by Chuck Howe

The rain hitting the snow covered ground caused an impenetrable fog. Looking out of the window, Gavin could barely see the house across the street. Gavin had not seen fog like that in five years, but his mother tells him that is impossible.

“No Mom, I can remember it clearly. February 16th 1999. The Millers hadn’t built their house yet, so we had a perfect view of the soccer field and the river.” Gavin looked every bit the part of a normal seven year old, but his mother knew he was far from normal.

Silvia sat at the kitchen table in amazement. She should have been used to it by now. Her little Gavin was always surprising her. “But honey, how do you remember that. You were only two years old.” She could already guess his answer.

“Of coarse I remember, you didn’t want to drive to Grandma’s because of the fog, so we played with my blocks in the living room all day. We built a castle.”

This was one of the few times that she could remember too, but Gavin was so young. He should not have been able to remember. This was not a rare occurrence either. Sometimes Gavin would give her directions while she was driving. If he had been there once before, he knew the way.

“Well honey, the fog doesn’t look as bad today. Should we go to Grandma’s? I’m sure she would like the company on such a rainy day.”

“No Mom, she’s at the doctor. She has a noon appointment.” Silvia looked at the clock. It was 11:45.

“How do you know that?” She sat down with him at the kitchen table, and slowly sipped her coffee.

“She told you last week, remember?”

“You’re right. Thank god I have you, or I wouldn’t remember my name.” It was true. As good as Gavin’s memory was, hers was bad. Her ex-husband had a terrible memory as well. Had his memory improved because they spent so much time together? Did he feel he had to remember everything to help out his mother? “Gavin what’s your earliest memory? What is the first thing you can remember?” Silvia was nervous, almost fearing what his response would be. The first few years of his life had not been easy. In no way did she anticipate his response.

“I remember Daddy bringing me in the house. The door was red, and he was holding me. You couldn’t find your keys, so Daddy had to open the door while he was holding me.”

“Honey that’s impossible. We painted the door black just a few days after…” She paused in deep thought. “A few days after we brought you home from the hospital.”

“Right. I remember Daddy was angry because he wanted to watch the Mets game instead of painting. That night you had a big fight.”

Silvia could not believe what she was hearing. The child was less than a week old at the time. She knew that his father hadn’t told him the story. Gavin had not seen his father since he was three, and his father moved to Denver. Again she asked a question she didn’t really want to know the answer too. “Do you remember your father and I fighting a lot.”

“Just the big fights.” He could see the look of pain on his mothers face. “But that’s OK. I know you tried. It would have been much worse if you had stayed together.”

“Gavin, how come you’re so smart. Kids your age are not supposed to understand things like that. You know that we tried to stay together, thinking it would be best for you.”

“It wouldn’t have been Mom. It’s much better to have a happy Mom, than two unhappy parents. I wish Dad would call more, but I get to spend lots of time with you.” He walked over to his mom, and gave her a kiss on the cheek. She strained to pick up Gavin, and put him on her lap.

“I don’t know what I did to deserve a son like you.” She kissed his for head, and Gavin’s whole face lit up in a smile. Gavin had a special gift. More than just the photographic memory, he knew how to soothe his mother’s soul. “OK, enough of this talk, what do you want to do today?”

“Let’s play hide and go seek.” Thank god she thought, at least he can still play like a kid….