My Summer's Dilemma

I open the door to find an overly excited Brady waiting for me. He jumps on me to greet me and I give him a small scruff before entering the kitchen.

"Hey ma." I open the fridge and grab cranberry juice. "What's up."

She was washing the dishes, as usual. Mom doesn't take a rest from cleaning. Once she gets home from work, she occupies herself with washing the dishes, mopping the floors, dusting the bookcases, washing the dog. Anything she can get her hands on. Anyways, let’s just say she's a clean-freak.

"I left you some food in the microwave," she says, not turning her back.

I walk over to the microwave and open it to find a fish filet sandwich with fries.

"Sweet, thanks mom."

I take the plate out and bring it to the dinner table where the cranberry juice was waiting for me to pour it into a cup. I grab a freshly cleaned one from the dish rack and place it on the table. My mom snarls at me playfully when I put the juice back in the fridge.

"Sorry, I'll wash it when I'm done," I say, chomping on a fry.

"No, its fine, I'll do it." She finishes up, throws her special cleaning gloves on the windowsill, and then joins me at the table. She sits across from me, staring at me for what seemed like hours.

"Um...what's up?" I finally look up at her.

"Ken, baby...have you seen your last report card?"

I set down the sandwich that I was about to bite into. I wasn't in the mood for a speech: my “father” apparently knew about the report card as well, because he called me to talk about it on my way home.

"No, I haven't. Why?"

"Well sweetie, it was very disappointing-"

"That's what you said about every other report card this year." I cut her off just to make the situation worse. She stiffens up a bit, her expression tightening.

"Exactly. What has happened this year? You had such good grades past year and I-"

"Yeah, last year mom. What's the big deal anyway?" I push the barely finished plate away from me and gulp down my juice.

"I just thought that you would keep the grades up, you're going to college next year and-"

"I know but-"

"Stop cutting me off Ken," she says through clenched teeth. "Now listen to me. Next year you go to college. People don't last long with bad grades. It would've been great if you kept your grades up, that way, it's a good habit."

"Well, sorry mother. I got lazy and-"

"You got lazy? You got lazy. You got lazy!" She gets up from the table, pushing in the chair. "Ken, if I stopped what I wanted to do every time I got 'lazy'," she air quotes, "then we wouldn't be here. I wouldn't have the job I have now, you wouldn't have your car, and we wouldn't have this house. So I don't want to hear 'I got lazy', she says mockingly.

"Then I don't know what you want me to tell you because that's what happened!"

I get up from the table and put the cup in the sink. Then I take the plate and put it back in the microwave. Loss of appetite.

"You don't have to tell me anything. I just want you to know that I am disappointed and I hope that you don't plan on being lazy in college."

I start to walk away but she grabs my arm.

"Don't you walk away from me, we're not finished here."

I shrug out of her grasp and step away.

"What is there to talk about? You just told me that you don't want me to say anything, so why do I still have to be here?!" I slam my fist on the table, causing Brady to bark.

"Don't raise your voice Ken; I have other things to talk about. Your father-"

"I don't want to talk about my so called father. If he's my father, why isn't he here? Helping you give the same speech to me? Huh?! Riddle me that mother. Some father he is to me if he's over there with another woman and child. He's not with us anymore, Armando is my father. He was there for us when I was a toddler, and he always will be here for us. Don't you dare call that good-for-nothing cheater my father!"

Without letting my mother say another word I run to my room and slam the door, locking it. Of course my mother followed me upstairs. She starts knocking on my door.

"Sorry Ken, I know your fath-... I mean Michael is a sensitive topic. But I still have something to talk to you about." I open the door and there my mother is with a sympathetic look on her face.

"I don't want to talk about him, don't you get it Lady?!" I slam the door and jump on my bed.

That probably wasn't a good idea, but I can't undo it. I have a feeling that my mother isn't going to have anything sympathetic to say now. I hear a loud sigh and murmuring.

"i θα βάλει τα δύο πόδια σας σε ένα παπούτσι."

"I don't know what that means, remember, I don't speak Greek." I roll my eyes and start texting my friend.

"It means I will put both your feet in one shoe."

"And that means..."

"So help me Kenneth Michael Makruver, I will put you in your place!" She stomps and I hear her head down the stairs.

