text: The air was shivering. Practically could cut through bone. Joseph made his way down the street to catch the 105 bus to Langston. He shivered, but not from the cold but from his impending meeting with...her. As he sat in the back of the bus, he contemplated intentionally missing his stop and just keep going. “I worked a double shift-yeah that’s right-I was too tired and couldn’t make it.” a thought he seriously considered, but he knew if he missed this meeting, there may never be another. As time passed, the bell on the bus rung aloud, “NEXT STOP! LANGSTON!” the annoyed driver annnounced. Joseph stared out the window, focusing on each and every passing street, until he dreadfully reached his destination, Langston. He took his time getting off the bus, dragging his last toe for as long as he could before it would just be him standing on the corner, looking ahead to see her house. “Better get this over with.” he exclaimed, exhaling a deep sigh of angst. Joseph knew she always turned her hearing aids up higher than they needed to be, so he knocked softly on the door so he wouldn’t cause her any discomfort. Plus, she had this old grouchy dog that would bark for what seemed like an eternity when ever he heard any sort of noise, and on top of just being there, an angry dog was the last thing he needed added on to the night. He could here the sound of the rocking chair legs creak back and forth from her getting out of the chair, so he knew she was making her way to the door. He could see the shadow outline of two feet from under the door, he knew she was looking through the peephole by now to see who it is. And just as she was about to ask, Joseph said, “Hi mom.” The woman’s excitement exploded with glee as her impatience to unlock her three door locks resulted in many colorful words uttered under her breath. When she finally opened the door, she practically leapt at Joseph, her arms tightly wrapped around his slender figure, squeezing the life out of him. “I’m so glad you came Joshy-it’s been so long!” his mother claimed still tightly latched onto him, giving no empty space between the two. A she started loosen her grip, she ushered him to go inside and out of the cold. Joseph stepped into the house he grew up in. He felt as though he was entering it for the first time. As he took off his coat to get a little more comfortable, he looked around the house. He looked up at the stairs. Running up and down those bad boys, always headed to the next stop in life. The livlingroom he watched the boys win the big game with his dad, also where he had his first drink with the old man. And then there was the kitchen. Where he told his parents he was going to be better than they ever were. “So...how ya been ma? You doin’ alright?” Joseph politely asked, looking her over like he was the parent concerned. “Oh you know me, I can’t rest until this house is spotless.” she replied, folding his coat and placing it over the chair by the door. “It looks great in here, like always.” “It would look a lot better if I could just get these old bones to move like they used to.” Joseph peered down, and sure thing his fathers steel toed work boots, almost exactly the way he remembered, were lying by the door, heavily covered with old dirt stains and grease like he never left. There was even pieces of debris still left underneath. “Something smells good. What is that, tortellini?” His mother smiled bright with pride, like her kid just won the spelling bee, pinching his cheek, “That’s my boy, you know your motha!” With that sentiment, Joseph returned a pleased grin and followed her into the kitchen. Joseph help set the table as his mother carried a steamy pot of his favorite three cheese tortellini to the table. As the two sat down across from one another, Joseph pulled out his phone. His mother noticed the angst on his face and decided to ask what was wrong, “Everything okay hun?’ Joseph, looking like a deer caught in the headlights, closed his phone immediately, darting his eyes up to look back at his mom, nodding his head obliviously, taking a bite of his food trying to hide his lies. “You seem nervous.” she pried, as she sipped a cup of water. “I’m fine ma.” he replied slightly annoyed, grabbing his glass of water. “You don’t seem fine.” his mother asked again, staring blankly at him. “I’m fine!” he snapped back, drinking his water angrily, shoving another helping of food in his mouth. His mother was taken aback by his behavior. Without pressuring him, his mother decided to also change the subject. “How’s work? You still working at the store?” “Yup.” Joseph replied sharply not even looking up from his plate. “Have they moved you up to management yet?” “Nope!” “Well don’t worry hun, I’m sure you’ll find something better soon.” “Yeah. That’s what I tell myself everyday.” Joseph uttered under his breath assuming his mother couldn’t hear but she did. She was growing concerned. “Joshy, honestly what’s wrong?” “Nothin’ man, I’m fine really, can we just change the subject?” “You know you can talk to me about anything.” “I know ma.” “No matter what. I’ll always be here to listen when you need--” “I know ma, I know.” Joseph replied before his mother could finish her sentence. The two sat briefly in silence. Joseph kept stuffing his face, deciding not to look up, hoping his mother wouldn’t ask him any more questions. “Is it girl problems?” his mother asked nurturing. Joseph threw down his fork and flung his arms up above his head “Here we go.” he exclaimed exhausted. “You can’t just let it go can you?” “Is this about Easter-‘cause I already told you, it was an accident.” she pleaded, gently blotting the corners of her mouth with a napkin. “Accident?! You ate her mother!” Joseph cried, standing up from his chair in anger. “No, no-no I didn’t. I just simply took a little off the top, she would of been fine if she didn’t freak out about it.” “You bit into her skull like she was a ripe piece of fruit, who does that?” “Well hun, incase you haven’t noticed, we do. We’re monsters. Monsters eat humans. That's what we do. Like duh.” his mother explained, casually picking up her plate and taking it into the kitchen. “But did you have to eat my girlfriend?” Joseph pleaded. “Oh please. Like you two were ever going to last.” his mother replied snarky. “I asked her to marry me and you know what she said?” “How much did you spend on the ring?” Joseph didn’t answer immediately, “You’re not supposed to eat people ma! It’s 2021!” “And how are we supposed to survive, on that tofu nonsense you eat? I tell ya, ever since you moved to the city, you’ve really changed.” “Know what I knew this was a mistake. I didn’t want to come here in the first place.” As Joseph grabbed his coat to leave, his mother called to him. “Joseph Axel Rose Hopper!” his mother called out firmly. A notion he knew all too well when he was in big trouble. Joseph carefully turned around and respectfully acknowledged her, “Yeah ma.” His mother walked to him, and gave him a hug and kiss. The two embraced in a warm huge before he left. “You want some tortellini to go, I made too much.” “Yeah sure.” Joseph replied submissively, following her back to the kitchen. Joseph caught the bus back to the city that night. On the ride back, he found himself still a little hungry and decided to pick at his mother’s tortellini. While sampling, he noticed something stuck in his teeth. When he finally fished it out, a thin brown hair string lied entangled in his fingernail. He looked it over for a second, and then stuck it back in his mouth, letting out a pleasing, “Yum.”