Horribly

About five minutes into the job search, Matt realized his mom wasn't paying any attention.

Instead, she was drinking... heavily.

"Mom, getting drunk isn't going to help."

"Says who?"

"Come on, mother. You know you can get a better job... a higher paying job. But you have to help me."

"Oh, yeah. I can get a great job because everyone in the world is looking for a middle-aged woman who doesn't even have a high school diploma because she dropped out to have kids."

Wow, someone was laying the guilt on thick.

"We can work on that, too, mother. You're smart. We can get you a G.E.D."

"I don't want a fucking G.E.D."

Matt sighed. "Okay, mother. What do you want?"

She threw back another glass of wine. "I want what anyone would want... a job where I don't have to suck dick to get ahead. Enough money that I can afford to pay rent without having to skip buying groceries because there isn't enough for both. A husband who actually comes home from work instead of staying out with whores and drinking. Kids who respect me and don't bullshit me all the time. Is that too much to ask?"

"Karen and I respect you." Matt decided to address the one issue he had some actual control over. "And I'll help you find a job. And you know Karen and I will pitch in with what we earn. {if Mrs. Adams>0}I can have Mrs. Adams see if any of her friends need pool servicing.{endif} Amy may be able to do more horse mucking and I can do more tutoring."

His words met his mother's snore.

Well, that had gone well. Not.

{if fitness>10}He lifted her from the couch, surprised that she was as light as she was. He was somehow used to thinking of his mother as a big person... as she'd been when he'd been a child. In fact, she was no taller than Karen and didn't weigh that much more than his sister.

He slipped off her shoes when he got her to her bed, then threw a comforter over her. Yeah, there was a temptation to perv on her but if ever there was a time to perv, this wasn't it.

{else}He tried to lift her but failed. Clearly he needed to get in better shape. So he slipped off her shoes, then went to her bedroom to collect a comforter which he draped over her. Not that she needed a lot of warmth in the California heat but still, he wasn't going to leave her lying there unprotected.{endif}

"We'll talk about it tomorrow," he told her sleeping body. "We'll find a way out of this mess, I promise."

He was no longer in the mood for dating so he took his books and made sure he understood the latest Trig issues.