She's going to put me in my place? What? I throw my phone to the other side of the bed and leave the room to follow her down the stairs. She was in the kitchen washing the cup I left, of course.

"What's that suppose to mean?" I march up to her, clearly aggravated.

"You're staying at Michael's house for the summer,” she says with a mild tone.

"What? You've got to be kidding me. You're kidding me, right?" I start to run my hand through my hair; it was a habit of mine whenever I got mad.

She puts the cup on the drying rack and turns around to face me.

"No, I am not kidding you. You need to get into a habit. You will be working there on the ranch and you will come back a responsible young man!"

"You can't make me go." I say, trying to look tough, but sounding nervous in the end.

"Oh really?" She raises her eyebrow and crosses her arms. "I will take away your phone, I will take away the keys to your car, I will cut off the Internet and Wi-Fi to your room, and I will make sure you don't leave this house for the next two months." She listed these things while counting them off each finger. She knew what really ticked me off. She continues, "Unless of course, I ask you to go to the super market for me. Now doesn't that sound like a fun-packed summer? Because it does to me!" She exclaimed in a sarcastic tone.

I swear, I'm my mother's twin.

"But mom-"

"But mom nothing. You are going, end of discussion!" Just in time, my real father, Armando walks in.

"Hey bella," he says kissing my mother. That means beautiful, by the way. "Ooh, what happened here?" He asks, noticing our irritated faces.

"Kenny and mom just finished having a huge fight," my little brother Connor answers as he enters the kitchen.

"It was not a fight honey, it was an argument." My mother tries correcting him, but to no avail.

"Whatever, someone was bound to get hit sooner or later, and I think it would've been you," he says pointing to me.

"Shut up Connor, stay out if this," I snap at him.

He puts up his hands in retreat then grabs a soda from the fridge. He opens it up, taking his sweet time drinking it, but my dad catches on and kicks him out of the kitchen.

"Now tell me, what's going on here?" My dad sits at the table waiting for an explanation.

"Nothing Armando, everything is fine. Ken is just a little upset about going to Michael's for the summer, that's all."

"A little?" I mutter under my breath.

My mom flicks me on the back of my head, and after my obnoxious shout of "ow", she leaves the kitchen. My dad gets up from the table and pushes in the chair.

"You should apologize to her," he says.

I sigh. "I know. But not now, she is obviously not in the best place."

He smiles and pats my head. "Good boy."

I smile wearily and shuffle into the living room, through the hallway, up the stairs and finally into my room. I really don't want to go to Michael's house. For what? To watch him be a better husband and father over there than he was to my mother and I? No thanks. And for the entire summer? This is going to suck.

After spending the last 3 hours contemplating on when I should apologize, I decide, the sooner the better. I rise out of bed, with all the effort in me. I didn't want to leave the bed, I suddenly got extremely tired. But I had to do this before I knocked out. I slump over to my mother's room and knock.

"Come in," she says in a cheery tone.

I open the door just a crack, so that she knew it was me. This was my thing since I was a little boy;
I wait for a proper welcoming.

"Come in sweetie," she says giggling.

Okay, she called me sweetie, which means that she calmed down. I walk in and jump on her bed, snatching the blanket from her.

"Ken stop."

She struggled to take it back from me, but I, being a significantly stronger eighteen year old, wouldn't budge. I cover my entire body with the blanket and laugh at her attempt.

"You're a big doofus," she says laughing lightly.

"Mom," I turn to face her.

"Yes sweetie," her expressions softens.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier. I'm just really bummed about going to Michael's house."

I look up into her turquoise eyes (that I so happened to inherit), which were filled with such love. How could I stay mad at her?

"Oh baby," she cradles me in her arms. "I know, its okay. We're going to fight sometimes, I get it-"

"But in the end, we always love each other," I finish for her. I give her a tired smile.

"That's right, now stop interrupting me while I'm speaking or I'll smack you."

She shoos me away to watch a television program that she was really into. I kiss her forehead and hop off the bed. As I go to the door she stops me with "by the way".

"What's up?" I open the door before stopping.

"You're leaving tomorrow afternoon. That's all."

"Ughhhh," I groan.

I knock my head on the door frame a few times before my mom gets annoyed and tells me to stop. I walk back to my room and fall onto my bed. So I'm seeing the man who helped bring me into this world tomorrow after such a long time. Ompa.