I reached over to my nightstand and picked up the ringing phone. It was 3:00 am and my mom's cell phone number was on the caller id. "Fuck me," I groaned as I hit the answer button.
"Yeah?" I said.
"Hey, baby!" she was obviously very drunk, "Can you come get me?"
Half asleep, I answered, "What? Where are you?"
"I'm at Sidekicks. I'm kinda drunk and I don't have cab fare," she giggled, "Please, honey? Can you come and get me?"
I was pretty sure she knew how to use Uber but I was awake enough to know saying it was a bad idea. I pinched my nose, "Yeah, I'll be there in 15 minutes."
"Yay!" she squealed. I pulled the phone away from my ear until she quieted down, "You're the best son, ever."
"Yeah, yeah," I said, "I'll be right there." I hit the end button. I thumbed open my car app, punched in the remote start command, and tossed my phone to the side. I picked up yesterday's clothes off the floor and five minutes later I was grabbing my keys on the way out the door.
The car was running but it was still chilly. The cold helped me wake up, at least. I popped a couple of breath mints and put the car in gear. I knew that the parking spot was going to be gone when I got back. Street parking was at a premium this late at night. To say I was annoyed was an understatement.
The bar was a neighborhood hang out a few minutes away from my apartment. My friends and I were regulars. In fact, I would have been there tonight if everyone hadn't come down with a case of "better things to do". I wondered why mom was even there. She wasn't exactly a party animal or even much of a drinker. She was much more likely to be at a coffee shop than a bar.
Mom and one of the waitresses, Misty, were standing outside when I pulled up and got out to open the passenger side. "Hey Tom," Misty said. She was a cute blonde with a lean dancer's body and a girlfriend that could kick the ever loving shit out me if I got out of line.
"Hi, Misty. I hope my mom wasn't too much of a bother," I said as mom walked over to me in her high heels.
She wrapped her arms around my waist and gave me a big hug. Her heels brought her up to about my chin. "My hero!" she said, stretching up to give me a peck on the cheek. I could smell the rum on her breath.
Misty smiled, "Of course not. I was just keeping her company while she waited," Misty said as she took another drag from her cigarette. "Ellie should be here in a couple of minutes. Good night, Liz. It was fun catching up," she said.
My mom turned to the waitress, "Definitely! I won't wait so long to come back." I helped her into the car and closed it.
Misty smiled, "Drive safe."
"Thanks again. I'll see you later," I climbed into the driver's seat and looked at mom while I put on my seatbelt. The leather coat she wore went about halfway down her thighs. It was buttoned up but a tight dark skirt extended down to her knees. Her legs were clad in dark stockings and she was wearing black heels. My gaze must have lingered. When my eyes traveled up she was staring at me with a big smile on her face. Her long, curly brown hair was streaked with gray and framed her face perfectly. She was made up and it occurred to me, not for the first time, that my mom was a very striking woman.
Her smile broadened and she squinted her eyes a little bit, "Thank you for coming to get me, honey."
"Of course, mom," I replied. "Are you ok?" I pulled out into the street and headed toward her condo. Normally it would take about twenty minutes to get to her place but with no traffic in the middle of the night, we'd be there in fifteen.
"I'm feeling no pain," she said in an almost sing-song voice. "My date turned out to be a dud. He left early but I made a bunch of new friends. They made sure your old mom was well lubricated all night." She giggled again and stretched out in the seat, pointing her toes down and putting her hands behind the seat rest. There was always something kittenish in the way she moved that made me think inappropriate thoughts. The coat didn't show much of her curves but my mind filled in the blanks of her mature body. She was chubby but had curves in all the right places.
"Big stretch", I said.
I could hear her eyes rolling along with the derisive snort. She always said that to her cat, Scamp, when he stretched like that.
We were stopped at a light and I looked over. She was staring back at me again. There was something going on but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. "Tell me about this date. Who is he? Where'd you meet him?" I wasn't really interested but the silence was awkward and I felt I needed to fill up the empty space.
"Nobody to speak of. There wasn't any chemistry and I was glad when he made an excuse about getting up early," she replied, "He just wasn't the right guy for me." She put her hand on my arm. "Your father left some big shoes to fill."
The light turned green and I hit the gas, "I'm sure you will, Mom. You're too pretty to be alone."
She laughed, "You really think your old mom is pretty?" Her hand rubbed up and down my forearm that made me tingle. "Whoever I end up with will have to have a sweeter tongue than you."
"You raised me to tell the truth," I glanced over and shot her a quick wink.
She sighed and shifted a bit, "You're a good boy, Tommy."
Now it was my turn to roll my eyes. She hadn't called me Tommy since I was in grade school. I smiled at her, "And you're the best mom."