Mom’s birthday was yesterday, July 24.

“Happy birthday, Mom, did you get my flowers?”

I promised myself, don’t ask Mom questions on the phone.� I start over.�

“I’ve been thinking about you all day, wish I were there to help you celebrate your birthday.”

Silence.

“It’s a beautiful day in San Diego.� The sky is clear blue.� I read most of the day, a biography of Lyndon Johnson.”

“David?”

“Hi, Mom.� Yes, it’s me, David.� Remember?”� I stop myself from asking her a question.�

“I love you, Mom.”�

Breath sounds.�

“I hope you know that.”

Was that a question?

“I better go Mom.”

Silence.�

“I love you.”

Silence.

“Bye Mom.”

Silence.�

I wait.� She doesn’t hang up.� A minute passes, I can hear her breathing.� I see her face in my mind’s eye, see her green eyes - they have always appeared to be lit from behind.

“Happy birthday, I hate�birthdays, don’t you?”��Another question.

Silence.

“Mom?”�

Silence.

I hang up first.�

copyright, 2010�

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 25th, 2010 at 8:28 pm and is filed under David's Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.