“Mom, I…”
“Love you, son. See you soon.” She hung up.
He looked at his watch again. He would need to be at the airport around 10:30am. He had no idea why his mother was coming.
He left his father’s house and headed home for a shower and some breakfast. A few hours later he was back in his truck heading to the airport.
CHAPTER EIGHT
On his way to the airport, the photo of the Taj Majal kept going through his mind. The photo caused something inside of him to move. He wasn’t sure what it was. It was only a feeling somewhere within.
He felt that the Taj Mahal held some significance for him but he had never been there and was not sure why he felt as he did. In fact, the Taj Majal bored him. The architecture was amazing for its time but to him it was just another building built many years ago that really had no impact on his day-to-day life.
He drove for several minutes with the image of the Taj Mahal flashing in-and-out of his mind. It was so distracting that he almost missed the exit for the airport. He had to slam on his brakes and jerk his wheel into the right lane to get off. In doing so he cut off a Jeep. The owner of the Jeep extended his arm towards Babel and at the end of that arm, a finger stood up in a not-so-friendly salute.
He took a left off the ramp, passed over the highway he had just exited, and took another right to enter the road that would lead to the terminal. He parked his truck and entered the airport. Looking up at the flight board as he entered, he saw that his mother’s flight was on time.
He looked down at his watch – thirty minutes until her flight landed. He went to one of the gift shops and bought a candy bar, soda, and newspaper and sat down to wait for his mother. Forty five minutes later, he was helping his mother into his truck.
They drove to his father’s house and his mother questioned him about the fire at his office. He described the situation as it had happened and was just getting to his role in the fire when they turned the corner onto his father’s street. He would finish the story later.
Babel could see his mother scowl from the corner of his eye as they pulled into the driveway.
During his parent’s marriage, his father had spent very little time working on the house or the yard. His father would buy materials for a project and then leave those items in the garage for months before he actually started the project. The house before them was well-kept as was the yard. The neatness was obviously a source of resentment.
Babel ignored his mother’s scowl. He turned off the engine, then got out and opened his mother’s door.
Together they walked to the front door, which Babel unlocked and opened. His mother and he stepped into the sunlit house. For a while she didn’t speak, she just looked around. Babel thought he saw her tear up a few up times but his mother’s hair had a way of falling across her face so he wasn’t sure.
He gave her a few more minutes, staying back by the door. He started to take a step towards her when he noticed her pick up a picture. He stopped himself and she didn’t notice his slight movement. She was lost in thought as she gazed at a picture of Babel as a baby.
In that moment, Alicia thought back to when she had first met John, walking through the commons area at the university. She was instantly struck with the man and six months later they were married. Looking for something stable, John entered the military the following fall. It wasn’t long before Babel entered the picture. “What should we name him?” John had asked.
“Let’s call him Babel. Isn’t that an old family name?”
John nodded. “It is. But that’s a last name. That would be an unusual first name.”
“Our son will be anything but usual. He’ll be extraordinary.”
John considered her comment and smiled. “Okay, Babel it is.”
Alicia put the picture of her infant son down and turned to look at her adult son. “What are you looking at?”
Babel shrugged sheepishly. “I don’t know. What am I looking at?”
“Babel, are you suggesting your mother is getting soft in her advancing age?”
“I’m not saying that. Are you saying that?”
Alicia smiled. “Maybe just a little. So, where is the photo of the Taj Mahal?”
Babel grabbed the photo off the desk.
She pulled her glasses out of her purse and put them on. She looked closely at the picture and as she did, a slight smile crossed her lips. “I remember when your father first showed me this picture.” Babel looked at his mother with anticipation. “It was after he came back from India for the first time. I can’t tell you what he was doing there. Something with the military, of course. But I remember when he showed it do me. He was so proud that he had been there.”
“So why does the back of the photo say Home?”
His mother took a deep breath. “There’s something you should know Babel.”
Babel looked at his mother seriously. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about your father. I don’t know if it was his choice or if something happened but he’s gone home. That’s what he means by the word on the back of the picture.”
“What do you mean he’s gone home? This is his home.”
Alicia nodded at the picture. “Your father’s not from here.”
“I know he’s not from here.” Babel interrupted. “He’s from Michigan. Are you saying he
