Mom's Date

Mom's Date

It was just after two on Saturday morning when Rich pulled out of the driveway for parts unknown. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he did. All of his worldly possessions were in his old pickup truck. Today was his eighteenth birthday. Leaving home was not how he had expected to celebrate the milestone.

Before leaving, he had transferred half of his savings into his checking account online. Rich shared the savings with his mother, but the checking account was his alone. He had also closed all his social media accounts, deleted his e-mail address, and created a new one. His last act before closing the front door for the last time was to put his house key, cell phone, and a note to his mother on the kitchen counter, next to the coffee pot, where he knew she would find it.

Rich was a smart, capable, and a responsible young man. From the day his father had walked out on the family, when he was thirteen, he had stepped up to become the man in the household. Rich willingly took over the 'manly' duties his father had done all his life. He mowed the lawn, washed the car, took out the trash, shoveled the snow, and fixed things around the house as needed. YouTube had been a lifesaver with much of that. He also helped his mother with household chores, something his father had never done.

Rich, at eighteen, was a high school graduate and had gotten good marks. He had worked part-time from the time he was sixteen and gave his mother half his income to help with the bills. She didn't need it and put it in their joint savings account. He knew that but continued giving it to her since he felt it was the proper thing to do. He never dated girls. He and his mother had a standing Saturday 'date,' as they both referred to it, since the divorce. It usually consisted of going out to dinner and a movie. They rarely missed their 'date' unless one of them was ill. To Rich, this was the highlight of the week.

His mother, Helena, was forty-four. She was a Registered Nurse and the director of nursing at the hospital in McKinney, Texas, where they lived. Helena never dated and often told those trying to convince her to date that Rich was her man. Other than sexually, that was true for both of them. They lived a good life together. Helena was a very attractive woman. Her blonde hair, shapely body, and beautiful smile made her stand out in any crowd.

When her marriage failed, she took it hard. Her parents had split up when she was a teen due to her mother's cheating. Her father turned to alcohol and drank himself to death in just a few years. She never forgave her mother. Helena's husband was a cheater and had destroyed their marriage. She felt the same way about him as she did about her mother. Rich had learned about the cheating after the divorce and wanted nothing to do with his philandering father. The courts insisted that Rich spend time with him to fulfill the divorce agreement. That had only lasted about a year before his father moved away. Neither Rich nor Helena had heard from him in about four years. They were fine with that. They had each other.

Rich didn't have a destination in mind as he drove. He got on Interstate 75 and headed north. Just after sunup he pulled into the rest area just north of Tulsa to get some sleep.

*****

Helena woke early. The snoring man lying next to her in the bed had seen to that. She went straight to the shower. Last night had been her first sex in nearly six years. She had been left disappointed and was already regretting her decision and hoped that David would be gone before her son got up. She didn't feel bad about going on the date but didn't feel good about bringing David home either. Helena had seen the look on her son's face the night before when she had mentioned 'maybe getting lucky.' She knew he was less than thrilled with the comment. He hadn't been exactly thrilled when she casually mentioned her date just an hour before leaving. Helena hadn't told him earlier. She knew the idea of her dating would be something he would need to get accustomed to. He was out of high school and eighteen, it was time for her to start socializing. It was normal for a single woman to have her own life. She and Rich would be going out on their 'date' tonight to celebrate his birthday that night. Things would be fine, she thought.

After dressing, she went to the kitchen to make coffee. Finding the house key laying on top of his cell phone puzzled her. He was almost compulsive about plugging the phone in at night. She pushed it out of the way to get to the coffee maker and saw the note that was under the phone. She started the coffee brewing then picked up the note and read it.

'Goodbye Helena. I hope you find what you're looking for. I love you. Rich.'

Helena ran to the living room and looked out the front window at the driveway. His pickup was gone. In a panic, she ran to his room. Everything was gone except the furniture and TV. Even the bed had been stripped. The room showed no sign of having been lived in. There was no trace of her son.

"Why?" she asked aloud, then sat on the bed crying. After a few minutes, she ran to the bedroom and grabbed her phone, waking David as she did. She found no texts or e-mail. Helena hurried to the den and opened her laptop. No e-mail at her work address either. Her son was gone.

