Michael Hunter - Come Get Me

The three of them used to say they had been destined to meet like heroes they’d read about in their story books. The only member of their group who didn’t live there was Pete. His family lived in the slightly more upscale development on the other side of town. The people who lived in that neighborhood liked to look down their noses at everybody else. It wasn’t that they were better than the rest of the town they just thought they were. At least the adults did. Kids being kids, money didn’t stop them from meeting Pete one day while they were out playing and becoming the best of friends. In another town the money thing might’ve separated them but not here. The place was too small. Friends were made wherever they could be. Once the four of them had found each other there was no separating them. Their developments were on almost opposite sides of town which could have caused a problem but they quickly learned bikes were a great invention and put them to good use. They were a wonderful way of ensuring they could play together whenever they wanted.

Jim made a few unconscious turns as he made his way through the development. All his old memories were flooding back. He wasn’t really paying attention to where he was going. He was pretty much operating on instinct. Eventually he turned down a street that made what he was thinking of and seeing come together. This street was the one that led home.

Pulling up slowly in front of his mother’s house he glanced at the front lawn and tried not to think too much about how he and Tommy had once played there when they were little. Try as he might he couldn’t help but think of all the scrapped knees and grass stained pants they gotten there which made him quickly get out of the car and make his way to the door before he started crying. When he was only a few steps from the door it swung open and his mother stepped out with a sad smile on her face. He walked the few remaining steps and came to a halt in front of her. They stood looking at each other for a few seconds until he finally couldn’t hold it in any longer and began crying. She reached out and gently wrapped her arms around him in a comforting embrace murmuring soothing words in his ear as he wept. Seeing her had just made it all come crashing in.

She’d been there when they’d scrapped their knees. She’d been the one they asked for drinks after playing in the hot sun all day. She’d been the one that could always be counted on to be there when they needed her. Even thought she didn’t always approve of him Jim realized he wasn’t the only one who had lost Tommy, his mother had too.

After he ran out of tears and collected himself he stepped back, wiping his eyes with his sleeve and a sheepish smile, and looked at her. Not much had changed since the last time he’d seen her. She'd gone a little grayer in her short brown hair, mostly around her temples, and might’ve added on a pound or two. Other than that she was the same. If he had to place an age on her he didn’t think he’d be able to, to him she always looked young. One thing that wasn’t different was that he still had to bend down to give her a hug and kiss. Ever since he’d turned fifteen he’d been taller than her. With him now standing at six feet even she only reached to about his chin. He smiled thinking how big she used to seem to him and how he’d used to have to look up to her, now she was looking up at him. It was funny how things changed. She somehow managed to raise him and his sister without any help or major mess ups, so no matter what her height he would always look up to her.

“How are you doing honey?” she asked sympathetically as she took his arm and led him to the house.

“Bout as well as can be expected,” he said after thinking about it for a few seconds.

Walking through the living room Jim glanced around curiously. He hadn’t been home in a while and was interested in seeing if his mom had changed anything. When he was little she was always rearranging the furniture trying to make the place look bigger but everything seemed to have remained the same since the last time he’d visited. There were a few more pictures hanging on the wall of his sister and her family, but other than that there was no change. He tried to ignore the empty area on one wall mom set aside for him and the family she hoped he might one day have. He didn’t like looking at it. For some reason he always felt guilty when he did. Jim didn’t know if that space would ever be filled. He hoped with all his heart it would, but right now he just didn’t know.

Turning his thoughts to something else he sat at the table and watched his mother busy herself. She went to the refrigerator and pulled out a plate with a sandwich on it out.

“I figured you would be hungry when you got here so I made you this,” placing it in front of him. After making sure he started eating it she went back to the counter and poured two cups of coffee from the obviously freshly brewed pot and returned to the table. Sliding one in front of him she took a seat and took a sip of hers.

“It may be a little hot, so be careful,” she said as if trying to find something to say. He couldn’t help but smile. He was almost thirty years old and she was still watching out for him. She probably worried more about other people than she did herself.

While he ate she did most of the talking. Mostly it was the normal polite small talk people engaged in after not seeing each other for a while, tinted with a few personal things such as how each of them had been and who was doing what in the family. It was mostly a one sided conversation. Jim’s life wasn’t exactly what anyone would call exciting. Mom on the other hand made Jim seem like a shut in. She bragged almost constantly about the grandkids and his sister while he interjected every once in a while with a question or told her how boring his job was. She finally asked him if there was anyone important in his life which he sadly replied to with a quick no. He just as quickly reassured her that he was definitely looking for someone after seeing her face. It almost broke his heart. She wanted him to have someone almost as bad did. Course she also wanted more grandchildren to spoil. Seeing he wasn’t really in the mood to talk about it she eventually changed the subject to something a little more neutral. After what seemed like forever their conversation turned to the town and the people he’d grown up with. At first he didn’t really want to talk about them too much knowing Tommy would come up. She told him a story about one of the boys he’d went to school with getting drunk and passing out in the middle of Main Street he slowly came around and started asking about more and more people he’d known. Somewhat surprisingly, a lot of the people he went to high school with were still living in town and making quite a living doing it. Granted they all pretty much commuted back and forth, but regardless of that they were still here. There were some who’d moved away and never been heard from again.

When Rob’s name popped up she told him quite proudly about how he was doing such a great job as a deputy and how all her friends agreed that he might make a great sheriff one day. The old one was bound to retire soon and Rob was respected enough that he could probably get the job with little problem. Just the mention of the old sheriff made Jim feel uneasy. They never had seen eye to eye. He hoped he could make it through his visit without running into him (he didn’t want to think about what would happen they did meet).

Jim’s mother was telling another story about Rob which made Jim smile as he thought back to when they were younger. Back then each of the boys had called each others’ mother’s “Mom”. They were almost constantly over each other’s house so it was only natural. Jim’s mom really was almost like a mother to the other kids though. That was why she was so proud of Rob. Jim wasn’t jealous in the least. He knew other guys in his position might be but he wasn’t. He was just glad Rob was around. He hadn’t done many things his mom could brag about, she had to have someone. Since it wasn’t him it might as well be one of her other “kids”. Rob was as much one of her sons as he was and she took pleasure in how well he was doing so that was all that mattered.