I had not visited in a while. I thought I would just go out – it was a sunny day, late afternoon – I got a Frappuccino at Starbucks as I usually do, before the visit – you know – having a coffee beverage with him was a common mom-son event.
I would sometimes get the call or text – as I was wrapping up work – “Mom, can you go by Starbucks and get me a Venti Iced Coffee with three Splendas, puleeeeeze?!” And how could I not?
He needed to be able to stay up and hang-out online with friends. It was a good thing. Those friends turned out to be some real friends, in person – who didn’t know him in person – but, nonetheless felt compelled to come pay respects. I thought that this was something.
It’s been, now, nearly eleven years. As this time of year approaches, I think of the months leading up to the events that turned the page for him. The lighting is changing. Soon it will be hot. School coming into its last months. Remembering the homebound teacher, and her realization that what I was telling them was entirely accurate – not just some excuse for a teenager who did not want to come to school. Imagine that.
I am certain that I will always think about the Starbucks visits – one place to go with a teenaged son where it’s “cool” and the conversation is surrounded by the smell of roasting and brewing coffee. So, we can’t actually go to Starbucks – as I bring Starbucks to wander and talk with him, as I do. This is the way it is.
