13. Potato

Joanne Stutler had worried about her son since the day he was born. Strike that, from the minute, the very second that he was born. The cause for concern had changed, of course, but she had still worried. There had been no father for young David and not a lot of money either. She'd struggled being a single-mom working in shifts. She'd had to leave him in day-care a good deal, but she'd always tried to make time for him.

He had grown up to be shy, quiet, and thoughtful. Oh, and smart. Couldn't forget smart. It was what the teachers always told her, what her relatives remarked on. Joanne had always hoped that perhaps that was going to be his thing. He was going to find balance in his life, respect perhaps too, as the smart kid.

Then there had been the Arcana Cabana incident. Joanne didn't think her son was crazy. She didn't think he was making up the story for attention either. So when the doctors told her it was a glucose imbalance she latched onto it. There was absolutely nothing wrong with him. It was just a freak chemical reaction.

Whenever she'd talked to principals, teachers, or scholarship people they would always bring it up. Joanne would tilt her head a little higher and assure them that no, nothing was wrong with Dave. It was just a glucose imbalance. They had accepted that and she could see it in their minds; lots of geniuses had little incidents that happened to them. It was perfectly normal that Dave should have that as well.

He had always been alone though and Joanne felt partly to blame for that. They had moved during the summer after the incident. He'd been talking in his sleep and one of the doctors had recommended a change in location. She'd agonized about taking him away from an unfamiliar place, but she couldn't just leave him like that.

Throughout all of her life she'd hid that worry. She always had a smile or little quip for her son, something to make him smile. Her quick wit had gotten her out of sticky situations before, and this was certainly the stickiest situation of her life. Joanne couldn't have him ever seeing her worry, not even when it increased over the years.

That was why, when he first started mentioning new names over the telephone she had gotten excited. Her heart had always held onto the hope that college would open social doors for him. Joanne had been secretly disappointed when he fell back into his old routine upon starting school. However, she had never told him that. Dave didn't need to be told that he was doing something wrong. He had enough on his plate.

Becky was technically an old name though. Joanne wondered what the odds were on finding a childhood sweetheart. She figured that they were pretty small. Having that childhood sweetheart liking you back was probably even more impossible. From what Dave was telling her things were pretty serious. It made her feel good to hear that.

Other names made her happy as well; the Blakes for one. They were a married couple, some of his professors from what she understood. Then there were names of a few people closer to his age; Ashley, Michael, Craig, that sort of thing. Whenever a new name came up she nearly started to cry.

Joanne had never held too much stock in her mothering skills. She tried to be involved but not overprotective. Early on she had realized that she couldn't make up for the father who was never going to be there. She could just do her best and hope that it was good enough. It probably wasn't, but she had to keep trying.

His grades were slipping. Joanne had actually been called by the Dean on one occasion. Dave's GPA was in danger and she couldn't afford his college without that scholarship. She had tentatively mentioned it to her son who explained that he'd forgotten about a test. Something else had come up with his friends; what she wasn't exactly sure. His story was muddled and convoluted.

Finally she had out and out asked him if he'd been out drinking. What else was she supposed to think from the way he was talking? When it came out that he hadn't she had just told him to try harder next time and keep track of things. No, she wasn't angry. She was sure that he would pull out of this. Then she had sighed and hung up.

Part of her had known that he would turn things around. He did. She'd never doubted it. That was one of the only things that she could offer; faith. It was Joanne's strongest point and greatest weakness. She'd had faith for a very long time in many things. Few things she'd had faith in hadn't let her down. At one point she'd had faith that Dave's father would come back. That had been wrong in the end.

Dave had never let her down though. She'd had faith that he wasn't crazy, although she didn't quite buy glucose imbalance. Still, she'd been right. Joanne had had faith that he would make it. He did. Having faith in him raising his GPA was a small thing compared to everything else.

He picked her up at the airport during the second week of summer vacation. She said picked up, but she'd been the one who ordered the rent-a-car. It had been so long since she'd been in New York though that she let him do the driving. She had rented a room in a hotel, not wanting to be a burden on her son.

He'd talked excitedly to her of his physics experiments, none of which she understood.
She'd majored in economics after all. He also spoke quite a bit about Becky. Oh yes, he always had very complimentary remarks to make about her. Joanne was even going to meet her, which made her very excited indeed.

"Have you met her mother?" she asked Dave on the car ride over.

A muscle in Dave's jaw spasmed.

"We uh…we didn't get on."

"Oh," she said, feeling awkward, "I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's okay," shrugged Dave, "Apparently Becky and her mother don't get on either. You see…her father died when she was little and her mother….um…yeah. She was raised by her grandmother."

He looked at her, a little sad.

"Her grandmother died a few months ago."

"I see," Joanne replied, "I…I'll be sure not to mention that then. Thanks for the warning. Any other topics I shouldn't mention?"

"Um…she's a pre-law major and hates it."

"I'm glad she hates it," said Joanne jokingly, "I can't stand lawyers."

Dave grinned a little as they pulled up outside a restaurant. They both got out of the car and Joanne wondered if this was a good idea. She had been on a plane and hadn't had any time to…anything really. She didn't care much about appearances but she always got like this when she was nervous.

They went in. Becky was already waiting for them, looking like she'd stepped out of a catalogue. Joanne shook hands with her and smiled, her automatic good manners kicking in. Oh yes, another one of her strong points. She had faith and good manners. Very good for social situations.

Picking up a menu she looked at what was offered. There was no meat which she was relieved at.

"A friend recommended this place," Becky said, not looking up from her own menu, "She has a friend who's a vegetarian or vegan or something like that. She says the baked potato's great."

Her eyes fell on the choice of a baked potato, no bacon. She liked this girl.

"I'll try that then," she said, "But I'm holding you personally responsible if it tastes terrible."

Becky blinked for a minute and then looked at Dave who was sitting across from her. He was laughing quietly and she hoped that there was some sort of silent communication going on there. Joanne wondered if this girl was just as nervous as she was. In that context her words were a little…harsh if they hadn't been a joke. Joanne was being ridiculous. Of course Becky was nervous about this. You only 'met the parents' once.

"Just joking," said Joanne.

She looked relieved.

"Except I'm not," she said, not being able to resist.

Becky looked at her uneasily and Joanne smiled. They continued to chat as they waited for the food.

"-and what are the odds that the physics papers just blow up to me?" Becky said, "Some major coincidence there."

"Or me just being clumsy."

"I drop things on a regular basis," said Becky, sipping her soda, "You don't get to be called clumsy if your dropped items are under ten a day."

"Are we talking a normal day or one when I'm particularly nervous?"

"Normal."

"Then no."

The banter between the two of them made Joanne happy and she tried not to interrupt. It was plain to see that the two were in love. Or more specifically, to her own secret delight, he was in love. Her little physics-nerd son was in love with something that didn't radiate electricity or plasma. Miracles really did happen.

The arrival of the food snapped her out of her musings. The baked potato was placed in front of her. Joanne picked up her fork and took a small bite of it. She swallowed thoughtfully, noticing that Becky was watching her. She hadn't known that she was joking? Oh well, best play along with it.

"It's horrible," she said flatly.

"Mom," Dave said.

"I'm only joking Becky," she said warmly, making sure to wink at her, "It's great and I think your taste in restaurants is quite nice."

Becky glanced over at Dave and sighed.

"Guess fake-outs run in this family," said Becky, "I'll have to get better at spotting them. Just have to laugh when it's all over."

Joanne smiled broadly.

"I'm glad to see you have a sense of humor," she said, "I think we're going to get along famously."