My Holiday House Guest (3 page)

When they left I
hugged and kissed them both goodbye in the driveway and watched them drive off.
 My holiday houseguest stirred up feelings in me that I had buried for a long
time.  I suddenly wasn’t content with my simple life as I knew it.  I knew
there were more good things in store waiting for me on many levels, and I had
to act to find it.

I knew that by
sweeping my lack of reading ability under the rug, I was cutting myself off
from a world of opportunities: a better job, a more fulfilling life, and now
even a budding relationship was at stake.

I struggled at
first with my decision mostly out of fear, but in the end, I knew what I had to
do. I contacted my local library and asked about their adult literacy program.
I signed up for a class held a few times a week to strengthen my reading
skills.  My Instructor was a young woman who worked as a Human Resources
executive during the day and volunteered to teach reading at night. I also
asked her to read me the travel article and poems Douglas wrote me. The article
was great, and the poems were beautiful and expressed how he felt about me. I
looked forward to someday soon being able to read them myself. I called Douglas
and gave him m%y comments on his travel article and the poems without telling
him about the literacy class.

Right before
Christmas break I made a trip to the University of Arkansas and headed to
Hansen Hall. I called Evan before I got to his dorm to let him know I was
coming. He was in between work and classes. We met at his dorm room and talked
for quite awhile. He knew that I couldn’t read. It was a secret that we shared
and I was ashamed of.

When I told him
about my class, he jumped up and hugged me. He was smiling ear to ear. “That’s
great Mom, I’m happy for you.”

“Thanks, baby.
It’s been hard, but I’m going to stick with it.” I told him more about the
class and could tell he was genuinely interested. “I just wanted to let you
know that Douglas and I have become ahhh, friends, and I’m inviting him to
spend Christmas with us.”

“Oh, I kind of
thought something was up between the two of you,” he said choosing his words
carefully.

“Well, yes there
is. We hit it off and really like each other. I know it’s always been just the
two of us. I hope you can understand what I’m trying to say here, Evan.”

“I think I do. I
know I used to give you a hard time about seeing guys in the past, but I know
that you deserve to be happy too.”

“You don’t have
a problem with the age thing, or that Doug is a friend of yours?”

“No, it’s cool
with me. I don’t think he’s too young for you, Mom. Doug gets my seal of
approval.”

Just what I
wanted to hear. I was so proud of the young man I’d raised; he was maturing in
front of me.
One down, and one to go
. I left my son’s room and walked
downstairs to the main floor and found Doug’s apartment off the lobby. I took a
deep breath and released it, raised my head, and knocked on the door.

The door opened
and Douglas stood before me. 

“Ravon, what a
surprise! Come in. Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”

“I just had to
see you. I’ve been keeping something from you, Douglas, and I want to share it
with you now.”

“Of course, you
have my undivided attention,” he said as he sat on the sofa and I paced in
front of him

“Douglas…I’m a
functional illiterate.”

“What?”

“Or should I say
I was an illiterate. I’m learning how to read in an adult literacy program that
I attend after work.  I had to drop out of school and never finished. I had a
series of bad breaks and missed opportunities. I had Evan when I was young, and
then took care of my mother when she became ill. I just never went back to
school. I was ashamed to tell you that I couldn’t read, especially since you’re
going for your master’s degree and you’re a writer. I couldn’t imagine what you
would want with an older woman% who couldn’t even read.”

I explained to
him that I wasn’t disinterested in his work or poetry, but that I was ashamed
because I couldn’t read.

“Well that
really explains a lot. I never understood why it took you so long to read and
comment on my stories and poems. I’m totally shocked, Ravon. But I’m glad
because I thought you just blew me off and didn’t take me or us seriously.”

“No, not at
all. I took it very seriously and felt that you wouldn’t want me if you knew I
couldn’t read.”

I told him more
about the literacy program, and my plans to go back to school. He stood up,
hugged me tightly, and kissed me. He whispered in my ear, “I’m very proud of
you.”

My body tingled
with excitement when he kissed me, and I held him close.

“Thank you and
I’m glad you’re a writer, because I plan to read all of your work in the
future,” I said.

A future I wanted
to share with him.

The
End

Author
Bio

Carolyn Gibbs
has a background in television news and TV production. She has a BA in
Journalism from C.W. Post College, and has worked for several New York area television
stations. When she’s not writing or reading, she loves hiking, Pilates and
yoga. Her novella Love and the Economy is published by Secret Cravings
Publishing. You can find out more about her current work in progress at her
blog,
www.carolynwrites.blogspot.com
.