Mother's Day

Sherry never expected her boys to come through.

Word Count: 520

Sometimes it wasn’t easy being a boy mom. Boys weren’t the most thoughtful people in the world – especially when it came to holidays. Sherry, yawned, opened her car door and got in. She worked the night shift for dispatch and she just got off. The sun was peeking over the horizon splashing vibrant reds and oranges over the clouds. When normal people would be waking up, she’d go home and go to sleep after getting her two teenage boys off to school. Her husband, a police officer, was already at work at six am. Today was Sunday – Mother’s Day, in fact – and she had no expectations of the boys doing anything for her, and honestly, she was exhausted. Her plan was to hit the sheets hard and fast.

She turned on the ignition and headed out of the parking lot onto the street. Last Mother’s Day her spirits were a little down. She got home from work and when she walked in, nothing was on the island. She went to bed. When she got up all the boys were watching baseball. She remembered clearing her throat and got a “Hi Dear,” from her husband and a “Hi Mom,” from her boys. “It’s Mother’s Day,” she said. They all looked at each other, faces white, and rushed to the local grocery store to buy whatever Mother’s Day cards were left. There had never been a Mother’s Day where the boys were on top of it.

This year she expected nothing. In fact, she had saved up and bought herself a spa certificate though her next day off wasn’t until Wednesday.

Sherry turned into her driveway and turned off the car. She fumbled at her keys and opened the door. The scent of fresh cooked bacon tickled her nose. She dropped her work bag next to the table in the living room and could hear hushed whispers coming from the kitchen - at 7 am. She arched an eyebrow. Nah… maybe they were going camping – or tailgating.

Instead of going up the stairs, she chanced the kitchen. As soon as she popped into the doorway, her husband and the boys held up a bunch of balloons, cards, chocolate, and fresh cut flowers. “Surprise!”

She placed a hand over her heart. “Oh My God!”

Her husband walked over to her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “I told the boys they couldn’t drop the ball on Mother’s Day this year.” He said.

Her boys, Ethan and Alex, came over and hugged her. “No way, Dad. We told you not to drop the ball!”

Sherry just stood there and hugged her boys, absolutely stunned at the love and appreciation that filled the room. She managed to make it to a kitchen chair and started to cry.

“Ah, honey, did we mess this up?” asked her husband.

Ethan shoved tissues at her. “Yeah, we didn’t mess up, did we?”

She nodded her head ‘no.’ All she could choke out was, “Tears of joy.”

Alex sat down next to her and hugged her. She hugged him back, arms shaking, happy, yet overwhelmed by moment.

PROMPT:
Write a poem or story about a thoughtful gift. Not a needed or requested gift...something thoughtful and unexpected.
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