The following morning Tommy saw his mother sitting in the kitchen drinking a cup of coffee. There was a very uncomfortable silence as he got himself a cup of coffee and sat down. The light of a new day made everything seem different. They each blamed themselves for what had happened.
"Mom..."
"Tommy..." they both spoke at the same time, then laughed nervously.
"Sorry," Tommy said.
"Tommy... uh... we uh... what... happened last night was..." Sue said, struggling with her words.
"I... I... know Mom," Tommy interrupted. "I'm sorry, I spoiled everything," he said, almost in tears, waiting for her anger.
Sue looked at him in surprise. "It wasn't your fault sweetheart. It was mine. Let's just forget it. It was probably just the wine," Sue lied. "I shouldn't have drunk so much."
"Can... can we uh... go out again?" Tommy asked hopefully.
"I don't think that would be a good idea."
"I knew it," Tommy said in an angry tone. However, he was angry with himself. He arose from the table with tears in his eyes and rushed out of the room.
"Tommy!" Sue called after him. However, he was already out of the house. Now Sue was heartbroken. She was the one that had messed everything up, she thought as her tears began to flow.
Later that evening, Sue tapped on Tommy's door. She pushed the door open gently when she heard Tommy tell her to come in. He was lying on the bed looking at a sports magazine. "Tommy, can we talk?" she asked, sitting on the bed, her face tense with thinly veiled emotions.
"Sure," he answered, rolling over and looking up at the ceiling with his hands behind his head.
"I'm sorry Tommy... sorry about... about everything," Sue said struggling with her words. "God Tommy, I was the one that suggested the date. I've thought all day about it and I know it's entirely my fault. We're both lonely and we both miss Dad so much." Suddenly, Sue stopped talking as her voice choked up. Then she began to sob.