Hugo streamed despite a mild hangover. He felt brief regret at releasing the camera yesterday, because he was not looking his best today. Luckily, none of the viewers seemed to care. At most there was a comment that he went from cute in the night to a smolder in the morning.
Today he had a bigger problem. It was Mother’s Day and he had forgotten to buy the gift he had planned. Luckily, he was able to get some same-day floral delivery scheduled for his grandma and mom. Who knows what quality the bouquets would be... Hugo shook his head to get rid of his worries.
His mom would be picking him up for lunch today from his small ‘studio’ apartment. The building he lived in converted the attic into a one-room suite with a kitchenette and a attached bathroom. It could be considered a full apartment as much as a hotel room. The only boon was that he could afford it almost entirely from his video income.
Sometimes his videos did not get enough views and he’d have to pick up a part-time job to make ends meet until they shot back up. It wasn’t as glamorous of a life as it seemed to his viewers, but it was his. This was actually one of his best months yet, and Hugo had a good feeling that true success was just out of reach.
On that note, he left his apartment building to wait for his mom. She drove up in a purple 1966 convertible Ford Mustang with it’s whitetop down. Her short cropped curls bounced as she turned to wave him into the car. She held out her hand in expectation when he walked over.
“Your gift is on it's way to your place. A new car mom?” He wanted to change the subject and Ms. Byron had always loved cars. They were her dream as a little girl and now they are her life as an adult. She’s a mechanic at work, and she restores old cars at home. Hugo’s father left when he felt like she cared more about the cars than him. Luckily, the money she makes reselling the cars she handles as a hobby was more than enough to support Hugo and herself.
She laughed as he made his way around the car to get in. "Yeah, I think I may keep this one."
"I'm pretty sure you've already decided that, or you would have painted it a matte red instead. You always tell me-"
"Red is dead, and dead is Vintage." They completed the rest together and laughed. "Plus, it just feels faster to the buyers."
Ms. Byron started the car and they drove mostly in silence. The wind lifted their curls and created their own bubble as they drove off to a cafe. She looked a little fidgety as if something was bothering her. The waitress took their orders and walked off. Hugo decided to start the conversation when Ms. Byron didn't say anything for a while.
"Are you okay? You rarely get this worked up, unless... Don't tell me you're going to give up your Gullwing mom?"
She paused slowly looked up at him. She made a hollow laugh. "You know me so well Hugo."
"But... I was kidding. You fought so hard to keep it. Even when dad wanted to have it sold during the separation to," Hugo continued the rest of the sentence sarcastically, "make sure 'I' was taken care of."
"Hah! That was why I waited to settle the divorce until after his new woman got impatient and he gave up on the idea of getting half of my car. Actually, that wasn't the only time I've fought for my precious Gullwing. Do you remember how I got it?"
"Grandpa owned a junkyard, and you worked to restore it together after someone who didn't recognize it for what it was dumped it there." Hugo answered this with confidence, as if he had heard it many times before.
"Your grandpa wasn't so convinced we should restore it though! He saw it as a way to get us out of poverty and put me through a proper education, college and all. I didn't want anything other than my car. I had always loved looking at vintage cars in magazines, and it felt like fate. We had a huge fight where he even threatened to disown me and kick me out of the house! He knew it still needed repaired before it could be sold for value, and thought I'd get bored of helping him with the work and give up. Instead, he saw how serious I was and was reluctantly convinced. He started introducing me to people who would come to the junkyard looking for salvageable vintage cars or parts."
"It's too bad one of them was Mr. Byron." The waitress came with their food and put it on the table.
"Hmph. I thought he was a kindred soul with the same passion for the hobby, but it turned out he was only interested in selling the work for the money." The waitress, her nametag identifying her as Bethany, looked sympathetic at she checked to see if they needed anything else. Hugo's mom replied to her, whispering conspiratorially by the end. "That's all thank you. And don't worry about it Bethany, I learned all of his skills before I had to kick him out."
"Don't tease the waitress mom," Hugo laughed, "Why would you get rid of it after all these years?"
"Well... it gets harder to get in and out of her the older I get. I've been driving my old beater for even longer drives on nice days. She should go to some young fellow with a dream who can occasionally take her for a spin. And quadrupling my retirement fund at minimum isn't the end of the world."
Mother Dragon
Fun Fact: I imagine his front door to be at the bottom of the stairs entering his apartment, giving a loft vibe. The thought of Hugo carrying every delivery and whatever groceries up however many flights of stairs only for him to see more stairs when opening the door makes me giggle for some reason.
