Growing boy- 2

The man dried his hands and face with a towel and tossed it down on the counter. “All yours, partner,” he said as he sauntered past Eric back into his mother’s bedroom.

Eric did his business and went back to his bedroom, determined to stay there until the man left. He didn’t have to wait long. A few minutes later he heard soft footsteps and then the sound of the front door opening and closing. By that time his stomach was rumbling so he went to the kitchen, fixed a bowl of cereal and settled down to Saturday morning cartoons in the den.

Eric’s mother got up around noon. She had her own routine after a big night out. Rachel made a full pot of coffee and appropriated the television. Curling up in a chair, she watched the headline news for a while and then turned to the music video channels. Eric abandoned the den and went to play games on the computer. His mother was working on her third cup of coffee when he needed to make some notes, but there was no pen or pencil in sight. He knew where to find one though; his mother always had a selection in one of the drawers of the bureau in her bedroom.