�Hello?� I press the phone to my shoulder with my ear and open the blinds above my bed letting in morning light. It�s my mom. She hopes she hasn�t woken me and she�s sorry for calling so early. I tell her there�s no problem, I�ve already been up for a while.
If Dr. Smith were here, he�d be telling me to tell the whole truth. I should be telling my mother I never went to sleep last night. He says that I�d be so much happier if I was more open with my family.
�Oh good,� She says, �I was hoping you could come a little earlier today, it�s your father�s birthday party tonight and I was hoping you could come a little earlier today.� She sounds frazzled. �I�d have your brother help me but, well....� It seems that in every conversation she must bring up my brother who was hit by a car a few years ago and lost his ability to walk. I tell her I�ll be there is an hour or so, I still have to buy Dad his present.
I walk out to the kitchen and put on a fresh pot of coffee. Bastet jumps onto the counter and pushes herself beneath my arm. I say good morning to her and scratch her head. She pushes herself against me again to tell me, �Not love, food.�
I take her bowl and fill it before putting it back on the place mat on the table. She walks away from me with her tail high and an attitude saying, �I don�t really need you, I just pretend I do because it makes you happy.�
Bastet sits up on the table, dips her paw into her food, picks up one piece, drops it on the table, and then eats it. She truly does believe she�s a human just like me.
Dr. Smith said a pet would be perfect for me since I�m living alone. At first, I bought a gold fish but Dr. Smith said I needed a pet that would actually keep me company.
I pour my coffee into a thermos and give Bastet a little pet before walking out the door.
Outside it smells sweet with spring coming in a few weeks and warm with the scent of wet cement. Seeing the sun is like finding a forgotten memory in a photo album. Though winter is my favorite season, by the time March is halfway through I can�t wait to see the walkways lined with tulips and daffodils. The air is still cold but the sun is warm enough that I don�t have to wear a heavy coat. My apartment is above a Chinese food restaurant and next to Dominoes. My dad picked this apartment, special for me because it�s walking distance from just about everything.
When Wal-Mart came a few years ago, all the towns� small businesses closed. Wal-Mart received so much business that the town had to put a traffic light at the intersection to get into the parking lot. This is one of three traffic lights in town and when it came, it was the first traffic light. After Wal-Mart, fast food restaurants opened and as the town expanded, we soon had an Old Country Buffet and an Olive Garden.
Inside Wal-Mart the glossy white floors reflect the lights above. I squint. Bright lights give me headaches. I walk to the men�s clothing section, intent on refusing distraction because once you get distracted in Wal-Mart then you�ll end up spending hours buying things you don� t need. I pick up a tie with the American flag rippling on it. I�ve gotten my dad a tie for his birthday every year since I was twelve. It�s become a habit now. I think, why not get him something different? I should get him something meaningful, something he�d actually enjoy that would show I care. I should get him flight lessons or a weekend golf retreat. I should get him a fish just to be different. That�s what I should do, but I don�t. The tie is simple and easy.
Dr. Smith says I should try to go with my gut instinct every time because it�s usually right.
I go through the check out line, smile at the cashier, and start walking to my parent�s house.
Mom and Dad live up on the hill above town with all of the Doctors and Lawyers. My dad played the stock market and won. They still pretend they don�t have any money though, Mom buys everything in bulk and instead of going to the nice restaurants in the city half and hour away, my parents will spend a romantic evening at the olive garden. Dad still complains about money and worries about his retirement.
I open the large door with the stained glass window and call, �Hello.� My mother comes from the kitchen, taking these awkward waddling steps on her short legs. She gets up on her toes and kisses my cheek.
�Hi honey,� She says in her strong upstate New York accent, �how�s your head?� Why must she always bring up the things that make everyone feel absolute despair?
�Fine� I say. She takes my bag with Dad�s tie and tells me she�ll put it into a box for me. I thank her. Mom looks behind me.
�No girl yet?� She says poking her head out the door for a second.
�No,� I say bluntly, �not yet.�
She sighs and says, �Your father and I were hoping you might surprise us.�
�No.� I tell her again. For some reason it is of the utter most importance that I get a girlfriend before my twentieth birthday.
Mom frowns and I follow her into the kitchen. My Mom wants grandkids more than anything. My sister eloped with her boyfriend and went to Mexico and Mom can�t perceive of a girl ever following in love with my brother so I am her only hope. Actually, my brother has a friend and they are becoming increasingly close. I�ve got enough things to worry about right now, a girl is the last thing I need.