I walked up to my house and wished myself, my clothes, and my shoes visible again. I turned the knob on the door and walked in. My teenaged mother was playing with her baby boss.
"Look who's back, Lucy," Emma said.
"She wasn't too much trouble, was she?" I asked, keeping the charade going.
"Oh, no. She slept for awhile and then she woke up and we watched some videos. Then I started playing with her, and you cam back," Emma explained.
"Well that's good," I said. "So how much do I owe you?"
"Oh, don't worry," Emma said. "I was already paid by my agency."
"Oh, that's right," I played dumb like I knew what she meant.
She stood up and walked over to me. "But if you ever need me to do anything for you," she said suggestively, getting very close to me, "just give me a call." All of a sudden I had an idea on how and why my mother got pregnant as a teenager.
I spoke before she might try something. "OK, well I'll see you whenever then." She gave baby Lucy one more kiss on the forehead and said, "You be a good girl for Joe, now." She turned back to me and said, "Bye," and walked out the front door.
That was weird, I thought. I wondered why she knew to leave. I'll fix that, I thought. I wished she would come back into the house in 5 minutes, as my mother again, just the way she had entered the house earlier today.
"OK," I said to Lucy, holding her up. "Now to take care of you." She gurgled and smiled at me. "I hope that means you're listening. Look, I'm sorry for this, but it was for your own good. And my mother's well being. So here's what's going to happen. I wish that you will transform back into your normal self, and will suddenly reappear in your own home like you had been there for the last few hours, but with no memory of this ever happening, and with a greater appreciation for all the hard work my mother does for you." With that, she vanished from my hands.
Just then the phone rang. I picked it up and said, "Hello?"
"Hello, is this Emma's son?"
"Yes," I said.
"Oh, good. This is Lucille Barnes, I'm your mother's supervisor." Whew, I thought. "Is she home?"
"No, not yet," I said, looking at my watch and seeing that she was due in about 2 minutes.
"Well, can you just leave her a message to give me a call?" Mrs. Barnes asked.
"Sure thing," I said. "Does she have your number?"
"She should, but it's 555-9304 in case she doesn't," the voice said.
"9304," I repeated. "OK, I'll tell her as soon as she's home."
"Thank you very much," she said and I heard the phone click.
I sat down on the couch and put the TV on. 90 seconds later, my mother walked in the front door. She was dressed exactly as before. "What are you up to, Joe?"
"Nothing much," I said. "Your boss called, said she needed to talk to you."
"Oh, great," my mother groaned, weariness showing on her face. "What does she need now?"
My mother picked up the phone and dialed the number. She walked into the other room and started talking. I turned the volume up just loud enough so I didn't hear what was being said. It wasn't any of my business, and I'm sure my mother would tell me if something drastic had happened.
A few minutes later, she came walking back into the living room. "That's the funniest thing," she chuckled.
"What?" I asked, showing concern.
"Oh, nothing bad," she said, "In fact, quite the opposite. My boss, Mrs. Barnes, just apologized to me."
"For what?" I asked.
"Everything," my mother said. "She said she knows she's been riding me too hard and doesn't appreciate all the times I've 'saved her ass,' as she put it. So she told me to take next week off as a paid vacation, and that they'd manage without me for once."
"Well that's certainly a pleasant surprise, isnt it?" I asked.
"Absolutely," my mother sat down on the couch. She took a deep breath and exhaled. "Joe, I'll finally have some time to relax. It's such a nice feeling."
I told her, "You'll be able to start tonight, then. I'm going over Brad's house for the night, as long as that's OK with you." This was going to be my cover story for the evening.
"No, that's no problem," she said. "You have fun."
"I will, as always," I said.
"Don't think too much about that pretty little maid of theirs," she warned.
"Oh, come on, Mom," I laughed. "Like anything would ever happen. OK, I'm going to go get some things ready. Do you want me to make you something first?" One of the things you have to learn when you're an only child living with a single mother is cooking small meals.
"No, that's OK," she said. "I was actually going to order in. Sure you don't want anything?"
"No, I'm eating at Brad's later," I said. "OK, I'll talk to you before I leave." I ran upstairs and put the finishing touches on my plan.