Lost by Christina Draper

dog. Thinking about it,
maybe it was a good time to consider one—something big, something that could
warn me if someone or something wandered into the backyard. But Sam, in
particular, showed little interest in animals. Sure, he had loved Homer, but he
just never expressed a great interest, and certainly not a desire to work with
animals before. Not too long after he decided to stay home from college, he
came home one day excited about getting a job at the local animal hospital. I
suppose he was just excited to have a job. He had worked at Burger King in high
school and had been a lifeguard at the local water park, and he enjoyed neither job. But he liked having spending money, so I just figured he was happy to
have a job and could call off the job search.

* *
*
    I could hear Sam rustling around
upstairs, getting ready for work, and I decided to go up to see what Carey was
doing. I found him in his room reading, so I left him to it. Maybe later I
could convince him to call up his friends and go hang out with them.
    I went
downstairs, and then found myself standing, almost lost in the family room.
What was I going to do with myself for the day? We had gone through all of
Brian’s clothes, and I just wasn’t up to tackling his workshop. I’d figure that
out later.
    I wandered into
the kitchen to see about lunch and was not surprised to find that we
were out of milk... oh wait, eggs too. And really? I just bought cold cuts! I
guess I knew what I was doing.
    “Carey?” I
called up to him.
    I heard him get
up and come running down the stairs. “What’s up, Mom?”
    “We seem to be
out of like... everything. So I’m going to run to the store. Want to come?”
    “Where are you
going?” I suppose he needed to see if it was worth it for him to come.
    “The grocery
store. Why? Do you need something?”
    “Well, if you
go to Harris Teeter, can I go to the bookstore?”
    Barnes &
Noble was right next to the grocery store, so why not? I told him that was
fine, and he ran upstairs to get his wallet and shoes.
    “SAM!” I
yelled.
    “YEAH?” He
yelled back at me.
    “We are going
to run to the grocery store, okay? You gonna be home for dinner?”
    “Umm... I don’t
know. Got to walk the dogs and stuff, so I’ll probably be home around 8.” He
came to the top of the stairs so at least I didn’t have to yell as loudly.
    “Well, just let
me know. I’ll save you a plate, just in case.” I blew him a kiss and told him
to tell Carey I would be in the car waiting for him.
    I grabbed my
purse off the kitchen counter and made sure the back door was locked.
    Crap ! I forgot that Anthony and Bee took the
van to the water park with all the kids. Sam had to get to work, so that left
me with one choice.

* *
*
    I went into the garage and turned the
light on. There it was—Brian’s dream car. A 1969 Dodge Charger R/T. He spent
over two years finding parts, fixing it up, and then finally getting it
painted. It was a beautiful, glossy finish.
    One day out of
the blue, Brian had asked, “Jul, where’s that red lipstick you always wear?”
    “What? What are
you doing?” I stuck my head out of the shower as Brian rummaged through my
makeup.
    “Today’s the
day, sweetie. It’s ready.” He looked like a little boy on Christmas morning,
and I knew exactly what he was talking about.
    I laughed, “And
you need my lipstick why?”
    “That’s the
exact color I want her to be, babe. That sexy, wet red. I want to bring it in
and show the guy at the auto body shop.”
    “I think it’s
on my dresser. I wore it last night when we went out to dinner, and I think I
put it there. It’s in a gold tube, and it’s called Spanish Red.”
    A few seconds
later, Brian stuck his hand in the shower. “Is this it?”
    “That’s it.
Now, why don’t you put that on the counter and come in here with me.”
    I smiled at the
memory, and my eyes filled with tears as I looked at the gorgeous, cherry red
car. He had it chopped into a convertible