The boys took a closer look at the paper and instantly realized it wasn’t real. Their jaws dropped and it was obvious their hearts were broken.
“It was a joke,” she said again, this time more softly. “It was partly revenge for the last prank you pulled on me. And it was partly to teach both of you that sometimes jokes can be hurtful. Can either of you say something?”
Both of them were stone faced for a while.
She added, “I also got you guys $200 gift cards for Amazon, each. You guys can buy plenty of things with that. Exciting, right?”
Amy took the gift cards out of her pocket and placed them on the table, in front of each of her sons.
“I think I’m going to my room,” Bobby said, getting up to leave in a somber tone.
Billy added, “Not cool mom. Not cool at all.”
He also got up and sadly left, leaving Amy to sit there alone, filled with remorse.
*
It was Billy’s turn to do the dishes that night. So he stood by the sink and washed everything. Normally he’d be making jokes and engaging in conversation with his mother, but he wasn’t in the mood.
“Talk to me,” she said, leaning against the kitchen counter while Billy did the dishes. “What’s on your mind?”
“Nothing,” he replied in a zombie-like tone. “Sorry we overreacted earlier. Thanks for the gift cards.”
He still couldn’t bring himself to make eye contact, instead focusing on getting the dishes done. Amy pressed closer.
“It seems like something important. I’m your mother. I know I’m always busy, but I’ll always be there for both of you. You can tell me anything.”
“You won’t like it.”
This alarmed her. “I mean it. Anything.”
Billy finished the dishes and turned the water off, then he faced his mother. His expression was neutral. He didn’t seem mad. But it was clear that there was a lot on his mind.
“It’s just that moving here to Alaska has been hard for us,” he tried to explain. “But we didn’t want to say anything because you’re so passionate about your military career. We want to support you 100%. So we kept quiet.”
She was stunned. “I… I had no idea. Really?”
“Yes, mom. We’re miserable here. It’s boring. That’s why we were so excited about the chance to move back to California.”
“I’m sorry.”
It felt like a massive punch to her gut. This came totally out of nowhere. All this time she had the wrong impression of how her sons felt. But there was more. And it only got worse.
“That’s why we play jokes all the time,” he explained. “There’s nothing else to do. We don’t fit in here. We’ve never had any girlfriends here. We belong in a place like California where we already have tons of like-minded friends.”
Amy gulped, “I’m so sorry. You should have told me.”
“We can’t. Being a ranking officer in the Air Force means everything to you. So we’ll never complain.”
He was right, too. Which was why this was so devastating to her. Most of her life was dedicated to the military.
“I’ll think of something,” she said, trying to console him in whatever way possible. “We can work through this.”
“It’s okay, mom. Seriously, we’ll be fine.”
Sensing his mother’s distress, he leaned in to give her a quick kiss on the cheek, and thanked her again for the gift card before going upstairs to his room.