What He Needs

Chapter 22

Jonathan and I talked for a while longer before he had to return to his work. After getting off of the call with him, I put some more carrot sticks out for Snow and then laid down for a nap. Just as I felt myself dozing off, my doorbell rang throughout the house.

Half an hour hadn't even passed yet, which made me pissy as I rolled off of the couch. I groaned in annoyance, deliberately walking slowly towards the front door.

"I'm coming!" I snapped, stupidly throwing the door open without checking who it was because they had been raping the button. "The fuck, Mom?!"

"Winston, is that any way to speak to the woman who was in labor with you for twenty-five hours?" My mother chastised me with a teasing grin.

"Mom!" I smiled, pulling her in for a long hug before holding her out to arms' length. "I didn't know you were coming. Why didn't you call me? Did you fly from Indiana by yourself? Where's dad?"

"I'll be happy to answer all of your questions once I sit down. My feet are killing me." Mom said pointedly, glancing down at the two bags by her feet.

"Yes, of course. Come in. Don't worry about your bags."

"Thanks, sweetie."

I stepped aside so that my mom could enter the house before reaching for her bags. I set them by the coat rack instead of bringing them to the guest room, for now. My attention was more focused on the possible reasons why she was here. Not that I didn't love my mom, it's just that no one flies from Indian to New York without a reason, even if it was to just see their son.

"Mom, can I get you anything? Are you hungry? Thirsty?"

"Did you happen to make any of your amazing vegetable lasagna recently?" She questioned. "Because I'd love some of that."

"I haven't, but you're in luck because I was planning to make some tonight." I responded with a lie. Truthfully, I was going to order out tonight, but if my mother wanted a home cooked meal, I wasn't going to deny her the luxury. She wasn't the best cook in the world, but I always felt a sense of pride whenever she complimented the meals I made while back in Indiana. "But it's still early so will a sandwich suffice?"

"That'll do." She answered, and I didn't have to see her face to know that there was a small grin on it. It was her natural expression – a smile. I've never once seen my mother unhappy unless she was upset with my father or the topic of Diego came up. She would always state that hate was a strong word, but I could guarantee that she absolutely despised my ex; so I knew not to mention that we had run into each other.

I quickly made Mom her sandwich, as well as one for myself, before returning to the living room with a tray that held both sandwiches, some drinks, and a bag of chips to share. It wasn't an ideal meal, but I did the best with what I had.

"Thanks, sweetie." She said as I set the tray down in front of us. She had been petting Snowflake while blankly staring at the TV, but my reappearance seemed to snap her out of her daze. She caringly set my pet bunny aside before reaching for her sandwich. I watched her in concern, now noticing the sadness in her eyes.

"Are you okay?" I questioned while reaching for my own sandwich. Mom turned to face me with her ever-present small grin.

"I'm okay. Are you?" She tried to joke. "What's been going on with you? Anything new?"

Although I wanted to get to the bottom of why my mother had decided to show up at my front door unexpectedly, I couldn't help it as my mind filled with thoughts of Jonathan and his twins. They were definitely something new in my life, and I hadn't talked to my mom often enough to tell her about them.