"Any chance of getting some coffee?" David asked from behind her.

She jumped at being startled. "You need to leave," she told him.

"I was hoping we might...," he began.

"Get out of my fucking house!" she screamed.

"Shit. Good morning to you too, bitch," he mumbled, as he went back to finish dressing.

Helena sat at her desk crying and a few minutes later heard the front door open then close. A moment later she heard his car pull away. Helena ran out the front door, not bothering to close it behind her, and to the neighbor's house. She rang the doorbell, waited a few seconds, and rang a second time just as the door opened.

"Todd, Rich is gone!" she said anxiously.

Todd was a McKinney Police Sergeant. Heather, his wife, was Helena's closest friend.

"What do you mean gone?" he asked.

"He's packed up and gone."

"When?"

"Last night...this morning...I don't know," she said, still crying.

"Come inside. Let's sit down and figure this out," he said, taking her arm.

They walked to the kitchen where Heather joined them.

"When did you see him last?" he asked.

"Right at seven last night before I went on my date."

Heather and Todd's brows raised. They'd never known her to date.

"He wasn't there when you got home?" Heather asked.

"His truck was there, but I didn't see him."

"What time did you get home?" Todd asked.

"About eleven."

"No sign of foul play?" Todd asked her.

"No. He packed up and moved out. Everything but his furniture is gone. He left his house key, phone, and a note."

"What did the note say?" Heather asked.

"Goodbye. I love you, Rich."

"That's all?" Todd asked.

"That's all it said."

"Let me scan my security footage. You can see your driveway on it," Todd told her.

He grabbed his laptop and began scanning at high speed. Stopping at eleven pm, he turned to her.

"Who's this?" he asked.

"David. He was my date?"

Todd nodded and continued. About one-thirty they watched as Rich was loading his car. It was obvious that he was crying. Twice, he kicked the car parked behind his mother's. Todd and Heather looked at each other knowingly. Rich pulled away just after two am.

"Did you and Rich get into it before you left?" Todd asked.

"No, not at all. Can you help me find him?"

"Any idea where he might have gone?" Todd asked.

"I have no idea. He never mentioned anything about leaving."

"A relative? His dad's?"

"There's only my mother and his father. He wouldn't go to either. Can you do a missing person thing?" Helena asked.

"Not until he's been gone for seventy-two hours. By then he could be anywhere."

"Helena, did your date spend the night with you?" Heather asked.

"Yes, unfortunately."

"Did Rich and the man have words?" Heather asked.

"No. I'm positive they never saw each other."

"Do you still have the note?" Todd asked.

"Yes, it's in the kitchen."

"Let's walk over to your house. I'd like to look at his room and read that note," Todd suggested.

The three walked to the house and went to his room.

"It's pretty obvious he wasn't just planning a weekend trip," Todd said after checking the room.

After reading the note, Heather handed it to her husband. He read it.

"What's this part about? I hope you find what you're looking for." Todd asked.

"I don't know. That part makes no sense."

"Think about it. I suspect your answer lies somewhere in that sentence," Todd told her.

"Maybe he said something to Avery," Helena suggested.

"She was at a girlfriend's house last night," Heather said.

"Helena, I have to go to work. If you can get into his phone or his computer, look at messages, e-mails, browser history, those kinds of things. Check maps too. Anything that might provide info on his reasons or his plans," Todd told her.

"Avery will be home in about an hour. I'll check with her," Heather said.

"There's nothing else I can do?"

"Not really. Hopefully, he'll have second thoughts and come home. He's a smart kid." Todd advised.

Helena hugged both as they left her house, then sat at the table with a cup of coffee. She picked up her son's phone to try and figure out his passcode. Nothing worked. They had three computers in the home. Rich had his own laptop, which was gone. Helena had her work laptop, but since it contained sensitive work information, no one had her password. Rich never used it. The other computer was the desktop. Rich used that for gaming sometimes. They each had their own logons. She tried accessing his and again failed. Logging in under her password, she checked her social media. Her son's accounts had disappeared. She checked his work schedule on the refrigerator. He had the entire weekend off.

