Mama's Boy

His mother always said he was “special” and she would always be there for him. She was, but not exactly. She passed away a month ago in her sleep and there she remained, covered in a worn-out rose patterned chenille blanket, her silver gray hair spread across the pillow. When Tommy understood that his mother would never get up and take care of him anymore he blinked back tears sitting in the rocker by her bed holding her cold dead hand all day. “What should I do?” When she didn’t respond, he kissed her and closed the door.

Tommy loved to eat, but had limited knowledge of how to prepare foods. In his 30 years, mother baked, grilled, and fried his favorites. It was unfortunate for Tommy that mother hadn’t done the food shopping before she died.

By the end of the month there wasn’t a clean spoon, fork, or knife in the house. Empty canned goods, cereal boxes, and Twinkie wrappers littered the kitchen counter. Crusty dishes cluttered the sink because mother always took care of everything. Tommy was anxious and also out of medication. He was left with stale crackers and condiments from the refrigerator. His paunchy stomach growled and gargled. Light-headed, he shuffled in his flannel pajamas around the house muttering and shadowboxing with imagined demons.

He even went into mother's bedroom, oblivious to the stench, and asked what he should do. His mother always said to pray when he was sad, so he did. “Please, please I’m starving.” Tired, he nodded off for a moment, but snapped to startled attention.

In answer to his prayers, Tommy found his miracle. It was on the windowsill spinning such a beautiful web. The biggest spider he ever saw – plump, brown and ever so juicy.

And it was delicious.



Word Count: 300