Catching Up on the Phone

I was sitting in my living room on a Saturday morning (a few days after the birthday party) trying to enjoy the a/c pumping the cold air. Florida is a very hot place to live. I was born here, but the older I get, the hotter it feels and even though Fig's uncle Georgio tells me that the cold weather way up north is no better on the old bones, sometimes I just go into hybernation mode. Yeah, I'd say that I hybernate from the beginning of April to the end of September. I go out a little more in October and March, and I only really enjoy the outdoors in Florida in the months of December, January, and February. That's the only winter we get. During those three months of our Florida winter, I'm the happiest. Besides that I just stay indoors and thank the lord that I have air conditioning. According to Georgio, it's the opposite up north. There they hybernate for the winter months starting in November and they don't come out of their caves until around April. Still, it seems a bit more balanced. Six months in, six months out, seems a lot better than 9 months in and 3 months out.

I don't want to tell Fig that she should go with her Uncle to Virginia, but if I was her I would. She's really got nothing going on here in Florida. I understand that she likes the school that her kids go to, but without her Uncle or his home, all she's got is me and I'm in no position to take care of her and her two kids.

My little home only has one bedroom and one bathroom. I had always given the bedroom to my son Seth because I didn't want him to feel like he had no privacy. Now that Seth has moved out, I finally got a bedroom and my own bathroom. Seth moved to Colorado to live with Kenan in July. He's already started his Senior year at a high school in Denver. He seems happy with his decision and Kenan seems happy to have some time to get to know him. My conversations with Kenan are very brief, but sometimes Seth and I talk on the phone just to check on each other.

Just as I began to whip up some chicken salad in the kitchen, I heard my cell phone ringing. I decided to finish what I was doing and eat before I looked at the phone. I mean, c'mon, do I always have to drop everything just to answer the phone? The phone always seems to ring at the most inopportune times. Like when I'm sitting on the toilet. Or when I'm all soaped up in the shower. Or right after I've taken a seat with my lunch or dinner. I don't get many calls from many people, so I usually rush to see who's calling. But I tell you, my friends and family are awful about call times. They never call when I'm bored and lonely. They seem to only want to talk on the phone when I'm busy with something.

When I was finished eating my chicken salad sandwich, I looked at my phone to see who had called. It was Seth, and as usual he didn't leave a message.

So I called him back and he answered right away.

"Hey Mom," he said in his regular tone of voice, so I knew there was nothing wrong or to be worried about.

"Hi Seth," I said, "How's Colorado going? Do you like your new school?"

"Yeah Mom," he replied as if my basic questions were annoying, "I was just calling to see how you were doing?"

"Oh," I said, then added, "I'm alright. I get bored sometimes, but we had a nice party for Fig a few days ago. You know, I try to find things to do."

"I miss you," he said and he never says that which had me a bit suspicious.

"I miss you too," I replied, "Are you sure everything is ok there? Are you hinting at wanting to come back?"

"No," he said matter-of-factly, "I think Kenan is great. I've got my own room. The school is cool. And Kenan said he might set me up with a car and a job once I graduate."

"That's wonderful," I said proud of him and happy that Kenan was being good to him.

"It's just that I worry about you," he added with a tone of sincere concern.

"Oh honey, that is so sweet," I replied, "Really, I'm okay. I know you've been the man of the home for a long time. What? You think I can't take care of myself? I'm fine. Loneliness and boredom are not going to do any major damage, okay?"

"Yeah," Seth said feeling assured, "That's good. Well, if you get lonely or bored and you need someone to talk to, you know, I don't mind."

"Good to know," I said smiling. "I love you Seth."

"I love you too Mom," he said.

Then we ended the conversation and I smiled very content. It was the nicest conversation I had ever had with him on the phone. I guess it only took him moving across the country for him to soften up on the phone.

I started cleaning up. I shook out the small fluffy carpet in the living room. I made sure that any dishes I had left in the sink were washed and put away. I checked the bathroom - it was clean enough. I took the garbage out. I hadn't made my bed and I left it unmade. Though I always said to Seth that a bed made in the morning is a good routine, today I wasn't in the mood to make it.

As I sat down to turn the television on, I heard the cell phone ring again. I sighed and almost laughed. I went to the charging station and grabbed my phone.

"Dani, it's me Fig," she said after I answered.

"Yeah, I know, what's up?"

"Have you been watching the news? We're getting smacked with another hurricane."

"No, I haven't had a chance to watch t.v. yet. How bad is it?"

"They're saying it could be a 3 or a 4," she replied.

"That's pretty bad," I commented.

"We better get our supplies, you know, water and stuff, just in case."

"Yeah," I agreed, "Is your Uncle handling it there or do you need a ride?"

"No, he's got it under control here. I just wanted to make sure you were ok."

"Thanks," I said, "I better make a run for gas and water."

"Good idea," she agreed.