Lop-Sided

LOP-SIDED

I know there will be something
warm and hot on the stove and Mom
will have been waiting.
Waiting for the sound of the car
completing my snowy journey
since my last call nearly three hours ago
from the outskirts
of Williams Lake.

My throat catches
as it always does
as the lights come into view
on their little log house as I
drive over the crest of the hill.

Turning right into the driveway
over the cattle guard that
never keeps all of cattle out.
Left past John’s shop and the sheds
that house my childhood treasures and the newly re-built
computer shed/movie-making studio.

Down the slope
between the creek
and the basement door and
I’m a little slow
getting out of the car
because I’m scared to see her.

I brace myself
and put on a smile
and it’s okay
to hide a little behind the
It’s Been A Long Drive face.

She gives me a huge hug and
we’re both shaking with emotion
and she calls me Boo Boo.
I’m just surviving the moment because
she’s lop-sided
underneath her sweater
and I’m trying not to look
while trying not to make it obvious
that I’m not looking.

-Leah Costello