Dreams

Chapter Twelve-Part 13

Mick turned the corner onto his mother's street and sighed. It had been a long day, one filled with problem after problem. He hadn't planned to work today, it was Sunday and in a time before this new hotel, he always took Sundays off. But ever since this one started, he had been putting in longer and longer hours, and not just to keep up with Stevie.

So he had decided he would take the day off, relax, watch some tube, and drink a beer. Instead, he had about a million calls all dealing with MB Sports. There was a new line of active wear coming out at the end of March, and there seemed to be a billion loose ends frayed.

Mick pulled his truck into his mother's driveway behind his brother's Ferrari. He stared at the house, more of a cottage that he had bought her after making his first real chunk of money. The house was a true love for her, she had never owned one, when he gave her this as a gift she wept in his arms, for joy and sadness.

She had painted every room twice before getting it right as she said, but he had always thought it had more to do with the fact that she could finally paint in her own house that caused the painting spree.

He got out of the car and grabbed the bottle of wine he had selected and the tulips his mother favored. He started for the door at a lazy pace, it wasn't that he didn't want to be here, it was that he had a million other things that needed tending, and this visit his mother had demanded him and his brother be at, could wait.

She was always reminding him that calling wasn't the same as visiting and shouldn't be treated as it was. Whenever it had been a little too long between visits, she sent out the mandatory dinner invitations. Sometimes she even went as far too really send an invitation.

He opened up her front door and was hit with the sense of home. It was the food in the air, the smell of his mother, the chuckle of his brother in the kitchen. Maybe he needed this visit more then he cared to admit.

"Sorry I'm late." Mick called out.

"Oh honey, you are here. I was starting to think you were going to blow us off." She came rushing out of the kitchen, apron covered in food smears, her graying hair a wild mess on top of her head and a wooden spoon still in hand. Elizabeth Brown, she had never changed her name back, and he had often wondered if it hurt to keep it, if it hurt to have boys that looked so much like the man who walked out.

"Never." he said, taking her mess and all into his arms for a hug. "Oh mom, I've missed you." She leaned back in his arms, took his face in hers and stared into his soul.

"Come, I want to know what put that haunted look in your eyes." She pulled him by the hand and led him into the kitchen where his brother stood stuffing a cookie in his mouth.

"I told you those were for you two to take home not spoil your dinner with." Drew grinned sheepishly.

"Hey, showing me up by bringing her favorite flowers, should have figured you would." Drew just smirked at him. They were usually trying to one up each other. It always came down to who called on mother's day first, who bought the biggest bouquet of flowers, but always in good nature.

"Oh, they are just so perfect." His mother exclaimed taking them from him.

"Can't believe you have the Ferrari out, it's still winter you know"

"It needs to be driven from time to time in the winter, plus it was calling me." he said with a goofy ass grin on his face.

"Heard you came into Amauri the other night." His brother said as he took a swig of his beer.