Spider Brains: A Love Story (Book One) (30 page)

Then, as quickly as I smiled, I got sad, thinking how dad must've felt as he slipped out of our lives.

"Mom?" I repeated.

"Oh. Honey." She rolled under the blankets onto her back and shuffled her body more toward the center of the bed, for me to sit down next to her. Her arm came down and, just as suspected, she patted the space she'd provided.

I crossed both of my legs and looked at the pretzel shape they made. My waffle-woven thermal PJs smiled at me with kitty faces splattered all over them, like, grey and white cats and black and white cats and pink and white cats and blue and white cats--all with kitty smiles and tongues poking out, licking the right side of their kitty faces.

"What's up?" Her voice sounded groggy. "I need coffee."

"I'll make you some. In a minute."

She put her right hand on my leg. The warmth of it spread around my knee. My hand automatically covered hers and we sat there, sleepy-eyed, looking at each other.

"Mom. I have to say something to you and I don't want you to even comment or talk to me about it. Okay? I just really need to say something."

"Okay. What is it?"

"Promise. Promise you won't say anything after."

"I promise." She made a little X over her heart with two finger and then kissed both fingertips.

"K." I said and sat up straight, taking a deep breath in. Mom took one in too. "I wanted to apologize for how I've treated you lately. About you and Paul. About yelling at you. About saying all the terrible things I've said to you. I'm so sorry mom. I am so sorry."

And, then, mom goes ahead and blurts out, "Oh, thank God. I thought you were gonna tell me you had sex with Matt!"

"Oh. My. God! Mother! No. Noooo. That is SO not,
not
saying anything."

She breathed out and placed her hand over her heart. "Phhhhh. Thank you God. Thank you God." Then, she pointed to the ceiling.

"Uhch!" I stood up, placing my hands on both hips and scolded. "You are
truly
something else!"

Mom then started to laugh. Like uncontrollably. She grabbed for my wrist but I moved it out of the way in time.

"Tisk. Mother. Tisk tisk tisk!" I shook my head staring at her in disbelief. "I'm getting us coffee."

Through her laughter she asked, "Us?!"

"Mother. I'm almost a junior, for crying out loud." I chided as I walked out of her room, shaking my head all the way into the kitchen.

SIXTY ONE - Stasis

Things had calmed down to the point where I was almost not dreaming at all. Which I missed. My grades were hanging steady. But, well, the coffee that morning. It added that extra kick I'd been needing.

"Now, listen pussy. This is the last time you are allowed to take me out. Here?"

Delilah gave me her oath in a breathy, sexy
Yow!
Which let me know she agreed.

I had to pay my last respects to Rider. That is, if Morlson hadn't already sucked him up into the vacuum cleaner. Lord. The thought.

Still, the problem of Morlson's window posed an even greater challenge now. With a sprung pulley cord there would be no way I could lift the window up, let alone, get through it!

Another thick padding of snow had fallen but even so we made it in no time flat to Morlson's window.

And, miracles of miracles, Morlson did as she always proclaimed to do, she left the window cracked. She'd shoved one of the monster bunny slippers under it, to keep it ajar. It looked like it'd been caught in the mother of all mouse traps.

Take that! Dastardly bunny!

The distinct sound of a horse whinnying came from the bed. Morlson was sound asleep.

The carpeting looked perfectly combed. Only an outlining of Morlson's feet were pressed in several spots on the window side of the bed, in front of the TV and toward the bathroom.

She'd vacuumed.

My head spun in anguish. Still, I searched each loop of shag, each crack, each crevice all the way over to the corner wall where we'd first met and where I'd nearly been killed, where Rider was... I couldn't think it.

I peered up to our dark corner but with the lights off it made it impossible to see. I'd have to climb the wall in order to get a closer look.

When I got there, it stunk of Raid, the web was in shreds and, no. No Rider.

"Rider!" I bellowed out. "Rider!"

But, not a chirp.

Instead of climbing down, I decided to climb the length of the wall back toward the window.

He was gone. My efforts had proven futile. I couldn't locate Rider.

My head hung low, wishing I could turn back the hands of time to a happier moment when Rider and I merely gazed down upon the loaf of a woman as she snored, as she chmakked out her dreams, as I ventured onto one of her lumpy legs giving her an undetectable bite. I missed those times, indeed.

And, as I neared the window, I took one long, last view of her room. Never again. I vowed. Even pussy vowed.

It was the right thing to do.

