Loretta walked out and looked around on the table and the chair and
finally found them shoved down behind the door in the carpeting. It was
such a small house, situated in low income housing for older people who
did not want to be bothered by children in a neighborhood. It gave them
the opportunity to be totally free from the noises and the broken
windows. But deep down, neither of them could be happy. They had tried
to build a security wall around themselves in hopes that their family
would hold together.
"I mean it Rod. This boy, the only thing he can talk about is coming to
Buffalo to see you guys." Mike said, trying to get his friend's
attention, and feeling somewhat brushed off by his friend.
Nevertheless, Mike felt that it was up to him to talk and ramble or
whatever the case may be in his friend's eyes.
Rod opened the door for them, Loretta having thrown him the keys to
their blazer. "Good. We're happy to have you two around here." He said
with a warm smile, then messing up the kid's hair for a laugh. "And
maybe this boy will get some action."
"He's pretty smart, not out sleeping with every girl he sees." Mike
added, trying to defend his son, who was feeling uncomfortable being
looked upon so negatively by the obviously dirty old man that Rod was.
"Well you a virgin boy?" Rod said with a passing glance.
"Uh..." the poor boy stuttered, "Ye..yes.. I am." The teenage boy
looked up at the pictures on the wall of Rod and Loretta's
grandchildren. His eyes skipped across them until it found the picture
of their granddaughter Katie in the arms of her mother. A weary sigh
escaped him in his shame.
"Never been with a girl... eat pussy or anything like that?" Rod
continued, which Mike didn't mind because he knew that Rod was playing
around. Rod had always been that way, and it was a crude way of being
close with the boy.
"No.." he said lowering his head, "I've never been with a girl. Or even
seen what one looks like naked."
"Well that's alright boy. Good enough. You can sit in the middle seat
and we'll try and spot something for you to bring home and have some
fun with." Rod began to laugh, "If you're anything like you're old man,
when you stick that in a girl and let it explode and hear her groan
like an animal, you'll know then and there what it's all about. Never
want to do anything for the rest of your life. That's what I did."
Loretta looked back at them as they left the house shaking her head, it
was a guy thing she supposed. Something that she had never understood
about men. She was glad that Mike and Will would only be around for
three days, the weekend. They were lucky if they saw the two twice in
an entire year, and with Winter on it's way, they would most likely not
see them for another year. She really didn't like the stress of company
anymore, and was glad that her son David was having a party the
following day.
Loretta waited until the guys left, and then picked up the phone,
slowly dialing the number for her son's house. She had gotten extremely
close to her son over the past few years, embracing the life that he
had built for himself. David had become a successful craftsman who was
akin at fixing anything mechanical, even putting extremely large
amounts of money into useless pieces of equipment just to see how they
worked.
Loretta listened as her ten year old grandson answered the phone, "Yes
Timmy, this is Grandmum, is your mother there at the moment? I'd like
to speak with her please."
"Yeah I'll get her grandmum. Is Pappa coming over at all today?" Timmy
said, off track as ten year old are known to be.
Loretta rolled her eyes, she was glad that he hadn't seen it. She loved
her grandchildren dearly, and their mother over the past few years had
been one of the best at raising her children into fine ladies and
gentleman. There were two of them, a boy and a younger girl who had
just started first grade. "No, sweetie, I believe he said that he was
going to be over tomorrow though for the party."
"Ok Grandma thanks!" the boy answered.... The short silence, and then