Chapter 9: As Long as it Takes

I look down at her suitcase, her purse, and the look on her face, and I immediately open my mouth to defend myself when she walks into the apartment and starts hitting me with her purse.

"Mom!" I say, moving away from her.

"You. Not. Not. My. Son. Anymore. Who. The. Fuck. Do. You. Think. You. Are. Nathan!"

She keeps hitting me and I flinch away from her and stand there and take it. After almost a minute of her yelling at me, she throws her purse on the couch and slams the front door. "You..." she trails off, shaking her head. "You like that French girl, don't you? That's why you're so abusive to her. You abuse her. Have you hit her, Nathan?"

"No!" I exclaim. "No, I haven't hit her!"

"But you like her. You like her and your don't know how to express your feelings." She says. "You are a disgrace." She spats. "You forced her to stay in the house, used your strength to make her stay inside, and she's just a girl! She can't defend herself! You told her she's not a lady, called her a brat, and I'm sure the list goes on. Have you seen her today? Did you touch her today?"

Oh fuck yeah I touched her today.

"You're here to scream about me about French Fry?" I ask carefully.

"French Fry!" She raises her hand and hits me upside the head. "Nathan Reed! Who the fuck do you think you are!"

"She calls me little!" I exclaim.

"Why? You have a little brain, I think it suits you! You are being so disrespectful! You are just bitter because you'd never had sex."

"Mom!" I say. I see Odeletta's eyes widen slightly in the kitchen, and she starts gulping her beer.

Same, Frenchie, same.

"You've never had a girlfriend, Nathan." She says. "And if you're gay, you can tell me!"

"I'm not gay." I say. "Will you stop?"

"Why?" She demands. "No, I will never stop. Not until you turn into the respectful young man that I raised you to be."

_____

"Nathan, can I talk to you?" Odeletta blurts after a few hours. Mom spent the whole time scolding me and making me clean my room, the bathroom, and anywhere else. She forced me to vacuum the house and now she's rummaging through my kitchen to find something she can cook. I look at Odeletta.

I know she's hear for a reason more than coming to tell me she changed her mind.

"Uh..." I cough awkwardly as Mom looks at her. "Okay."

She walks into the living room, grabbing the blanket on the couch.

"Now you be nice to that girl." Mom says when Odeletta walks out of the apartment.

"Yes ma'am." I grumble.

Mason snickers, and Mom whips him with the dish towel.

"Mason, I'm sure Nathan can tell me some things I can beat you over." She says. Mason presses his lips together and stops laughing. I walk out of the apartment where Odeletta is wrapped in the blanket, waiting.

I shut the door and lean against the wall.

Her eyes study me for a long time.

"You...were you a virgin when you and I had sex?"

I swallow nervously and then nod my head.

"Really?" She asks. I nod again. "Well for somebody unexperienced, you really know what you're doing with...your hips...and hands...and...mouth." She says, mumbling the last part. She sits down in the middle of the hall and I sit down across from her. "But...you hate me."

"I don't hate you." I mutter.

"Well I don't...like you...like that." She bites her lip, her eyes studying me. "But I don't hate you."

"I um..." I sigh. "Who was your first kiss?" I blurt. She raises her eyebrows and then drops them.

"I kissed some kid in middle school in France." She says. "But since then..." she trails off, shaking her head. "I've been a bitch since I was twelve. People don't necessarily like me. What about you?"

I just shake my head.

"Second grade." I mutter.

"So we were basically each other's firsts." She whispers. I swallow loudly.

"I'm sorry I took that away from you." I whisper. She shrugs.

"I agree I will stop being so..." she searches for the word. "Rude." She says. "But I can not promise I will not uh..." she trails off. "What is the American word for...make fun of?"

"Insult?" I ask. She nods.

"Insult you." She finishes. "We can be friends."

I nod slowly.

"Okay." I agree. "What happened when you were twelve?"

"Oh, we are friends, but we are not family. You will never know." She smiles genuinely and crawls across the floor until she's sitting in front of me. "I just want to do something one more time." She says.

"Okay." I say.

She leans in, closing the distance between our lips.

This time, it's not a hard, frantic kiss. It's soft, and gentle. Our lips move slowly in sync together, her tongue exploring my mouth. Her lips are so soft and warm. I lean closer to her, sitting up off the wall, reaching out to run my fingers through her hair.

It's different kissing her when I'm not thinking about getting her naked. She shakes my hands sweat and my heart race and my body warm, even though it's cold out here and I don't have a coat on.

After a few moments, she pulls away, hesitating in front of me before she backs up all the way, looking at me with a weird look in her eyes. She leans in and pecks my lips gently, standing up. I rise too, opening the door for her. She walks inside and then turns to me.

"I'm not going to pretend it didn't happen." She whispers to me, looking up at me. I shut the front door, nodding.

"Wait." I grab her hand, aware that everyone, including my mother, is watching. When she turns back to me, I drop her hand. "Do you really smoke?" I ask. Her eyes study mine for a second and then she shakes her head.

She bites her lip. "No." She says, and then she walks into the kitchen handing me the blanket.

I fold it and put it on the couch, following her.

"What was that about?" Mom asks.

"Mom, it's private." I say. "Please respect that."

She presses her lips together.

"Okay."

She uses her phone to order pizza and then sets it on the counter and looks at me. Her eyes pierce into mine, and I look away.

I feel ashamed of my actions. The way I've been treating people is despicable.

"Nathan." Mom says quietly. I look at her. "Come here."

I let out a breath, moving to stand in front of her. She looks up at me and sighs. Opening her arms, she pulls me into a hug. I hug her back, and I let her hold me there.

A hug from my Mom makes everything better.

When she pulls away, she has tears in her eyes.

She puts her hands on my cheeks, forcing me to look at her.

"Nathan, you are a handsome man." She says. "You are a good man. You need to start treating the ladies right, okay? There is a girl out there for you, a perfect girl out there for you, who will sweep you off your feet just as much as you will sweep her off of hers. She's out there. Maybe she's not here yet. Maybe you haven't met her, or maybe you have, who knows? But somebody is out there for you, and if you keep treating everyone the way that you have been, you are never going to find her. You might have already ruined your chance with her, so please, Nathan, I am begging you, be a good man." She whispers. "Not only for me, but for your future wife. For Nathan, for Brenda, for Odelette, for everyone. Set an example for Julian. He looks up to you. You have the potential to be great." She smiles. "So be great."

I swallow.

"Okay?" She asks.

I nod.

"Okay." I whisper. "I'll be better Mom, I promise."

She hugs me again, and I take a deep breath.

"How long are you staying?" I ask her.

"As long as it takes." She says.

"As long as it takes?" I repeat.

"I will be here until you are a proper gentlemen."

_____