"Goodbye, Ms. Morlson. Miss-ezzz Morlson." I said then correcting myself.

"G-g-goodbye."

My heart thumped to attention and beat so hard it shook my entire body.

"Rider?"

"Want s-s-some?"

"Rider!" I screamed. "You're alive!"

"Yes-s-s!" A light hissing snicker came from somewhere, I couldn't tell. "Rose & Garden S-s-spray! Doesn't k-k-kill... s-s-spiders!" His snickering continued. "C-c-close though. S-s-scary too! Sh-sh-she n-n-nearly gr-gr-ground me into a p-p-pulp with her big ol' f-f-fat foot!"

"Where are you? I want to see you for the last time?"

"The l-l-last t-t-time?"

"Yes. I think it's for the best."

"Q-q-quite right. The b-b-best." He went silent for a brief second then said. "S-s-sad though. I sorta l-l-like y-y-you."

"I sorta like you too, Rider." My little fore claws made a circular gesture and I asked, "So. Where
are
you?"

He snickered. "I'm h-h-hiding from y-y-you." More snickering.

I put my second and third set of claws onto my waist. "Hiding? From me?"

"I th-th-think
that's
b-b-best!" He snickered some more. "L-l-liking you is d-d-dangerous."

I smiled and looked around the room. "Well, wherever you are, Rider the Spider. I will miss you for the rest of my life."

The sniffling noise was my cue to go and when I'd made it onto safety's side of the window, I heard him whimper out. "Me too."

I waved through the window. Tears--as minute as the minutest shards from a broken mirror--streaked my face.

I turned away, climbed up onto pussy's ear and we left.

SIXTY TWO - Mom & Wine Don't Mix Well

When mom came home from the "parent-teacher" meeting, the meeting Mr. Haggerty was having with Ms. Morlson in tow, she flung her keys onto the table. They shimmied across it like skipping stones over water.

She pulled out one of the kitchenette's chairs and dropped her purse onto it. Then, she tugged off her jacket and unwrapped her muffler as she headed toward the coat closet. With her jacket and muffler hanging over her arm she opened the door. Selecting one of the hangers Gramma knitted, she draped her coat and twirled the muffler, then hung everything up.

When she closed the door, she stayed there, hand on the knob. Her head was down.

Mom was giving something a very theatrical thinking-over.

Her hand dropped away from the door and hung at her side. Her other hand came up to her top lip, the way she does and she rubbed it. Then, mom turned to me, not saying anything. Not yet.

"Hi mom." Was all I said. That's all she needed.

"Yes."

Yes?

"Hello. Susie."

Okay. That's better. But,
hello
? Where was her normal
hi, honey
?

She looked at me but more like in the direction of me, not at me directly, instead, over the top of my head.

"Mom. So?"

"So." She made a
umphfing
sound, walked to the refrigerator, and pulled out a bottle of
wine
!

"Mother. What gives?"

As she poured the ruby fluid into her glass and she started to giggle.

She took a sip and snickered and at the same moment, she sprayed her wine out of her mouth and all over the cupboards. Red dripped down the maple doors and off onto the counter. Like that was the funniest thing she'd ever seen, she blurted out into laughter. Again.

Thank God she'd swallowed.

"You know, that Matthew (why always with the Matthew?)," she got out between chuckles, "he sure likes you... a LOT."

"K." I slumped into a chair with one leg bent under me and the other toeing the floor. "What about it."

"Well!" She said it like a movie star coming down a long ramp of carpeted stair in an old musical. It almost sounded as if she would break into song. "He was there. At the meeting." Her eyebrows lifted. "He's a brave boy, that one."

"What happened?"

She giggled. "Look. I'm tired." She gulped down every last drop of wine in one go. "Whew. I'm beat. It's late. I'm heading to bed. We can talk about it tomorrow. K?"

"
Fine, oh, Star of the Theat-a!" I made a
sheesh
sound and she left the kitchen.

What a weird-o mom was turning out to be.

SIXTY THREE - It Was a Mice & Men Day

We didn't walk to school together because Matt left school before me the day after the parent-teacher meeting. So, I walked alone that morning.

Mom hadn't left yet. She called into work and told them she would be late. She was still in her white double-knit terry robe, the one that felt like kitty fur, and that you could sink your fingers into.

She kissed me on the forehead and then both cheeks. Her nose was cold as it pressed against my skin. Mom pulled back and said, "I love you so much." Her blue eyes glistened as clear as the sky behind me out there on the porch.