Chapter 4

Jim pulled up into the driveway of his house, parked the U-Haul and walked up the steps to his front door. He walked in and called out for his mom."In the kitchen, Jimmy." she yelled. Jim wondered how often she'd called out that answer to him over all the years of his childhood. Probably thousands of times, he guessed. He walked into the kitchen and his mom wiped her hands on her apron and came over to give him a kiss and a warm hug of welcome. She told him that she had all of the things that she was taking with her packed and put in her car. The things she would be sending back for were stored in Phil's old bedroom, a large room off the front living room. It had its own separate entrance and had been his great grandfather's library and study originally. Jim's grandfather had passed away while living in that room when Jim was nine years old. Jim asked his mom how soon she'd be leaving for her trip to Florida. She told him that she was leaving in the morning, first thing. She was very excited to be getting away. Jim told her that she could always come back to the house and stay for as long as she wanted, taking trips whenever she wanted to, until she found a place that seemed just right to her. He told her that she didn't have to settle anywhere she didn't really like. This would always be her home to him and she would always be welcome.

Phil came over after work and he and Jim got the U-Haul unloaded. Phil followed Jim in his car and brought him back home after they'd dropped off the rental at the U-Haul place in town. Jim thanked his brother for all his help and invited Phil, Sarah and the children to come over for his first Sunday dinner as the new owner of the house. Phil said that he was glad to see that his little brother had finally gotten his head together and had come back home where he belonged. He spoke of all the things that the two of them could do together. Jim felt really good that his brother seemed so happy to have him move back home. He had been worried that Phil might resent him coming back and especially, for buying the house and thus helping to make sure that their mother could head off to look for another life. If Phil was angry or upset about any of that, he was certainly hiding it well.

At 7:00 the next morning, with her whole family gathered to see her off, Agnes Marie Halverson Matthews, with high hopes, and not a little trepidation, kissed her family goodbye and set off on the journey she'd postponed for more than 36 years. It was a little ironic that she was leaving in search of her happiness while her son was returning in order to look for his. She planned on taking her time and figured she'd be in Florida in about five days. She promised to call Phil and Sarah when she got to Key West. After his brother and his family left, Jim started in with inspecting the house and making a list of all that he planned to do to get it fixed up and converted over to the way he'd like it to be. He had so much room now, more than three times the square footage of his condo, that he began to develop ideas on how he could best utilize that space to get maximum use from it. The first thing Jim wanted to do was to give the house a thorough cleaning, beginning with the attic and finishing with the front porch. He loved his mother, but housework was not her long suit.

It took him more than two months to arrange his house exactly the way that he wanted it. He threw away a lot of the furniture and wall and window coverings that his mom had abandoned, always asking Phil and Sarah first if there was anything that they might want before hauling it away to the dump. While he worked on the house he spent time planning his next project, a little trip to Las Vegas between Christmas and the New Year. On the fifth of December he made a phone call to Donna in Chicago. It was the first time that he'd initiated a phone conversation with her that he could remember. A man answered, apparently Donna's grandfather and he told Jim to hold on and he'd get her.

"Hello?" Jim recognized her voice and returned her greeting. "Jim, is that you? Where are you, not around the corner I hope getting ready to surprise me again?"

"Nope, I'm at my house in snowy Minnesota, freezing my ass off and kind of wishing I was back in Anaheim, sitting on my sofa and drinking myself a beer. So what have you been up to?"

"Not too much, just hanging around, taking it easy. By the way, I've got your address. Gram gave it to me after I'd settled down after your last visit. I'm sorry about how I acted then, but you surprised me with just showing up like that. I guess I was a little freaked out at seeing you so unexpectedly. I was going to send you a Christmas card and apologize but now, you've saved me the need. So, I'm sorry about the way I acted."

"OK, apology accepted. I'm sorry for showing up unannonced like that. I should have called you first and asked you if it was all right for me to come by. As a matter of fact, that's what I'm doing right now, calling to ask if I can come by and see you on the 26th. I'm flying to Las Vegas late that afternoon out of O'Hare airport and I'd really like to see you and say hello."

You're going to Las Vegas? Somehow, I can't picture you visiting "Sin City", is there a convention or something?"

"No, it's just part of that new life that I've promised myself. I'm going to start doing a lot of things I've wanted to do, but never got around to doing in the past. I'm going to drink, gamble, get a little wild and see some shows at night and lounge around by the heated swimming pools during the day. I'll be out there for four nights and then I'm returning on the evening of the 30th and spending the night by the airport before getting up early and driving back home in plenty of time for New Years Eve. I'm babysitting for my brother so he and my sister in law can go out to a party on New Years Eve."

"I see, are you going alone or are you meeting someone or taking someone?"

"No, I'm going alone. I thought of asking someone, but I couldn't work up the nerve to actually do it. There is a very short list of people that I'd want to be in Las Vegas with."

"Is my name on the list?"

"Yes."

"Oh yeah, and how many other names are on this short list?" She was definitely using her flirting voice now. He could tell that she was hoping he wouldn't ruin the moment by rattling off a long string of names.

"Well, let's see, I'm sure I've got my list right here somewhere. Oh, yes, here it is. OK, I see your name and then there's, one, two, three, four, five, yes, definitely six totally empty spaces below your name, and then the list ends. Well, I told you it was a very short list, didn't I?"

"So does that mean you're asking me if I want to go with you, to Las Vegas? Because if you do want me to, you're going to have to ask me."

"Donna, would you like to go to Las Vegas with me? I'd love to have you there with me."

"I don't know Jim, let me take awhile to think about it. When would you need to know by?"

"Oh there's really no hurry. Take as much time as you want, I already booked my flight reservations for two. I just have to call and give them the name of the second passenger sometime before the 26th."

"What will you do if I say no?"

"Cancel the second reservation and go by myself."

"So, if I do say yes, what about sleeping arrangements? You don't think that I'd just fuck you in order to have a four day vacation out of this freezing cold weather do you?"

"Donna the room comes with two queen size beds in it. I thought I'd just fuck you in the one bed and we'd sleep in the other one. This vacation is too short to waste any time arguing about which one of us has to sleep in the wet spot. I can compromise though, and fuck you in both beds, but if I do that, then you have to agree to sleep in the wet spot."