Later that night, Lance spent hours tossing and turning in bed. As far as he knew, his mother was still in the dark about his current standing with Cara. So that was not part of his worries. In fact, he had only two worries. The first and the least pressing was how he'd "stick with" Cara without getting caught. But the second and most pressing was what Cara's last words to him really meant.
What on Earth did she mean by "I'll love only the man"? Did that mean that she already loved him or did it mean that she was yet to love him and would only do so on the condition that he must first become a man? If he already had her love, then great! That would mean that he was the most fortunate guy on Earth. But if it meant that he had to earn her love, then he was clearly in for some tough work! So which was it? He could call her and ask, but he was afraid that it would sound stupid and immature. Wasn't a real man supposed to be capable of figuring out something like this? That was the question on his mind when sleep finally stole over his exhausted frame.
Morning came; bright, cheery and promising. With the golden rays of sunlight came something even more beautiful. Lance woke up with a start. An idea had just floated into his head. He rested on his elbows and spent a few seconds fleshing it out. Then he jumped off the bed and rushed off to the bathroom, glancing at the clock as he went. It was Saturday and his mother usually woke up late on weekends. By now, she would have been done bathing. And right enough, as he stepped into the bathroom, he could feel the scent of her favorite soap, but the place was empty alright.
He quickly went ahead to wash his face and empty his bladder, then he grabbed his brush and worked on his teeth as quickly as he could. His new idea had put him in a fever. He felt that there was no way on Earth it would fail to succeed. The only worry was how he had not managed to think of it until now!
When he was done in the bathroom, Lance sailed with confidence and dropped anchors outside his mother's room.
"Come," was Carol's answer to his knock.
Lance turned the knob and stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. He was so confident of success that he began almost immediately, even though he could see that his mother was still busy in front of the mirror.
"Mom, I'd like to talk something over with you."
"Okay," Carol mumbled, noting the words 'talk something over'.
"Well, it's about my accommodation," Lance said and stopped there.
Aha! Independence, eh? Carol thought. But aloud, she said, "What about it?" And then turned to face him.
Lance was a bit flustered by the sudden action, but not for long. He quickly shook it off and squared his shoulders. Impressive, was Carol's thought.
"I'm thin.. I'm ready to get my own place."
His emphasis on the word 'ready' didn't escape her notice, but her face gave nothing away.
"Why?", she simply asked, staring directly at him.
"Well," he shrugged, looking anywhere but her face, "I've just decided, you know. And I'd like to be closer to school too.. amongst other things." He stopped there and stared at the ground, suddenly interested in his toes. Carol gave a tired sigh and then turned back to her mirror.
"No," she said in a tone of finality.
"Huh?", Lance was shocked. His toes suddenly became uninteresting and he stared at his mother in disbelief.
"I know exactly why you want to move out and my answer is No. I forbid it and I won't allow it. End of discussion."
Lance's jaw remained on the ground for a few more seconds as he continued to stare at his mother in astonishment. At first, he thought he'd misheard her, but now he was baffled at how she had read his mind and figured out his motive. It took some time for the full significance of her words to finally dawn on him and then he jammed his jaw shut. Without a word, he turned 180 and pulled open the door, then stepped out of the room and slammed the door shut with a loud bang.
"Whew whew whew!", someone whistled behind him and he whirled round to find Anna sporting a wide grin.
"Desertion request not granted," she crooned in a sing-song voice.
Lance's jaw tightened and his hold on the door knob became a death grip. At this point, their eyes met. What Anna saw in there made her swallow. Obviously, she had chosen the wrong time to make fun of him.
"Mooooom!", she squealed in terror as she flew for the steps with Lance close on her heels!