Lukewarm (nyofruk)

Chapter one

I still remember that day like the back of my hand. The day my husband died. He was a good man, but I guess things are supposed to be a certain way. "Mom, are you okay?" I turned to the threshold of my bedroom door, seeing my son Alfred stand there. "Yes, I am almost ready," I smiled. He wanted to move away from California so the both of us could get some peace. I did as he wanted since I knew he was hurting too. My job paid enough to make it happen, so I asked him where he wanted to move.

I was a lawyer, which paid me around one hundred thousand dollars a year. So I was not too worried about the Expenses. It was just the two of us, so it was much cheaper. So I asked him. "Anywhere in the world, where do you want to go," and he said he wanted to live in Europe. I grew up in Europe before coming to America, but he wanted to come back. I did not say no to his request and later asked him where specifically. To my surprise, he didn't want to live in England, where a lot of my family was at.

He wanted to live in France. It was an odd place to choose, but I will ask him why he chose France when we go to dinner tonight. We arrived in France last week and finally settled in. We planned to leave the states two years ago, and we finally moved last week. Which makes sense; it was not going to be a super easy process. We were going to celebrate the move and the completion of our settling-in. I enrolled him in a high school here in France, and he was started this upcoming Monday.

Both of us were thrilled, really. It was his senior year, and I wanted him to get out of the slump we were in back in America. He seemed a lot happier here in Europe, and I even got to take him on a couple of trips to sightsee. "Come on already!!!" Alfred pulled me gently from his excitement. "I know; I just need to lock up the house," I laughed. The switch has helped me to move on from Arthur. I loved him dearly, but it was time to move on.

Once I finished locking the door, I walked to the car where Alfred was waiting. "Can I drive?" He asked. "No! You do not know how to drive in Europe yet" I shook my head as he started to pout. I unlocked the doors, and he happily sat in the car. He brings so much joy to my life, I do not know what I did to deserve a son that was as good as he is. As I started to drive out of the driveway, Alfred kept looking out the window in awe. Although he was seventeen, he acted like a kid. I suppose he was a kid at heart.

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"Okay! We are here," I cheered. We did not like fancy places, so we settled for some pizza. "Mom, can I ask you something?" Alfred suddenly becomes serious. I breathed out nervously as we walked inside the pizza shop together. "What is it?" I asked, concerned. He held the door open for me, and I walked in first. "Well, I was wondering if you planned to start dating...." his words shocked me. I had not thought about dating. "Well.... it's more complicated than you think."

We both took a seat at a booth, and he looked at me seriously. "If you are not wanting to date because of me, just know I would never do that to you. Deprive you of being happy," Alfred looked at me saddened and I shook my head. "It is not like that, I just, I guess I might not be ready...I know it's been two years, but I think it might be too soon to be thinking about that," I said. I did not want to admit it, but he was right. I just needed to move on already. I am sure he saw how sad I got now and then.

"Alright then...it is whatever you feel comfortable with, mom" he smiled sweetly at me. "Can I ask you something? Actually...a few somethings," I laughed out. He nodded at me and waited for me to speak. "Would you feel better if I was seeing someone?" I asked. "Well....it would make me happy that you were happy. But do not do it for me. I want you to move on, on your own. When you do, I will be supporting you every step of the way."

I smiled at his words, nodding. "One more question....why did you pick France to live in? It was a very random choice," I laughed. He started to laugh nervously, avoiding the question. "What is it?" I asked. "Well.....Ihaveanonlinefriendwholiveshere..." he said quickly. "What?! Did you choose to live here because of your online friend? They better be super cool!" I looked at him, shocked, as he laughed nervously. "His name is Matthew...he is super cool!" He said excitedly. "What if this Matthew was trying to kidnap you? Or ....do the nasties with you."

"Mom, it is not like that," he laughed. "Well, if you need support, I always got your back," I shook my head. Alfred knew some French from me, so there was no language barrier here for him in France. Besides, he could pick up the language more and become more fluent. "Just be safe..." I warned, and he continued to laugh at me. "He is my age and goes to the same school I am trying to enroll in," Alfred said, and I still was skeptical... I will be like a hawk around Alfred if I see this Matthew around.

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Thanks for reading so far❤️
This is my new story so I hope you enjoy