"You have a teddy bear" she says sitting on my bed holding up the raggedy tan bear that had been with me all of my life. How had I forgotten about him? Better question, how the hell had she beaten me out of the shower?

I try to think of what to say, In touch with my inner child? Even I can be sentimental? "It's not like I sleep with him." I defend.

"Tristan" she gives me a knowing look that I know a smile is dying to peak out from behind, "He was on your nightstand."

I bow my head in shame, "I said I don't sleep with him, I never said I can't see him as I sleep."

The laughter she had been dying keeping in falls out.

"Give me back JD" I say walking over and trying to grab the bear she had clutched to her chest as she laughed almost to the point of hyperventilating.

"Oh my god" she rolls off the bed to escape me and stands, "He has a name"

"You would know that if you looked at his collar" I say facing her, the bed in-between us.

She flips over the tag on the brown leather collar, I see her smile return as she sees my childish scrawl. She just looks at me and I know what she wants to know.

"Janlen DuGrey." I provide

"You named your teddy after your grandfather?"

I think I might have just rolled my eyes, I definitely saw ceiling, "My father is Janlen DuGrey the third…I don't know if it meant that I knew from the start what a disappointment I was to him that he didn't give me the name that had been in my family for over a century or what…Point is I had an imaginary friend who wasn't a failure in his eyes."

"Oh" the smile that had been peaking out disappeared, perfect time to act. I leap over the bed and she turns. We fall onto the bed, my arms wrapped around her from behind as I fight to regain control of the bear.

We're fighting, rolling around on the bed, I'm ticking her trying to weaken her arms when suddenly we freeze when we hear a cough. We both shoot up, my mom is standing in the doorway taking in our freshly showered appearances, well Rory's, my hair now dries in under a minute. "Hi kids"

"Mom, this is Rory, Rory this is my mom."

"Nice to meet you, Rory. So Rosie said you guys went to a baseball game?"

"Yea, we're waiting for Kevin to come pick us up." I suddenly hope that I'm not showing any of the effects from our earlier indulgences…I feel sober…I'm probably not though.

"Where are you going?" she asks

I'm about to lie, then I remember I'm trying not to be that person, "Bowman's"

She nods as she thinks of what to say, "Don't get into a car with Kevin if he's been drinking."

"Mom" I'm about to lie, I'm about to tell her I've never gotten into the car with anyone drinking…Hmmm that would be a big one especially considering I've been the one driving before.

"Tristan," her voice grows serious, "call a cab drop Rory off at her house, then come home. Or just come back here, we have plenty of room. I do not want to see Kevin's car pull up to this house on the security cameras tomorrow."

Okay so I'm rethinking liking this caring mom bs, this is embarrassing, kinda nice in some weird way, but embarrassing. How many times have I fallen into this house staggering drunk? Hell how many times have I not left this house and been staggering drunk. "We took a cab home from the train station didn't we?" I remind her.

"Okay I just wanted to be clear on this subject." Her smile returns and she looks at Rory, "It was nice meeting you, Rory."

"You too Mrs. DuGrey." her voice is smaller than normal.

Neither of us speak until my mother's footsteps fade down the hall and a door closes.

"Can I have JD back now?" I look at her seriously and ask, knowing how to take the edge off of any situation. Of course it doesn't hurt that Rory's slightly intoxicated.

She starts laughing and next thing I know we're on the bed fighting again.