Chapter Two
“I’ll be damned, the GPS actually works in the sticks.” Emma laughed when the voice coming through her phone told her to take the right onto what looked like little more than a dirt path.
She glanced over to Eric, “And you didn’t think these roads even had names. I…”
Emma stopped, and rolled her eyes at her son. He’d slipped his ear buds back in and was staring at his phone. After getting annoyed with him after the first two hours of his ignoring her while playing with his phone, she’d told him he either talked to her or kept quiet, but no phone.
After he’d put the phone down and crossed his arms and stared out the passenger window for the next hour, Emma had given up and gotten lost in her own thoughts. She’d been doing a lot of that lately. This move was a big deal for both of them, and hopefully a good thing.
Seeing Eric gave her little to no input, she was hoping it would be for him too, but heaven forbid he say anything one way or another. Between wanting to talk to him, but not wanting to push, and dealing with her own misgivings about life it was easy for her to spend a lot of time in silent reflection.
As they’d driven for the majority of the last three days, Emma kept wondering if this really was the change they needed. She felt it was. All their issues seemed to stem from memories and pain. Hers a little older than his, but now both of them had serious reasons to no longer remain in the life they knew.
In fact, as bad as it made her feel, it was Eric’s recent heartbreak that had caused her to finally make this decision. She knew she was using her son as an excuse to justify what she wanted, but he’d been more receptive to it when it involved his drama and not just hers.
She’d glanced back to the narrow road, but then quickly looked back at him. More accurately his phone. On the screen was a picture of Ashley.
“Oh, for Christ’s sake.” Emma snatched the phone from his hand and threw it in the back seat.
The buds popped from his ears and sailed back there with the phone.
“What the hell, mom?” He demanded. “That’s wasn’t cool.”
“Neither is you ignoring me for the last few hours.” Emma decided to not bring up the picture. “I told you, you don’t have to talk to me, but you don’t get to use the phone.”
“Forced conversation isn’t cool either.” He told her. “I don’t have anything to talk about.”
“You don’t have anything you want to talk about,” she corrected him. “Last year no one could get you to shut up.”
“Lot’s changed since last year,” he said with no trace of his former attitude. “And I remember when people used to say you smiled so much it aggravated them. They don’t have that problem with you anymore.”
“Ouch,” she winced. “You saying I’m a miserable bitch like your friends say about their moms?”
“I’m saying you’re not happy anymore.” He shrugged. “So don’t act like it’s just me. And I don’t have any friends anymore.”
Emma again avoided a hotbed topic and didn’t tell him he sounded like a drama queen. To a degree he had a right to feel that way.
“Well here’s to new friends, then.” She picked up her coffee from the cup holders between them and tapped it to the one in his hand.
“Only if it’s for you too.”
“Fair enough. And maybe new special friends. Especially for you.”
“Whatever,” he rolled his eyes.
Emma’s reply was cut off by the GPS telling her to take the left that had appeared out of nowhere, sandwiched between two huge trees. She took the turn sharply, causing the Explorer’s tires to chew into the dirt before the SUV surged forward. Her breath caught as she watched the small U-Haul trailer she was towing wobble dangerously before righting itself.
“There it is,” She gestured. “Our new home sweet home.”
Emma slowed as the road veered to the right and she stayed to the left and passed through the old white wooden picket fence on either side of the driveway. Emma whistled when they approached the huge eight room two story colonial.
She’d done three virtual tours of it, one with Eric who only grunted any time she pointed something out. The last one she had done while screen sharing with Robin, the owner of the house and their new next door neighbor.
But even though the tours showed the outside, she was amazed at how large the house was.
“I still can’t believe we’re getting this for fifteen hundred a month. Look at the size of it!” She exclaimed.
“Oh, there’s a reason it’s cheap,” he muttered.
She knew what he was referring to, it had crossed her mind several times as well, but she’d told herself not to be a fool and lose out because of it.
“That’s weird, that house over there is identical.” Eric pointed to the house less than fifty yards from their new abode. “All this farmland out this way and those two houses are next to each other.”
“Robin, the landlord lives here. She owns both houses. I think an ancestor built them for the family. We’re supposed to meet her at our place for the keys, but we’re a couple hours early. We’ll probably have to go over there.
“Oh.”
“I know I told you that, but you never listen to anything I say these days.”
“What?” Eric asked, then seeing her glare at him added, “Kidding.”
“Smart ass,” but she laughed. “Well maybe you’ll start listening now seeing things are going to be different.”
“Different doesn’t mean better.” The smile left his face to be replaced by the sullen look he’d had for the last three months. “Just a different kind of suck.”
“Okay.” Emma, slammed the breaks, causing the explorer to fishtail in the dirt and the U-haul to wobble again. She threw the car into park, and removing her sunglasses, turned to face him.
“What are you doing?”
“See that house?” Emma pointed to it. “Know what it is?”
“A good deal according to you.”
“No, Eric, it’s a new start for both of us and because it is, you and I are not stepping foot into it until we talk.”
“Here in the driveway?"
“Yes.” Emma took a deep breath. “I’ve tried talking to you for months and you ignore me or act like such a jerk I give up talking to you.”
“Sorry, mom. I just,” he shrugged and slumped back into the seat. “Didn’t want to move. I feel like we’re trying to forget about dad.”
“I am.” Emma put her hands up at the look on his face. “Not literally, Eric. I’ll never forget your father,
