I Saw My Mom
Copyright© 2025 by RioWriter
Chapter 2
What should I do? What should I do? I kept repeating to myself. Sleep would not come to my eyes that night. My reason told me that I mustn’t draw any conclusions before I analyze the facts, so I “rewound the film” in my head several times. Of course I am not stupid enough to react without reason. I am a nerd, and I will surely find a logical and realistic conclusion, I thought. First, I have to exclude every possibility of error. I must be sure that I really saw what I saw, or whether it just seemed that way to me, or maybe I imagined it. My vision is good, and I wasn’t tired. True, we smoked weed, but I only took two puffs, and I don’t feel stoned ... Hm, I can’t ignore the possibility that I’d imagined what I saw, I mused.
It was really difficult to convince myself that it was an illusion, because it definitely was not. How else could I explain Stefan’s sudden departure and disappearance? Besides, I heard him leaving. Ok, now that I am sure I did see what I saw, I must analyze the procedure from their side. My nerdy brain was working at one hundred percent. I couldn’t sleep until I had arrived at a conclusion.
How was it possible that Mom would allow something like that? She is a completely normal person; she is not prone to flirting and adventures ... and especially not with my friend. Hm, something is not right here. But I consider it a possibility that during the evening she drank a few glasses of that grandfather’s homemade wine and then took a few puffs of a joint ... yes, she already seemed stoned then. She hadn’t noticed her robe was open while the three of us were teasing her. Yes, that must be it; in a normal state she definitely wouldn’t ... She is not some whore who would fuck with my friends just like that ... I kept tossing and turning in bed and analyzing the situation.
And Stefan? That doesn’t hold water either. We’ve known each other for so long, and there were never any signs that he would try something with my mom. Especially not in our own home, while the three of us were there. On the other hand, maybe he had been pretending all along; maybe he and Mom have been in such an intimate relationship for some time already ... Hm, anything is possible.
The more I thought about it, the less I knew. I decided to act according to my personality, and as reason commanded: not to react until I learn the facts and to pretend everything is normal. Yes, it will be hard to pretend, but I must ... I only fell asleep when the first rays of sunshine lit up the sky. Fortunately, this week we had the afternoon shift at school (in many European countries, school is scheduled in two shifts: morning and afternoon), so I had very brief contact with mom. She goes to work in the morning, so we wouldn’t see each other all day, only in the evening when I returned from school. Usually, as soon as I arrived home, she would give me dinner, and while I ate, she would ask about school and how I spent my day. You know, the classic questions—I would always answer with some automatic response and then withdraw to my room. Although I’ve tried to behave normally all these days and I think I have succeeded, the only thing I could do was to avoid her eyes. And her? How was she behaving? She seemed calmer and more sensitive. She spoke gently and slowly. She looked at me, but we didn’t establish eye contact, not once. Our conversations hovered around school and exams because she had always been strict about my education.
She knew my class schedule better than I did. When she learned all the details about school, she asked, “And Stefan and Filip, how are they? Have you been hanging out together?”
Eh, then she finally made the wrong move. Obviously, she was interested in Stefan. Of course, she was afraid that he had told me or that I had suspected something. Otherwise, the question “have you been hanging out” made no sense, because she knows we go to school and come home together. There is no reason to ask about them because she often sees them, and I mention them in our conversations. And now, suddenly, she asks about Stefan, and even about Filip.
“Well, of course, as always,” I answered briefly.
Soon I would withdraw to my room, but that wasn’t unusual, because she knew I had many exams and that I had to study. So, things with Mom went fine, almost normal, but with Stefan it had been strange all week. He was definitely avoiding me as much as he could. When there were more of us, he would communicate normally, but when he had to be alone with me, he would always invent a reason to distance himself. Even Filip noticed that Stefan was either constantly late or went to school early, and after classes he always found an excuse not to take the same route as us.
Filip commented, “Surely Stefan has something going on with some girl, so he’s keeping it secret. What else would explain his absence?”
I just shrugged as if I didn’t care, but when Filip mentioned “some girl,” it brought back the image that that girl could be my mom. I thought to myself, no way. They can’t be still seeing each other. Or maybe that really wasn’t an isolated case?
The week dragged on and somehow passed. Mom was better to me than ever; she was so full of understanding that most of the time she prepared my favourite foods for dinner. But Stefan seemed completely different. Friday came. On Fridays, especially after the afternoon shift, we wouldn’t hang out with each other, at least not in physical proximity, but meet online and play games until late at night instead. That was also the case this Friday. You could say that everything was normal, although Stefan was visibly unfocused while playing with us. He was losing in the game at all levels, even where he would otherwise regularly beat us.
On Saturdays, I usually have a lighter fixed schedule. Sometimes I would go shopping with Mom, then, on the way, we went for pizza or a burger, and in the afternoon I would meet friends at the playground where everyone from the whole neighborhood usually gathers. Sometimes the three of us would also go to town, and in the evening we would treat ourselves to playing games until late at night. Yes, most often we were at my place, but at least once a month we spent Saturday night either at Filip’s or Stefan’s. This Saturday, going shopping with Mom was not an option—nor did she encourage me to go with her as she usually did. I just told her I was staying home to study, and she asked nothing more. In the afternoon, I went to the playground. Filip and Stefan were already there. Two others joined us, and then Stefan decided he wanted to play football, so we got involved in various conversations. Occasionally, during breaks, Stefan would come to us.
“Then tonight we play at my place,” said Filip, and I didn’t understand if that was an interrogative or a declarative sentence.
“Of course,” I answered, and Stefan just nodded.
I went home for dinner. Mom behaved normally; only at the end did she ask where we would be tonight. I answered that we would be at Filip’s, and she just briefly added, “Don’t stay out late.”
Around eight o’clock I arrived at Filip’s. As always, the classic boring conversation with his parents followed, and then Filip finally managed to save me from the barrage of various questions and pull me into his room.
While we were waiting for Stefan, we played some new games. Time passed, and Stefan was still not there. “Well, what the fuck is wrong with him? Fuck, if he’s going with some girl or somewhere else, why doesn’t he just say so?” fumed Filip, already visibly upset by Stefan’s behavior. I didn’t react, but every remark Filip made about Stefan brought my thoughts back to what he could be doing with my Mom. Then I would start doubting again. We played one more round, and then Stefan finally answered one of Filip’s many messages.
Filip took the phone and said, “What a fucker, he said he won’t come; something came up for him.”
Then something clicked for me. I didn’t react to Filip’s words, but I was thinking to myself, Well, yeah, now everything is clear. He and Mom are meeting secretly. They were just waiting for confirmation that I was here, and now they are surely ... hm, fucking.
I put down the joystick and took my jacket. “Where are you going, man? What’s wrong with you now? What’s wrong with both of you?” asked Filip confusedly, while I was trying to come up with an answer.