[Paxton didn't expect fanfare, didn't think he'd get pampered like a king, but he had expected more. He always expected more. But every single time, she let him down just enough to wonder why he kept coming back. Maybe there was just something about boys and their mothers — Emilie sure didn't have the same problem. Maybe it was just him and his mother. She expected more from him.
Neither of them did much more than talk about what was happening in their lives since the last time they saw each other. They spent a day walking around town, and they went out to eat at a chain restaurant where she looked at him disapprovingly when he started on his third beer. He did work on a few house projects for her, albeit slowly since he hated manual labor. And she tutted each time he said he was on a break. Then, well, she just thanked him. There was also a short awkward hug when he left, but that was it.
There was something to be said about a mother forgetting her child's birthday.]
TOMORROW! TOMORROW! I'M BEING BLOWN UP TOMORROW! IT'S ONLY A DAY A-WAY!