“What’s that noise?” Alex asked his mom from the living room.
His mom didn’t bother to respond, but she continued to fidget with the coffee maker. Gloria, didn't hear the voice of her son call from the couch, instead she was way too transfixed on the coffee maker.
“Mom, what’s that noise?” Alex repeated, yelling louder than before.
She looked up, “Oh you’re awake?”
Alex shook his head slightly. “Yeah, you woke me up.” he said.
He sat up on the couch. He finally had her attention; this was routine of him complaining, about how loud she was at night.
“Boy, I ain’t even that loud, go back to sleep.”
“What are you even doing trying to make coffee this late at night anyway?”
Alex eased himself off the couch and walk into the kitchen.
“Did you hear that noise,” Alex repeated yet again to his mom, “ like the faucet was running for a long time, or something?”
“No-” she answered; she was too occupied with pouring her coffee.
Gloria thought that Alex, her son, always seemed to be going on about something that ain’t got nothing to do with him.
“Mom, you know you shouldn’t be drinking coffee this late at night.” Alex reached for his mom’s cup of coffee, but she quickly obstructed him with her arm.
“Take your butt back to bed. ” She said with a low laugh.
Gloria walked past him with the cup of coffee still in her hands. She walked into her room, but she wasn't there for long. Gloria came right back out to be greeted by her son’s questioning stare.
“What do you want now?” He was at it, Gloria thought.
She didn't like this, but part of her enjoyed these interactions, these moments of mother and son. Without these moments there was no point of the routine.
“Damn boy, why are you always in my way? Why don’t you take your butt back to sleep or something!” Gloria brushed past him to reach for the cabinet to get a glass of water.
Alex watched her shove something into her mouth and quickly gulp down the water. She noticed her son's gaze on her and she began to stare back. She gave him a silly frown that looked as if her eyes were going to pop out of her head. Gloria snickered; she always did this when she caught him gazing at her.
“You ugly!” Gloria joked.
“I look better than you!” Alex replied with a smirk.
Alex turned his back to her and started to head towards the couch as he was growing
drowsy. While trying to get comfy on the couch, Alex’s mom stood there just observing him from her bedroom door.
“What?” Alex says while gazing back at her.
“Nothing, po-face” Gloria replied with a smile.
“You’re a po-face. Don’t try to give me your name.”
“Please I’m not a po-face, I’m beautiful.” Gloria smiled and batted her eyelashes along with a huge sloppy grin.
Alex just rolls his eyes and gives a dismissive, “good night”.
“Are you leaving me tomorrow?” she asked him.
“Yes, I have school tomorrow.”
“Okay, well you better come visit me.”
“I’ll visit you next weekend if I don’t have too much homework.” Alex reassured her.
An even bigger smile appeared on Gloria's face. “Okay, good night po-face Alex--love you!”
Before Alex could reply “love you back,” she had already slipped back into her room and click off the lights.
Gloria woke up the next morning drowsy and disoriented; she eased from the bed to go to the bathroom, but that was a huge mistake, as dizziness took over her and her legs began to tremble and bend with every step she took. At that moment she imagined her son’s voice in her mind, “don’t get up so fast mom!” Gloria then smiles… and begins to slowly take her time to the bathroom. When she reaches the bathroom the mounting feeling in her chest begins to feel heavier and heavier. This was her routine.
After using the bathroom Gloria reaches over to flick on the faucet water and the water began to pour like sand, then she begins to rise from the toilet seat, but it is a struggle as she was far too faint to hold on to the bathroom sink, her grip slips and she falls sluggishly towards her basket of clothes. On the slow journey down Gloria could only think and hear the slow running faucet water and how it matched her fading heartbeat. Suddenly the water stopped running and so did she.
Alex stirred from the sound of running water yet again. He lifted himself off the couch and noticed that his mom was not in the kitchen, and that the running water was coming from the bathroom faucet.When he reached the bathroom door it was slightly ajar. He pushed open the door to find his mom slung over in her dirty clothes bin, as if she fell from the toilet seat with her pants still down to her knees. She wasn’t moving, yet the faucet water ran unrelenting. He stretched over his mom’s still body and shut off the running water.
