have been said.
I'll read that link. Nice writing by the way.
Weird. I've known some people like that, but I guess I was lucky that I was never close friends with someone like that. I wouldn't think he was gay, but more needy, in a highly neurotic way.
Zombie - You hit the nail on the head. Thank you. I don't think he was gay either, and we would still be friends if he could have let go a little. The loss of his friendship is one of the biggest failures of my life, but I couldn't handle him. It's too bad because he is one of the best people I have ever known.
As for the other book you recommended, it's on order. The self-editing book just happened to come in first, but I am totally reading the other when it comes in. Thanks for the suggestions, and the support.
The loss of a friendship is always hard. I've had people like that in my life and it's real hard.
Oh, I forgot to tell you that I like your writing style. It's very easy to read and has a rhythm all of its own.
I was confused there for a minute, but finally figured out that you weren't referring to yourself in the third person (yes, it's been a long day!)...well written, Scott.
One more thing - when reading your entry in the guestbook I couldn't figure out if you meant you couldn't find the blog to comment on or you couldn't find a blog entry you wanted to comment on. If it's the first, journal entry is right under guestbook in the "Things to do" section. If it's the latter, keep coming back, I switch gears everywhere.
You've lead an interesting life it seems. You make it sound interesting anyway. Great for your writing. ;)
Great story! Thanks for sharing. I'm coming back to check out the Jef one.
Eve - I'm finding out that many people have a similar story, which in an odd way gives me some comfort. Thanks for the compliment by the way. I read the prologue on your site. I like the beginning, and will offer more on your site when I get back today from an appointment.
Chloe - How do you think I felt. I went from being mommies little Scotty to plain Scott when she met him so that we could tell the difference when being summoned.
Moni - Yeah, I've had some times. Some of my earlier blog entries get into some deep details.
Jenn - Thanks for dropping in. I'll be stopping by later today.
I see where you got your secret keeping skills from!! lol
Jen - Yay! That was the whole point of the piece, so I'm glad it came across. Listen slacker, how come you haven't been writing lately? I want to know about the reunion.
ahem...I posted the final part of the kissing saga Scotty!
I will update tomorrow about the reunion. I have a lot to write.
Your dialoge is well written.
I think if an author has that down, everything else should fall into place with practice.
Jen - I thought only guys kiss and told. Joking. Great post and keep them coming.
Mrs T - Me too =8>(
Sadie - Thanks for that. Dialogue isn't the only skill needed, but a story that has all the other necessary elements will certainly fail without it.
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