ON THE RUN (3)

How could she accuse me of being the reason he was not in touch with his family?

I stood there trying to make sense of the ongoing encounter between a mother and her son. What did she mean by her last statement or rather an accusation? How could she accuse me of being the reason he was not in touch with his family?
“No, mom,” Akin said calmly but firmly — that is until those words came out: “Then maybe you should ask yourself why we’ve lost contact.” His voice dipped low on purpose creating more emotion than necessary.

His mom smiled.

“I thought as much, there is no valid reason.’ she replied and walked away from him. She walked towards the framed photos on the wall and examined them. The photos we took in Cabo last summer, our anniversary dinner photos in San Francisco, individual photos, graduation photos, and childhood photos of Akin and I were in a nice collage on the wall.

He followed her like he expected her to do something crazy. The tension in the room was so thick and it made me uncomfortable. I was not sure of what to say or do and what it would trigger in his mom.

She took her eyes off the photos on the wall and looked at him.