Pictures of You

Chapter Twenty

'Just watch some TV in my room I think. Maybe call my Mum and my friend back home.'

'Are you not hitting London with that handsome young friend of yours?'

'Ben? No, he's hot plans tonight.'

'And that old hag Gladys?'

'Working at the bar.'

'Oh no,' he said, 'this won't do. How long are you here for?'

'A week in total.'

'Well then you must make the most of every second. I'm taking you out for dinner tonight. No arguments.'

I conceded. 'That would be great, thanks.'

*********

I went back to my room to sleep for a couple of hours before going out. I had a message from Ben asking how my day had gone. I told him how I'd seen Alex and he seemed happy for me.

Want to get a few beers together tomorrow night? he asked. You can tell me all about it then.

Sounds good, I said, and left it at that.

I was happy to be spending so much time with my new friends. I'd enjoyed my lunch with Gladys today and felt like I'd really gotten to know her. I had dinner plans with Walter this evening, and now a night out with Ben planned for the following night. Even if I never met Alex, I would be going home with something equally important; three new friends.

But I couldn't remember the people I loved back home. I needed to check in with Mum.

I slept for a while first. Watching all those people exercising had worn me out. By the time I woke up, it was after five. I jumped in the shower again, changed into my joggers and a T-shirt and sat cross legged on the bed. It was after six, so I knew that Mum would be home from work. I placed the phone on the bed in front of me and video called her.

'Hi sweetheart,' she said as she answered. I got a shot of the ceiling at first. The camera span around the room for a few seconds before I finally saw Mum's face. She was still in her work uniform. She maybe looked a little tired from work, but generally much better and happier than she had when we had spoken the previous night.

'Hi Mum,' I said. I always felt really happy whenever I called Mum or James back home. As much as I was enjoying my time in London, it still felt good to check in with those I loved back home.

'How are you feeling today?' I asked.

'Oh, I'm fine.' She seemed to brush off my concerns, like it had all been a fuss about nothing. 'I was just being silly yesterday,' she went on. 'Can you imagine, a woman of my age getting all upset over a boy.'

'A woman of your age?' I questioned her. 'Mum, you're not even forty. You're hardly ready for the knackers yard yet.'

'I know, but I'm old enough to know better. I'm a mother. I shouldn't be getting all upset because over a man.'

'But you're also a human being. It would be strange if you weren't upset by it.'

'Well anyway, I just want to forget about the whole thing now. I think it's fate's way of telling me that I shouldn't be dating.'

'It's fate's way of telling you that you shouldn't date that guy. Not that you should give up completely.'

It felt strange giving dating advice to my mum, but I couldn't bear the thought of her giving up because of one asshole guy.

'Maybe,' she said, 'but it just all seems like a lot of work.'

'And you don't think it's worth it?'

'Well my dating adventures so far has left me sitting on my own at a bar, for over an hour, like a hooker.'

I hadn't actually asked what had happened in any great detail. Now that I had a mental image of Mum sat at that bar all alone, it made me want to go home to her even more.

'It was all so much easier in my day,' she went on.

'Mum, this is your day.'

'But it's all so different from last time I dated. I met a boy at school, he asked me out, we got married and had a kid. There are so many rules that I'm not aware of. And apparently one of those rules says it's okay to leave a woman alone in a bar because he changed his mind.'

'That's never okay, Mum. That guy was just an idiot.'

'Well whether it's okay, or not, it happens. I know because I've experienced it first hand. I'm not sure if I'm willing to give anyone else the chance to do that to me again.'

I could tell I wasn't getting through to her, and I could understand that. After what she'd been through I could hardly blame her. But listening to Mum give up on love, just made me realise that I wasn't ready to do the same. Maybe Alex was the one for me, or maybe he wasn't. But I had to find out for myself.