*****

Avery arrived home about an hour later.

"Honey, when was the last time you talked to Rich?" her mother asked.

"Yesterday afternoon. Today's his birthday, by the way."

"Did he say anything about leaving?"

"His mom was taking him out for his birthday tonight. Why?"

"But he seemed, okay?"

"Yeah, he was fine. Why?"

"He left home last night," Heather told her.

"What do you mean he left home?"

"He packed up everything and moved out."

"To where?" Avery asked.

"Helena doesn't know. He left her a short note."

"That's not like him. When did he leave?"

"Helena came home about eleven. He started loading his truck about one-thirty, then drove off at two. He was gone when they got up."

"When who got up?" Avery asked.

"Helena and the guy she went out with."

"She had a guy over all night?"

"I guess so."

"Well, that explains why he left. I wonder where he went."

"How does that explain why?" Heather asked her daughter.

"He got dumped. Duh?"

"By whom?"

"Helena."

"She's his mother. How in heaven's name can a mother dump a son?"

"Mom, aren't you curious why he never dated?"

"I assumed he's gay."

Avery rolled her eyes. "Think again. He's not gay. He's in love with his mother. He told me when we went to the prom. She brought some dude home last night and cheated on Rich. Would you hang around if your significant other did that?"

"Helena's his mother, not his girlfriend," Heather pointed out.

"Think so? He calls her Helena, not mom. She always refers to him as her man. They have a date every Saturday night. Neither dates anyone else. What does that add up to? They're a couple."

"Do they sleep together?" Heather asked, looking shocked.

"No, they don't, but not everything is about sex," her daughter replied.

Heather thought about what her daughter had said. Helena and Rich were much more like a married couple than mother and son. She remembered Helena telling her that Rich had begun calling her by her name right after her husband left. They went everywhere together. When the other husbands in the neighborhood were out washing cars, trimming trees, and mowing lawns, Rich was too. Helena had even told her she had no desire to date; she had a man. This would even explain the unusual comment in his note.

"Avery, will you go with me to talk to Helena?"

"Sure, mom."

They walked next door and Helena invited them in. Helena's eyes were still red and puffy from crying.

"Will you let Avery read the note?" Heather asked.

Helena picked up the note from the kitchen table and handed it to the teen. She read it and handed it back to her.

"Did you?" Avery asked.

"Did I what?"

"Find what you were looking for?" Avery replied.

"I don't understand what you mean, Avery."

"You know why Rich is so much against cheating, right?"

"His father."

"Right. You spent the night with some guy. You dumped Rich. What did you expect him to do? Hang around and watch."

"I didn't...," she stuttered.

"Whether you know it or not, you and Rich are a couple. When you did that, Rich saw it as cheating," Avery interrupted.

"He's my son."

"Then why do you always refer to him as your man?"

"Well, since his father left...oh my god!" Helena said with her mouth agape. "Do you really think that's how he feels?"

"I know it is. We talked about it at the Prom. He even felt guilty being there with me. He only took me because I begged him after my boyfriend dumped me."

Helena sat at the kitchen table with her hand over her mouth as the tears began again. Heather and Avery joined her at the table.

"Did you find anything on his phone?" Heather asked.

"It's password protected," Helena replied.

"HelenaS2015. The H is a capital," Avery said. "He uses that password for everything. It means Helena's since 2015, when his dad left." Avery picked up the phone, unlocked it, then handed it to Helena. She just stared at the phone. Heather looked at her daughter in amazement. "He told me at the prom. I used his phone to take pictures," Avery said, feeling the need to explain how she knew. "Look at his photos."

Helena opened the photo app. There were several of people at the prom, including a few of Rich and Avery together. All the other photos were of Helena or Helena with her son, and there were a lot of those.

"I didn't realize," Helena said.

Avery held out her hand. "May I see the phone? Maybe we can find out where he went."

Helena handed her the phone then watched as she looked through the apps. She went through it meticulously.

"I thought he'd probably block you from his social media. He didn't, he deleted the apps. He did block your number from calls and texts. There's nothing in e-mails or texting apps that might indicate where he went," Avery told them.

