Kate McMurray - The Boy Next Door by Kate McMurray

Author:Kate McMurray [McMurray, Kate]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Lowell gave his mother a tour of the house, apologizing for the lack of furniture. She seemed charmed by the place, and more to the point, she was having a pretty lucid day. “The Midlands lived on this block,” she said.

“Yes. Jason still lives next door.”

“You boys were thick as thieves. You spent all of your time together. Josie Midland was such a nice woman. You remember?”

“Yeah, Mom, I remember. Do you want some tea or something?” “Yes, tea would be nice.”

He led her into the kitchen and put on a pot of water to boil.

“Im impressed,” his mother said, sitting at the kitchen table.

“This is all a far cry from the place in Manhattan. I feel like a real adult now.”

He fished through the cabinets for the box of herbal tea he knew his mother liked. He still drank it for comfort sometimes; it reminded him of the brief moments of calm in his childhood, the moments when his father had left the house in search of booze, the aftermath of some argument, when there was a reprieve between incidents.

“Its still a bit empty here,” she said. “Ive got more stuff in the house than I know what to do with. If theres anything you want…”

“Im all right. I think Id rather buy my own things.”

“I never use the dining room table anymore. Or you could take the extra chairs from the basement.” Lowell had a brief flash of one of those chairs, upholstered in the same faded blue fabric that covered the Old Mans favorite chair and knew he wouldnt be able to look at any of them without seeing his father. “Thanks, Mom, but Ive got some new chairs all picked out. Theyre from the same store I got the couch, so theyll match well.”

He was saved from having to explain why he hated her furniture by the doorbell ringing. “Are you expecting company?”

“No. Its probably someone trying to sell me something.”

When he opened the door, Jase stood there, looking a little pensive. “Hi,” Lowell said.

“Hi. Um. Can I talk to you for a moment?”

Lowell motioned him inside. He closed the door behind Jase and watched him

walk into the living room before he said, “My mother is here.”

“Oh.”

“Is something wrong?”

Jase rubbed his forehead. “No, not really. I mean, Karen and I had an

argument about something completely stupid, but you know.”

“Is that what you wanted to talk about?”

“Nah, I just…” Jase looked away, but there was a wistful smile on his face. “I

guess I just wanted to see you.” Lowell grinned. He moved to close the space between him and Jase. There was a noise behind him, and his mother came out of the kitchen. “Lowell, whos at the door?”

“Mom, you remember Jason.”

“Jason Midland,” she said. “Its nice to see you all grown-up. How are you?” “Im all right.” He took a step back, seeming to notice how close he was

standing to Lowell.

“I left your tea on the counter, Lowell,” she said. “Do you want something,

Jason?”

“No, Im fine.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.