[i]April 23rd[/i]

You pull your buzzing phone out of your pocket and bring it up to your ear.
"Hello?"

"Hey baby—what time is it there?"

"Mom!
It's 8:42 PM here."

"Am I interrupting anything?"

A ball of tension forms in your stomach.
Has something happened at home?
"Uh—no, just hanging around.
Is everything alright?"
Your voice cracks.

"No, no, everything's fine.
I just miss you."

"Oh."

*fake_choice
  #"I miss you too."
    *set gen %+ 5
    "I miss you too, mom."
  #"Jake getting on your nerves?" I joke.
    *set gen %- 5
    You snicker.
    "Jake getting on your nerves?"

    "I can miss you without being annoyed with your brother,
    *if (gender = "f")
      young lady."
    *elseif (gender = "m")
      young man."
    *else
      ${first_name}."

    You laugh.
    "I know, mama."
  #"Who wouldn't—I'm the greatest!"
    *set cha %+ 5
    *set hum %- 5
    "Who wouldn't—I'm the greatest!"

    "That's right, baby, you are, and don't let anyone tell you different."
  #"Come visit."
    *set org %- 5
    You sigh.
    "Come visit."
    You smile at the sound of your mom's laugh.

    "It's not quite that simple."

    "Why not?"

    "Work, money, your grandparents.
    Need I go on?"

    "I guess not."

You're lounging, sprawled out on
*if (yr1_01_04_20_c)
  your little couch in the camper.
*else
  top of your little nest.
Alex has gone out for a walk, so you turn speaker on and close your eyes and pretend that you and your mom are together.

"So what are you up to?" you ask.

"Playing solitaire."

"Just like old times."

When you first moved away from home, you would lie just like this on your dorm room bed and call your mom.
Sometimes neither of you would talk.
It was enough to have her on the line while you went about your day.

"Remember the first time I cooked chicken?" you ask.

"No?
What happened?"

You laugh.
Your mother may have forgotten, but it was a pretty momentous occasion for you.
You had hardly ever touched raw meat before and had [i]never[/i] cooked it, so you did what you always do in moments of doubt: you called mom.

"Now after a minute or two, the chicken is gonna turn bright white, but it's [i]not[/i] cooked yet," she had told you.

You chuckle again at your helplessness.
"I called you from that closet of a kitchen I had and made you stay on the phone with me the entire time I was cooking."

"I remember when you were in middle school.
You sent me a picture of the mac and cheese you made while I was at work.
I showed it off to everyone in the department?"

"You did?"

"I sure did.
I've always been proud of you."

*page_break

The two of you continue to chatter about old memories, sometimes lapsing into silence, until your eyes begin to droop.

"${nickname}?"

You jerk forward.
"I'm awake," you insist, your voice heavy with sleep.

"You should go to bed, honey."

You rub your eyes and stifle a yawn.
"I'm awake, really."

"Go to bed, baby."

"You sure?"

"One-hundred percent."

"I love you bigger than most, mama."

"I love you, too."

You hesitate a second before hitting the red [i]end[/i] button on your phone, trying to preserve the connection between you and your mom.
You and home.
With the conversation over, you sit in the silence of your little nest and think about everything that has led you to this moment.

Eventually you hoist yourself up and begin preparing for bed.

*finish