She watched out the window as the man in rainbow suspenders argued with his mother.
“Mom, how many times do I have to tell you? She’s not my girlfriend.”
“Is she a girl?”
“She’s 37. I’d say she’s a woman.”
“Oh, a woman. I see. A loose woman, I suppose.”
“Mother!”
“I know what women want. Women want only two things. And you ain’t got money.”
“It’s not like that. You… Why, you’re a woman. Is that what you want?”
“I’m not a woman. I’m a mother.”
“I can’t believe I’m having this conversation. Mother, I’m 53 years old. If I want to take a woman to Starbucks for coffee, I can darn well do so without answering to my mother.”
“That’s right. It’s a free world. Do what ever you want. It’s all the rage now. Coffee. Cappacino. Venereal Disease.”
“I’m leaving now, mother.”
“When will you be back?”
“I don’t know.”
“How will I know when to start dinner?”
“Fix something for yourself when you’re hungry. I can always eat leftovers.”
“Oh, it’s like that now, is it?”
“What, mother?”
“You’re going to put coffee with a strange woman over dinner with your mother?”
“Okay. Fine. I’ll be home by 6.”
“Six is awfully late to eat, isn’t it. What about your acid reflux?”
“5:30 then. Now, I have to go. Goodbye mother.”
“Sonny?”
“What, mother?”
“Nevermind?”
“What?”
“It’s just. I love you.”
“I love you too, ma. Now go take a nap.”
Sonny smiled as he slid into his Ford Escort. He might never understand women. But he knew his mother pretty well.
from Melissa Chapman
The first line was provided in a writing prompt from Today’s Author.
