The Journey Home by Michael Baron Read Free Book Online

her blood pressure, she might be as cooperative as usual. Or she might have your left hand for a snack.”
    Jan sat on the arm of the chair across from him, exhibiting more concern than he would have liked her to exhibit at that moment. “Where is she?”
    â€œShe went back to bed a few minutes ago. I assume she’s sleeping, because I haven’t heard her move.”
    â€œAnd you’re staying here?”
    Warren chuckled softly and looked upward toward Jan’s eyes. “Pretend that you aren’t thinking
that I have absolutely nothing else to do with my life, okay?”
    â€œWhat I was thinking was that you were the world’s greatest son.” Jan slid into the chair. She was wearing a blue, knee-length skirt and Warren couldn’t help but notice her calves as she sat.
    â€œSitting here while she sleeps is nothing. Watching game shows with her for two hours? That’s true selflessness.”
    â€œOr a case of having nothing else to do with your life.”
    Warren was surprised that Jan would tease him this way. Of course, he’d essentially invited her to do so. “Or that,” he said, grinning.
    Jan tossed her head in the direction of his mother’s room. “She’s having mood swings?”
    â€œToday her mood was all over the place. There haven’t been many days like this. Yet.”
    Jan touched her fingertips together. “We should probably get some more tests.”
    â€œIsn’t that a little bit like testing the ocean for wetness?”
    Jan pressed her lips together, then brought her steepled fingers to her mouth. “Do you think this is rattling her?”
    Warren leaned into the sofa, rubbing his left temple. “Less and less, I think. Which of course means it’s rattling me more and more.”
    Jan leaned toward him, and for a moment Warren thought she was going to hug him. Instead, she just looked at him for a long beat. This had the potential to become uncomfortable, but before they
reached that point, Jan put her hands on her knees, which he also couldn’t help noticing, and stood from the chair.
    â€œI’m going to have to take my chances and get that blood pressure reading.”
    â€œCan I have you sign a waiver first?”
    â€œThe facility has us covered.” She took a step toward Mom’s bedroom and then turned back to him. “We can talk about this anytime you want, you know. Unfortunately, I have quite a bit of experience with it.”
    â€œThanks. I’m going to take you up on that.”
    Jan started moving toward the bedroom again. “That’s good.”
    Warren watched Jan go through the doorway and listened to her gentle voice as she coaxed his mother into offering up her arm. A minute later, she was waving good-bye to him.
    Alone, and with far more time on his hands than he should have, Warren turned on the Game Show Network.

SEVEN
    Somewhat More Palpable
    Three hours of highway driving had done nothing to bring a sense of direction to Joseph’s journey. The names of towns they passed had varying levels of familiarity, but Joseph didn’t know if this had something to do with his knowledge of the area, or with the generic sound of the names. Did every state in America have a Springfield? Had he actually spent time in Green Valley, Riverbend, or Hillsdale, or were the names just variations on Anywhere USA? Certainly, none of them inspired him to suggest that Will exit for a closer look.
    The boy had been an entertaining traveling companion, though his references to sports and popular culture proved frustrating. None of the names meant anything to Joseph. He recognized some of the cities, not enough to identify with any of them, but enough to know that he’d heard of them before. He had a feeling that he’d been an avid baseball fan, but at gunpoint, he wouldn’t have been able to name the team that played in Chicago. It was as though his memory were