The Boy Who Wore Boat Shoes

01⎜The Roommate

01⎜The Roommate

           “Are you sure that you’ll be fine?” my mom questioned, adjusting the neutral comforter on my bed for the umpteenth time.

           “Yes!” I groaned out at her persistence. “Mom, I’m fine now, and I’ll be fine for the entire year!”

           “I know, but you’ve never lived by yourself, Eric,” she told me, smiling fondly.

           “No, I haven’t, but I swear I’ll be fine,” I promised her, walking over to where she was standing so that I could give her a reassuring hug. She wrapped her slim arms around my torso and began to weep, leaving me to awkwardly pat her back in consolation.

           Out of the three of us, my mom was really taking the change the hardest. My dad was away on a business trip, so couldn’t drop me off, and I was totally okay with everything going on, but then there was my mom, who currently possessed enough pre-college angst to overcompensate for the both of us. I felt bad about leaving when I had gotten into schools less than an hour away from our house, but not that bad. I wanted to leave, and going to Stanford was the exact way to do just that.

           “Even though you’ll be all the way across the country, if you need anything or get into any trouble, I’ll hop right on a plane and come straight here,” she said, pulling away from me. She placed both her hands on my shoulders—her elbows unbent and rigid so that we were a full arm’s length apart from one another. A sniffle emitted from her nostrils as she shook her head and leaned in to kiss my forehead in a way that only individuals in a position of maternity could. “Eric, I’m going to miss you so much!”

           “I know, Mom, and I’ll miss you too,” I returned.

           “If you need anything—and I mean anything, or just want to hear your mommy’s voice, don’t hesitate to call,” she said, breaking down into a stream of continuous sobs that contradicted the image imprinted in my mind my entire life of my mother being this professional woman who was always put together.

           “Okay, Mom,” I sighed, adding a reassuring grin to my words.

           “And even if you don’t need anything, you better still call every day!” she cried even harder as the words flowed out.

           “I’m not going to promise something that I can’t guarantee, but I’ll try, Mom,” I said as sincerely as I knew how.

           “You’re such a good son,” she remarked, more to herself than to me. “I’m proud of you, Eric. You’ve done so much for yourself, and you’re so strong. You better keep it up!”

           “I will, Mom,” I laughed. “Now, don’t you have a flight to catch or something?”

           “Trying to get rid of me so soon?” she joked.

           “That, and you actually have to catch your flight.”

           “I can’t believe my baby’s all grown-up and already in college. Everything has gone by so fast!” She shook her head, wiping the area directly under her eye so that her smudged makeup lifted with the ease of her manicured finger. After repeating the same procedure to the space beneath her other eye, she then inhaled deeply, followed by an equally as intense exhale. Plastering on a light smile, she looked marginally more like the mother I knew with high expectations and morals.

           “I’m going to miss you, Mom,” I said, inching my way into the threshold of a peaceful parting.

           “I’m going to miss you so much, too, Eric!” she said, enveloping me in another tight hug. “I should probably go, right?”