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Matt

It was a slow day at the bar, and most of the staff had been sent home Aside from the cook we had hired, it was justshift, at which point I got to go home and the rest of the crew came in I could use a day off

The last feeeks had been pretty crazy, and a slow, easy day off wasup steahts and regular nights alike, ere constantly rolling Betweentables as well as occasional bartending when Jordan or Cris wasn’t there, I was having a hell of a ti with exhaustion the second I got back to my apartment

My apartment was my solitude, my fortress, and I absolutely loved it I was a bachelor, through and through, and my home reflected that I owned, at maximum, five towels I wasn’t even sure exactly if that was true, but it certainly wasn’t more than five I had blinds and no curtains in every roo rooiant television and the coe chair I could find

I was greatly looking forward to having an evening off to sit down, crack open a beer, and play video games until I drifted off to sleep

Then Mom walked into the bar

“Shit,” I muttered to myself “Hey, Mom!”

“Matthew,” she said, s toward me with her arms open It didn’t matter if the bar had four people or four thousand in it, she was going to co me in front of all of them

“What are you doing here?” I asked as nonjudgmentally as I could It wasn’t that I didn’t want to see my mother; I adored her It was just that if she was here this late in the afternoon, it ht was not her strong suit And considering that Jordan and Hannah and the baby were all in a small apartment as they saved up money to buy a house, that meant there was only one place for Mom to stay

“It was the funniest thing,” she said “I was sitting at home on a call with Samantha—that’s one of my fancy ladies you know—and she went on and on about Portland and how ht, you knohat? I haven’t been there in ages, and I have a brand-new grandbaby up there who needs sorandmother’s love So, I’m here!”

The Fancy Ladies was the naether at least once a week Their adventures ranged fro trips and sessions to the more risqué trips to strip clubs with names like the Banana Hammock

“Mom, hey,” ca out of the back roo orders because she caht behind him and smiled