A Mother and Child Reunion

I planned on taking Josh to the Village Deli for lunch. This well-known, casual eatery in the heart of town specializes in breakfast and lunch selections, is reasonably priced and serves tasty, generous portions. Surprisingly, in the three and a half years that Josh has been at IU, he has never eaten there. I've dined there a few times, enjoyed my entrees and thought it would have been a nice treat for him. Besides that, I was famished from my long commute and was excited to finally spend some time alone with my son away from all the stress at home.

I picked Josh up at his frat around noon, drove to the downtown area and found a spot in a municipal parking lot about a block away from Kirkwood (a popular street in Bloomington where the restaurant and a host of other eateries, bars and shops are located). I was happy to finally get out of my car and give Josh a big hug and kiss. As I did so, he immediately tensed up and backed away. What the heck was this all about? As members of my tribe would say, "Something was definitely not kosher here." As we walked toward the restaurant, it was obvious that Josh was in a foul mood. He claimed he was tired from a night of way too much partying, but I sensed it was much more than that. As we neared the restaurant, we could see a line forming out the door and down the street. It appeared that quite a few other people had the same idea I did. What can I say...great minds really do think alike. Since the frat boys planned a wine and cheese party at Oliver Winery for later that afternoon and I still needed to find my hotel, unpack, bathe and change before the festivities, we needed to grab a quick bite to eat somewhere else. Josh suggested we go to The Pita Pit, a new "healthy" salad place that recently opened up. By the time we got there, it became clear what was bugging him. Dick had called and texted him repeatedly that morning, annoying Josh to no end. As a result, this was not starting out to be the fun, carefree weekend that I envisioned. I had been with Josh barely a half hour and he seemed more perturbed than thrilled that I was there. On top of that, I was starving, wiped out and in desperate need of a shower. When our food arrived at the table, Josh informed me that he would be picking me up at my hotel in about an hour. He had to be kidding me. How did he think I was supposed to eat, drive him back, check in to my hotel, freshen up and be ready in 60 minutes. So much for a leisurely meal! We compromised and he agreed to pick me up in a hour and a half.

As I drove him back to his place, Josh informed me that Marni is going have a lot of student loans to pay back when she goes to college. "Where did you come up with that?" I queried him. He said that Dick told him since we are getting divorced, his situation will be changing and he won't have the money to pay for Marni's college tuition like he did for Josh. Upon hearing that, my blood began to boil. What was Dick thinking discussing Marni's future with Josh? I informed Josh that when a couple is married, they are not obligated to pay for their childrens' college education; however, when they are divorced they are required by law to make sure this expense is covered. Besides that, it really was not a conversation Dick should have been having with Josh under any circumstances. This was an issue for him and me to deal with. Now I was getting a better idea why Josh was so tense earlier. I was beginning to feel the same way. At that moment, spending the remainder of the afternoon at the winery was sounding like a wonderful idea.