the house was empty when i arrived and i looked for a note on the refrigerator that might explain my mother`s absence, but found none. my chin quivered with a mixture of heartbreak and rage. for the first time in my life, my mother had let me down.
i was lying face-down on my bed upstairs when i heard her come through the front door.
"robbie," she called out a bit urgently. "where are you?"
i could then hear her darting frantically from room to room, wondering where i could be. i remained silent. in a moment, she mounted the steps—the sounds of her footsteps quickening as she ascended the staircase.
when she entered my room and sat beside me on my bed, i didn`t move but instead stared blankly into my pillow refusing to acknowledge her presence.
"i`m so sorry, honey," she said. "i just forgot. i got busy and forgot—plain and simple."
i still didn`t move. "don`t forgive her," i told myself. "she humiliated you. she forgot you. make her pay."
then my mother did something completely unexpected. she began to laugh. i could feel her shudder as the laughter shook her. it began quietly at first and then increased in its velocity and volume.
i was incredulous. how could she laugh at a time like this? i rolled over and faced her, ready to let her see the rage and disappointment in my eyes.
but my mother wasn`t laughing at all. she was crying. "i`m so sorry," she sobbed softly. "i let you down. i let my little boy down."