2
Except for his spastic, extended right arm, William Monterey was an invisible lump beneath the down comforter Kate had covered him with the night before. The phone was ringing and his hand slapped jerkily at everything in reach, knocking medicine bottles and toiletries onto the floor. He just wanted to sleep. He desperately wanted to make the noise and voices inside his head go away.
“William? William, can you hear me? William, are you there? Do you know what day this is? William, answer me!”
“Mom?”
“Thank, God! I was getting worried. I…”
“Mom, it’s, it’s…” William opened one eye and squinted at the flashing red light. “It’s five… five… five-fifty-five!”
“Yes, darling, I wanted to catch you early this morning. If I didn’t, I probably wouldn’t be able to talk to you on your birthday.”
As the answering machine switched on, William finally gave in to reality. He climbed out of bed, shifted the cordless phone to his left ear and turned it off.
“Mom, you know you can reach me anytime you want to!” William was already opening his day planner to study his agenda for July 21, 2002. The page was crammed with details. William read the lines with his finger, shaking his head at the sheer magnitude of this day’s obligations.
“I know I can reach you anytime, but at this hour I have your attention all to myself.”
“Mom, I wish I could assure you my attention was not on Torco business right now, but today will be a demanding one for me.”
“Well, I am glad I found you early enough to tell you how much I love you, and to wish you a happy birthday.”
“Thanks Mom, I love you too! But I still would like to think of my birthday as being tomorrow, after all that is what my driver’s license tells me.”
“As you like, I don’t want my baby to be thirty years old any earlier than you need to be.”
“Thanks, Mom. I would rather be thirty years old tomorrow; that will give me one more day to be twenty-something.”
“Oh honestly, you’re not that old! And anyway, it was exactly thirty years ago today you were awarded to your father and me. Legally you were our son on that day. We knew the birth date the State assigned you was that of tomorrow; but for your mom this date will always be your birthday!”
William walked back toward his bed and bent over to pick up the Claritin and nail clipper that had fallen off the nightstand. As he did so, the alarm rang, the digital display reading 6:00 AM.
“Mom that’s my cue to get on with this optional birthday of mine. I’m sure glad I can pretend it’s tomorrow. Today is going to be all work and no play!”
“William, you work much too hard! I am very proud of you though Son, I love you… Happy Birthday.”
“Thanks for calling, Mom, I love you too. Hope to see you tomorrow, on my birthday! Bye for now, Mom.”
“Bye William.”
William smiled, feeling genuinely loved by his mother. He reached over to place the cordless back in its cradle and to kiss Kate, who was still sleeping on her side of the bed. Suddenly startled that he had allowed himself these seconds of reverie, he jolted from where he was sitting and headed in the direction of the bathroom.