"A son is supposed to love his mother isn't he Nan; why doesn't Jay love me?"
"Of course he loves you Carolyn; he's probably just going through a phase."
"A phase doesn't last for years. Since Matt and I split, it's been getting worse all the time. I think he really hates me now and he's all I have."
I started crying and my friend couldn't get me to stop. Nan is a good friend to me and when the tears subsided, she listened as if she was hearing the story for the first time.
"He used to be so warm and loving: he hugged and kissed me before he went to school and he never left without saying 'I love you mom'… never. Now he won't say a word to me. If I touch him, he pulls away as if I have the plague. All my family is gone and I have one son and he hates me." The tears returned.
It hurts so much to love someone with all your heart, be willing to do anything for them and then not be able to do anything. I felt helpless.
"What can I do Nan?"
"Oh Carolyn I don't know what to say, I know he refused to go for counseling a while back…do you think he's angry at you because he blames you for Matt leaving? Or maybe it's because you worked so much and left him alone. Did you talk to him about these things?"
"It's hard to have a conversation by yourself but I have to do something. He's graduating and he already has a job. When he moves out I think I'll never see him again. I'm going to give it one more try tonight.
I got home and it was late so I came in quietly. Jay was in his room and I heard sounds. I went to the door and heard him saying, "Mom…mom…mom…"
I almost went in because I first thought he was calling me, needing me. Then I realized; he was masturbating. I was totally confused. He hates me; how could I excite him sexually: I'm twice his age, I'm his mother. It all sped through my mind but all I could think was "maybe I could use this to get through to him and get him to talk to me."
I opened the front door loudly as if I had come in again and then called to him "Jay honey can I talk to you please"? He didn't answer. "Jay, please don't do this to me; come out for a few minutes."
Finally he said, "I'm tired, I'll talk to you tomorrow."
I knew I would have to do something drastic. The next day was Friday and I left work early to get home before he did. I guess I figured if he finds me attractive maybe I should try and get his attention that way. I showered; I shaved my legs (and all the other places I usually shave) powdered and perfumed myself and did a Cleopatra number with makeup. I have dark hair and blue eyes and the purple eye shadow and jet black mascara have a pretty dramatic effect.
I put on the sexiest outfit I own: black silk stockings and heels, black see through bra, the top of which shows a little under the low cut black dress. This is as good as I get. I'm slim and that makes my breasts look big. The bra pushes enough of me out so it's hard not to notice and the dress is short enough to see all the leg you want. It seemed crazy to be dressing for my son but I was desperate.
He came home. He noticed. He looked hard whenever he thought I wasn't looking. I put my hand on him and said, "Hi sweetie, how are you."
"Fine, where are you going?"
"Oh I have a date with a guy from work." He pulled away from me and started to walk off. "Jay you promised me you would talk to me today; please sit down here just for a few minutes."