“Well, you can always focus on the hour that we conceived you!” she joked.
“Not sure that makes it easier, Mom! I’ll just have to ignore that it’s there. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, sweetie. If it really bothers you, we can get another back for it.”
“No, Mom. It represents your love for Dad, and there’s no way I’m throwing that out. I just have to remember that, and not let it embarrass me.”
My final gifts to Dad were first editions of a couple of my favorite books, to add to his collection of firsts. Not real old ones, but ones I could afford to get. Mom opened them, and smiled. “Your Dad would have loved these. You know he wanted his collection to go to you, Drew. His will even says so.”
“I know, he told me that, when you got your wills drawn up. I… just didn’t think it would be so soon.”
“Neither did I, sweetie,” she said. “Even with the medical scares he had, I thought the doctors had a handle on it all. But sometimes God has other plans, both for the dead and the living. We just have to assume God sees something good to come from this, and figure out what that is.”
“I guess. I’m going to hit the shower and get dressed for Grandma’s.” I grabbed my pile of gifts and headed to my bedroom to drop them on the bed, picked out a new shirt and jeans from among my gifts, pulled briefs and socks from my drawer and set them on top, then headed into the bathroom right next to my room, and took a quick shower. Getting out, I dried off with a towel, then took a quick peek around the door to see if the hallway was clear, draped the towel over the rod on the back of the door and made the quick dash into my room. Naked. Winding up right in front of my Mom, who was standing wrapped in a towel next to my bed. “MOM!” I shrieked, trying to cover myself. “What are you doing in here right now?”
“Why aren’t you at least in a towel?!” she countered, coolly. She tossed me the briefs I’d set aside on the bed, and said “I’ll close my eyes, you put those on.”
I pulled them on, and said “Okay, half-decent. So, again, why are you in here?”
“Some alarm on your phone was blaring, so I came in to turn it off. Sorry if I embarrassed you.” She started to walk out of the room, but as she passed me, she leaned close to me and said into my ear, while glancing downward, “Patti’s a really lucky girl,” then kissed my cheek before exiting.
“MOM!” I felt like my whole body was blushing.
I finished getting dressed in my new clothes. As I came out to the hall, I could hear Mom’s shower running, so went downstairs and tidied up a bit, while I waited for her to get ready. Finally, I heard her coming down the stairs.
And she took my breath away. “Mom? You look fantastic!” She was wearing the blue sweater I’d gotten her over a pair of jeans, and it looked fabulous on her. It was both snugger and showed more cleavage than her usual wardrobe, every one of her curves highlighted.
“As good as Patti would look in it?” she asked.
“Don’t tell her this, but I think it looks better on you than it would her. She doesn’t, um, have your, um, chest.”