Free Swept Away by Elizabeth Seckman

step. One step and he’d be close enough.
    It never happened. He walked home feeling like he’d lost a big game. As he opened his door, his cell rang. He’d left it on the table, not wanting any distractions while he was with Josie. Picking up the phone, he answered it. “Hello, Mom.”
    “Why haven’t you called or answered your damn phone? I was worried sick.”
    “I was busy.” Thoughts of Josie flashed through his head. The smell of her hair, the feel of her skin…her smile. He felt lighter than he had in years; his mother was barely annoying.
    “What was her name?” His mother didn’t sound the least bit impressed.
    “Josie.” He grinned as he said it. Sitting on his couch, he kicked off his shoes and put his feet up on the table.
    “Josie what? I’ll google her.”
    “Holy shit, Mom. We watched a movie.”
    “Oh. Watched a movie, huh?”
    Tucker rolled his eyes and pressed his head against the back of the couch.
    “So, find out anything about your missing sister?” she asked.
    “No.” He sighed. “It was a dead end.”
    “Then you’ll be coming home?”
    “No.” His scalp started to itch. Scratching his head, he said, “No, I’m sticking around a while.”
    “You’re what?”
    “I’m staying here. I got a job.”
    There was a long pause before his mother asked, “You still mad at me for not telling you about Rob? That you never got to know your real dad?”
    “I’m not happy about it, but—“
    “I’m sorry. I hated him for hurting me. For cheating. And he didn’t just cheat on me, but on you, too. I just wanted him to do things my way for a change. Instead, he married Gloria, and they went off to Italy to live happily ever after.”
    In that moment, Tucker realized his mom had loved his dad. He imagined being young and pregnant, loving a guy who moved on. He knew from Holly’s cheating that it also made you look and feel like a fool, shattering your pride. “If you’d ever let me finish a sentence, I was going to say, I’m not happy about it, but that’s not why I’m staying. I’m over the past. I’m just not ready to come home.”
    She was quiet a second before asking, “Is it Holly?”
    He stood and paced the room. “No, it has nothing to do with her. I met a guy down here. He rents cottages and fixes engines and appliances, and he needed summer help and—“
    “I think that’d be good for you. Do you need some money?”
    Tucker’s mouth dropped open and he felt momentarily speechless. It took him a full second to respond, “No, I’m good.”
    “Well, I think a summer at the beach after all you’ve been through is a good idea. So, this girl? She work there too?”
    “Yeah, she does.”
    “She in college?”
    “I don’t know. Like I said, I saw a movie with her. That’s it.”
    “So, what’s her last name? Josie what?”
    “McCoy.”
    His mother laughed. “Josie McCoy? You realize she’s a Pussy Cat doll?”
    “A what?”
    “The Archie and Jughead comics? Josie and the Pussycats was a band. Josie McCoy was the lead singer. I think there was even a movie in the nineties. Doesn’t that seem strange to you?”
    “No.” He paused his pacing. “I went to high school with Bo Jackson.”
    “Bo Jackson? He’s not famous.”
    “Yeah, he was a pro athlete in the 90’s. Wasn’t that your era?”
    “Oh well, I never followed sports much.”
    “Really? I’d never have guessed.”
    Tucker could hear his stepdad shuffle into the room. “Have you seen the remote?” Ed asked real low, but not quite a whisper.
    “Probably in the side of the recliner. I don’t use it. I don’t know why you ask me. I got you the remote holder. How hard is it to put it back when you’re done?”
    “That Tucker?”
    “Yes. He’s staying down there.”
    “That all right with you, dear?” Ed asked.
    “Yes. He could use a vacation.”
    “Well, then good. Hey Tucker, have fun,” Ed said, his voice coming closer to the phone. “I’m going to go find the remote.”