"How about maps or Expedia?" Heather asked.

"No travel or hotel apps. Everything in maps is local stuff. No hotels or anything. He did transfer money from savings to checking about midnight. Sorry, I couldn't find anything that would help."

"Avery, why would he block me?" Helena asked.

"That's what you do when you get dumped. You erase your ex. Wait, he used his debit card at a gas station in Turley, Oklahoma about thirty minutes ago. Sixty bucks, he probably got gas."

"Show me. At least I can follow his movements," Helena told her.

Avery showed her the banking app. He had taken half the money from savings and moved it into his checking account.

"By using his phone, you have full access to his money. If you move it back to savings you can essentially take away his money until he gets to a Wells Fargo bank," Avery pointed out.

"No, that would leave him broke and on the road. I don't want that," his mother said. "Maybe he'll check into a motel tonight. Then I can call him. Is there any way for him to tell I can monitor him with this?"

"Not unless you do something with the money," Avery said.

"Or log into his account from another device. That would generate an e-mail from the bank," Heather added.

"At least, I can follow from a distance," Helena said.

"He's going north. Is there family or anything that way?" Heather asked.

"Nothing, I have no idea where he might be headed."

"I'll let Todd know. Maybe there's something he can do," Heather told her.

"I'd give him a few days before trying to talk to him. He's a boy with a broken heart. He needs time to deal with it. When Drew dumped me, I was a basket case. There was nothing that anyone could say to console me. And Drew was that last person I wanted to speak to," Avery said.

*****

Over the next few days, Helena monitored his purchases. There was gas, and McDonalds in Omaha, Nebraska. Then a three-hundred-dollar cash withdrawal late in the day in Iowa. Sunday morning was Denny's in the same Iowa town. She assumed he used the cash at a motel. Gas in Illinois and again in northern Indiana on Sunday, followed by Burger King on Monday morning in the same town. Afternoon gas and fast food just west of Detroit. A cash withdrawal in Port Huron, Michigan. That was followed by dinner and breakfast in Port Huron. Then nothing for two days. Thursday showed most of the money in his checking account being transferred to an account at Bank of America. It had been done in Port Huron. Helena had no way to track him any further, he hadn't responded to any of her multiple e-mails.

Within the first two days after Rich left, Helena called, texted, and e-mailed every one of his contacts. No one knew anything. She posted a picture and plea for help finding him on every social media platform she could find. Tuesday, she filed a missing person's report, but was told that since he had gone without being forced, it wouldn't be a priority. She kept Todd, Heather, and Avery up to date. Helena was beside herself.

*****

By the time Rich had reached Port Huron, he was tired of driving. He liked the looks of the town and decided to stay for a few days. He had no tears left to cry, and the constant ache inside was still there but had eased.

While walking along the boardwalk, Rich noticed a seasonal help wanted sign in one of the souvenir shops. He decided to apply. With almost two years of retail experience under his belt he was hired on the spot. When filling out the papers he left the address and phone number spots blank, promising to bring the information the following day.

As soon as he left, Rich went back to the motel where he was staying. It was a long term stay motel. He paid for sixty days then went to Walmart and picked up a prepaid phone.

He started work the next day and quickly discovered that in the summer Port Huron became a very busy place. From the moment Lynne's Keepsakes opened the door until they locked it at night, business was nonstop. The owner, Lynne, adored him. He worked hard, was always on time, and worked well with the customers.

*****

Helena continued her search online every day but found nothing. She checked social media daily for replies to her search but came up empty handed. Depression soon set in. She finally went to see her doctor for help. Dr. Travis started her on an antidepressant and referred her to a psychologist in town for follow-up. She had been seeing her weekly for a month before Helena finally told her the whole story. The next two visits were difficult as she faced the issues, but her depression gradually began to resolve.

*****

Lynne had a background in security before retiring and opening her shop. She sensed something about Rich the day she met him. 'What eighteen-year-old didn't know his address and phone number?' she wondered. He told her upfront that he would only be in town for the summer but never mentioned home or where he would be heading. She suspected he was hiding or running from something or possibly someone, but not sensing danger had never asked. She did check his address and discovered he was living in a really cheap motel.