Rob took a shine to them, which pleased her very much. ‘They do look snug.’
‘My treat, please,’ she begged, to which he accepted. Then she gushed, ‘you’ll have to show me these later, they’ll look great on you.’
He didn’t have any idea she was thinking about how big his junk felt mashed up against her earlier that day, in bed.
Early that evening they went to Chinatown for a meal. Marie was in seventh heaven, being able to treat her son like a mother wanted to. The fact that he didn’t look like her son, but more like the best date on the planet, brought new energy to her.
Dinner was playful and immature as they joked and shared stories on past dating disasters. They toasted to the best date either of them ever had, and with that they knocked back a few more drinks until it was time to head back.
‘I had a great time,’ Rob thanked and kissed her on the cheek as they sat on the train back home.
‘Thank you for being such a gentleman,’ Marie complimented and returned the kiss, then, ‘do you still want that drink?’
‘I think I might have had enough,’ he confessed. Marie agreed. So had she.
‘So what shall we do?’
‘Let’s just relax,’ Rob suggested.
‘Great idea,’ she said, then kissed the back of his hand. She sighed.
Another perfect day…
7
That night they settled into the couch to watch a movie. Both had dressed down to sweatpants and a t-shirt being that the weather was pretty warm. Marie and Rob had chosen the movie from her collection, a serial killer thriller by the name of Summer of Sam. It was a long movie but with just enough to keep them paying attention, but before long, it was mum’s turn to play little spoon.
They lay pressed together, again, fingers entwined. Without knowing it, Marie had taken her son’s hand and rested it at the underside of her breast, mashing it there and holding it down.
Rob marvelled at how he could feel her heartbeat and how strong it was and wondered if it beat so hard for him.
Halfway through, Marie rolled onto her back, leaving them face to face. Her smile was so beautiful to him, with the depth of a bottomless ocean.
‘Are you okay?’ he asked. She nodded surely but her eyes begged a question.
‘I was just thinking about things,’ she tested.
‘Like what?’
‘Like about how you got a handful of my boob!’
She looked down and laughed when he came to his senses and pulled away. Instinctively he replaced it at her hip, resting on the prominent bone. She had great hips, he noticed.
‘Sorry.’
‘No, I was thinking how it’s funny that I know you’re my son, but it feels like we’re something else. Do you know what I mean?
‘Like we’re more than that?’ he asked. He felt it too.
‘Yes!’ she exclaimed. ‘I’ve been trying to get my head around it. Somebody else is your mother. Your mother, the woman who raised you, will always be your mother. But you’re mine!’
‘I like that,’ Rob said gazing. She gazed back. The lights were out, only the light and colour of the TV screen lit them up. Occasionally Marie’s eyes would change colour and her face would change shape. She was becoming younger to him, especially in her profound innocence.