The Missing Son
“Jake, how was it at your father’s house this weekend?” I could see the anguish in his eyes as he got in the car. I could tell he had been crying. His eyes were still well up with tears. “Come on, we can go get some ice cream. I missed you too much.” That made him smile, at least. We got some ice cream and a movie, then went home. It usually took him a few days to come back around to himself once he comes home from his father’s house. His drinking really upsets Jake, and to be honest, he isn’t the nicest person to be around in the first place. His drinking just intensifies that. I spend most of my time on my knees, praying for Jake. He is my one and only purpose in this world, and I would do anything to see him happy.
As we ate our ice cream, and watched Mac and Me on V.H.S., he started to come back around. I had told his father about drinking around Jake, and how bad it upset him. He just thinks of himself, though. As the evening went on, we ordered a pizza. I know It’s not very responsible to let him eat ice cream before dinner, but hey, I’m a cool mom. Jake loved to watch Mac and Me, it was his favorite movie. He always laughed when Mac would do his little whistle thing. He would always copy him when he saw him doing it. “Well, let’s go to bed. I have a surprise for your birthday.” Jake went to bed looking forward to tomorrow, and I said a long prayer before I went to sleep.
The next morning, I must have had been excited too. It seemed like I was up and at it before I even knew it. I woke Jake up and made breakfast while he was getting ready. Pop Tarts and bacon were his absolute favorite thing in the morning, but I tried to sneak a little fruit in after last night’s debauchery. We ate breakfast and got a prompt start on getting our things ready. I still hadn’t told him where we were going. I knew he had wanted to go caving for a long time, and The Lost Sea was the perfect cave for him to explore. I was really excited to see his reaction. I loved it when he looked forward to things. We didn’t get to do much, me being a single mom and all.
The whole way there, Jake was going nuts trying to figure out where we were
going. I could see it in his eyes, and he absolutely...