Bad Seed

“Michael!” My mom’s voice was bright. I closed my eyes and tried to keep my annoyance in check.

“Hi, Mom,” I said. “How’d you know I was here?”

“I didn’t,” Mom said. “But I called your house and your cell first.”

“Oh,” I said. “Sorry about that. I’ve been in a meeting all morning.”

“On a Saturday?” Mom asked. I could hear the worry in her voice.

“Everything’s fine,” I said. “Just some last-minute issues with a tool package I have up in Alaska.”

“Oh, okay,” Mom said. She didn’t really understand my work. Mostly because she never tried to. “Well, I’m sure you’ll get it all worked out.”

“I’m sure I will,” I said. “So, what’s up?”

I wanted to get off the phone quickly. My day was already miserable, and I wanted nothing more than to go back home and hide under my covers for the rest of the weekend.

“I’m calling about Christmas,” Mom said. “Are you still planning to be here?”

“Yes,” I said. “Of course.”

“Okay good!” Mom squealed. “I’m so excited. Your father is, too. He’s been planning the menu for two weeks now.”

“You don’t need to go to any trouble,” I said. “It’s just us, right?”

“Well, the neighbors may stop by,” Mom said. “But that’s another thing I wanted to ask you. Are you bringing your new girlfriend along?”

I froze. I couldn’t remember telling my mom about Julie, but I knew I must have. My mom waited silently for my answer.

“No,” I said. “Julie and I aren’t seeing each other anymore.”

“Oh no,” Mom said. “What happened?”

Telling my mom about Julie’s connection to Josh would only make things more complicated. My mom, who adopted me when I was just a baby, was already nervous about my relationship with my brother. When Josh first tracked me down, Mom spent weeks trying to talk me out of meeting him. She was terrified that my biological family would somehow steal me away from her.

“It’s not worth talking about,” I said. My voice was weak. It took all my strength to keep talking. “We just didn’t work out. That’s all.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Mom said. “I could tell you really liked her.”

“You could?” I asked.

“Well,” Mom said. “You haven’t mentioned a girl to me since that horrible ex of yours. I knew this one must be special if you were telling me about her.”

“Yeah.” I sighed. “She is pretty special.”

“Then—” Mom began, but I stopped her quickly.

“I have to get going,” I said. “Work is just nonstop right now, Mom.”

“Okay,” Mom said. “I understand.”

“I’ll see you for Christmas,” I said. “Love you.”

“I love you too, honey.”

I could tell my mom didn’t want to get off the phone. She was constantly worried about me. She thought I worked too much and too hard. She insisted that I didn’t have enough of a life. It probably made her so happy to find out I was seeing someone. And now, I’d disappointed her yet again.

With a groan, I left the conference room. Marcy was still sitting at her desk. She looked at me nervously when I approached.