Landing at LAX a week later, Lupe felt queasy for many reasons. Obviously, the potential of him having a baby was excruciating, but that wasn’t all. He hadn’t had a real conversation with his mother in six months. Every time she called, he cut the phone call short. I mean, what could he say to a lady that had lived every moment like it was her last all the way until she was 42. Now approaching the age of 46, any moment could be her last.
The taxi ride went by extremely fast because he couldn’t stop all the questions in his mind long enough to enjoy the ride. As he pulled up to the place he had lived all of his life, he touched the cross dangling from his neck. He had missed his mother more than he could bear, but he was scared to see anything less than the vibrant woman who had raised him.
As he got his one and only suitcase from the taxi driver’s trunk, he could see two bright eyes peeping through the blinds of his childhood home. It was the moment of truth. After paying the taxi driver, he found himself walking, or more like floating, up to the door, holding his breath. The door opened before him and he couldn’t help but smile at what he saw. All this time he was dreading seeing his mother look anything less than radiant, but of course, the sickness could not take her away completely. Although she still looked a bit skinnier than he remembered, her green eyes, that they shared, still glowed bright under the California sun. She had on her favorite wig, which made him smile because it was bigger than all of the ladies on the block combined. When he was younger, the other kids in his neighborhood would tease him by calling his mom Tina Turner because of her big hair, but he didn’t care. His mother was his best friend growing up, besides Vee. He had missed them both and this alone was enough reason to come back home. He couldn’t believe it had been so long. He had gotten so caught up in his job that he forgot what was really important: family.
“Hey boy. You can tell nobody cooking for you out there in the New Yawk,” she said mocking the accent of most New Yorkers.
“Very funny, Ma. Let’s go in the house. It’s so hot out here!”
“Awww boy, it’s only 76 degrees outside. That New York weather got you cold is hot and right is left.”
“Okay, Ma. That’s enough on New York.”
“Whatever boy, let’s get in this house before you sweat to death.”
Walking into his mother’s house, Lupe could see that everything was exactly the same. All his baby pictures still hung up on the wall, like a shrine to his childhood. It had only been him and his mother all their lives. His father had walked on out them when Lupe was about two years old. Lupe didn’t need him though. His mother was enough woman to be both mother and father. The two had traveled together, ate out all the time, and went on vacations frequently when he was a child. Lupe never wanted for anything. The thought of Lupe having his own child rocked him to his core. How could he be a father when he never had one? How would he build a relationship with a 3-year-old stranger? And what about his relationship with Vee? Would they get back together? Was she in a relationship with someone else? All these were questions he needed answers to. At least now all he had to do was enjoy the time with his mother. He decided he’d save all the hard stuff for tomorrow.
