Richmond Falls

2

Dee

"He didn't go to school again," I tell my husband as I end the phone call from the school. I'm tired of getting the same damn calls every week about my son. He thinks he can do whatever the hell he likes, but it's my ass that has to justify to the school why he deserves to be there.

"He didn't show up?" Jason asks me as he stirs our coffee in their mugs, his forearms on display with his shirt sleeves rolled up.

"No, he showed up," I say, leaning against the opposite kitchen counter.

"But only for ten minutes."

Jason puts down the spoon and turns to face me, a frown on his face. I won't lie; he looks good when he's angry. Its part of the reason I live to frustrate him. It wouldn't really be us if I didn't get on his last nerve sometimes. His 43-year-old features look even better than they did when I first met him. I feel like some men just get better with age, and my husband is one of them.

"He walked out of class," I finish.

"So where is he now?" Jason asks.

"Your guess is as good as mine."

Jason sighs, running a hand through his hair as he so often does.

"This is getting ridiculous. I don't pay for him not to go."

I can count on my fingers the amount of times Jason has mentioned money over the years; it's not often. We live a comfortable life, that goes without saying, but sending your kids to one of the best schools money can buy is pointless when the kid won't even show up to class.

The worst part is, Rio isn't stupid by any means. He inherited his father's intelligence, that much is for sure. He's always been naturally smart, doing well on his academics without really trying. I've very rarely seen Rio study for anything. Frankly, getting him to concentrate for that long is a losing battle. It's not his fault though, not entirely.

We had a hard battle getting a diagnosis when he was a kid but finally it came. Attention Deficit Disorder. We got him medicated, but the drugs turned him into somebody I didn't know. My usual bouncing from the walls boy would sit in a sullen state, barely speaking. I didn't like what it turned him into. Sure, we still needed him to take it now and again for the sake of his school work, but we tried to avoid it as best we could. He still takes it now sometimes, but he's better on it now he's older. Or at least, he was.

"What're you doing?" Jason asks me, as I pull my phone from my pocket again.

"I'm calling him."

"Do you think he'll answer?"

"Soon find out."

Jason hands me my coffee and I take a small sip as I listen to the ring tone on the other end of the phone. It rings before clicking into voicemail.

"You know exactly why I'm calling Rio. Get your ass back to school before I tear you a new one. "

Jason shakes his head as I end the phone call.

"Did you leave that as a voicemail?"

"What's your point?"

"He won't come home at all now."