She chuckled, shrugged, didn’t know what to think. She was acting more like a cheerleader than anything that a mother might resemble, other than considerably older. ‘I don’t know, if you like. But feel free to just call me Marie if it feels right.’
‘Okay…’
‘So here’s the deal,’ Marie said, showing him around the apartment. ‘The couch is pretty decent for sleeping, but we can take turns, unless you’re not uncomfortable sharing? I won’t object. We’ll probably end up talking all night anyway; all the catching up.’
She had shown him everything-bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and living room. It wasn’t big but there was plenty of breathing space. All that Rob could really process, after just twenty minutes meeting his biological mother up close and personal, was how enchanted he was with her.
He couldn’t help it. There was something about this woman. Marie was thirty eight now but she had a youth about her-be it her personality or her soul-that made them kindred. She could have been his babysitter when he was twelve, or his adoptive cousin, who wasn’t even ten years older than he was.
‘I’m okay with whatever,’ he smiled.
The air between them intensified then. They hugged again, another tight and soundless hug that lasted forever. Together they stood laughing in each other’s arms and yet neither was aware of what the other knew for sure. That intensity hadn’t gone away in the slightest.
They had dinner, washing it down with enough coffee to wire a zoo full of monkeys. Not that they needed it, although their day had been tiring. The air between them crackled and roared. It was a party for two and if the house were on fire they’d have only escaped to return with marshmallows.
Marie had lived alone for so long that Rob filled her quiet world with so much joy and laughter and yet the boy had always seemed so quiet and introspective elsewhere. It was as if they brought each other to life.
By one that morning, they were still at it. The conversation gradually turned to relationships, girlfriends and boyfriends. Anybody who didn’t know their story wouldn’t have known from listening that they were mother and son. Marie and Rob didn’t have those boundaries and so it felt good to be able to talk about their frustrations.
‘So is there a lucky lady in your life?’ she pried.
‘I haven’t been with anyone in almost two years,’ he admitted freely. He was perfectly happy with that, so it seemed.
‘That’s a long time for such a handsome young man. What kind of girls do you like?’
He blushed. It seemed so unfitting of his rugged appearance. She found that adorable and couldn’t help but smile sideways as she gazed at him, head resting in the palm of her hand.
‘I like redheads actually.’
‘Oh wow, there’s hope for me yet.’
‘Redheads with lots of freckles and big blue eyes, big boobs…’
Marie looked down her own v-neck top and straight back at Rob. She wasn’t sure whether he was saying what he saw or if this was half the reason for their natural magnetism.
‘Rob’s mom has got it goin’ on, eh?’ she teased. ‘You’re a painfully good looking man. I bet you have no trouble. And there are plenty redheads by that description in this part of the world. Why the wait?’