Page 42 of The Close-Up
“Hang on, Mom.” I turn to him. “Yeah, a ceramic hand-sculpted vase.”
He walks over and offers to explain to Mom how to put the vase back together.
I hesitate for a second. “You sure? I don’t mean to ask you to walk my mom through an impromptu vase repair.”
“It’s no problem at all.”
I put the phone on speaker. “Okay, Mom. My friend Simon is going to explain what kind of glue to use and how to put it together.”
“Oh! How nice of you, Simon! Thank you!Anak, who’s Simon?”
“He’s the guy I’m filming for work, remember?”
“Oh! Simon from the videos, with the nice tush? Yes, I remember!”
I shake my head, quietly groaning. I turn to Simon. “She watches every video I ever put out,” I explain.
“Of course I do! You’re my baby and I’m proud of you,” she announces.
Simon flashes an adorable grin. “Well, thanks for your viewership, Mrs. Ellorza.”
“You had some excellent moves onstage. I need you to show them to my husband.”
“Oh my god, Mom. Seriously. Can you not talk about that right now?”
Simon covers his mouth as he chuckles.
“Fine, fine,” she says, the smile in her tone clear. “Simon, what kind of glue should I use for this?”
Simon recommends Gorilla Glue and for the next couple of minutes explains the best way to glue ceramic. When he finishes, Mom is practically giddy.
“Oh, I feel so much better about this. Thank you, Simon!”
“It’s my pleasure.”
“You should come over to the house sometime so I can make you dinner as a thank-you,” Mom says. “Naomi, bring him over one of these days!”
“Okay, Mom. We’ve gotta go, though.”
“Oh sure, sure. Thank you again, Simon. Love you,anak!”
Simon says bye the same time that I say “I love you too,” and I hang up.
“Thanks for that,” I say as I put my phone away.
“It wasn’t a problem at all. Your mom seems sweet. And I’m holding you to that dinner.” He shuts his laptop. “That’s a really thoughtful thing for her to do for your dad.”
“They are the epitome of couple goals. Married for almost forty years and act like they’re teenagers in love. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen them argue.”
I tell Simon that Dad surprises Mom with her favorite white roses every week when he comes home from his Friday morning squash sessions. They make a big deal out of their anniversary every year, and always hold hands, even if they’re just on a neighborhood walk or wandering around the grocery store. And they say “I love you” a million times a day.
“Seriously, the love between them is sickening—in the best way. They’re a tough act to follow.”
He looks at me thoughtfully, as if he’s analyzing what I’ve just said.
“I don’t mean to get all ‘relationship therapist’ on you, but do you think that you idealize your parents’ marriage a bit?”
I frown at him. “How do you mean?”
