Annie and Arnold went home and took their purchases upstairs and into Arnold's room. He emptied his suitcase and they packed what they could inside. The rest they packed into several boxes and set them beside the door. The clothes from his suitcase were put away in several drawers in the dresser and hung up in the closet. That used up most of the time until suppertime. They had eaten a late lunch, so neither of them were hungry.

“We can go for a walk.” Annie said.

“Did you plan it?” Arnold asked and she laughed.

“No, I'm just thinking of something to fill the rest of the evening.” Annie said. “I thought we would spend a lot more time at the mall than we did.”

“We didn't buy any winter clothing.” Arnold said.

Annie took in a sharp breath. “I completely forgot about that!” She said and grabbed his hand. “We lost all of our packed away winter things, too.” She led him back downstairs and they hopped in the car. “If I remember correctly, there was a store not that far from downtown that had some nice winter things.”

They drove around for twenty minutes and they both looked for the store.

“There.” Arnold said and pointed.

Annie nodded and drove over to it and parked. “It's still open, too.” She said and they went to the door. “The sign says we have a few hours before they close. That might be enough time.”

Arnold raised his eyebrows slightly and she laughed.

“Yes, I'm kidding.” Annie said and they went into the store. “We'll have a look around, maybe try on a few coats, and I'll buy you a nice big pair of fluffy mittens.”

The two of them did just that. They walked around and checked out several nice coats and tried them on, picked out their favourites, then went over to the mittens.

“Oh! Look at these things!” Annie exclaimed and picked up a pair that looked like they had been made from a white long haired angora cat. “They're so soft and fluffy!”

“Those are our best sellers.” A man said as he came over to them. “You should definitely buy them for your girlfriend.” He said to Arnold as Annie rubbed the mittens over her face.

“She's not my girlfriend.” Arnold said and the guy's face changed from happy to something that he didn't like.

“Really.” The man said with a sly smile and turned towards Annie with that look.

Arnold stepped between them and stared at the man.

The man immediately stepped back. “Hey, I was just...”

“She's my mother.” Arnold said in a flat voice and didn't change his stare.

“Ah... yeah. Okay.” The man said, a little unnerved by the weird guy. The hot woman wasn't worth the hassle if her son was around all the time, anyway. He walked away and went back to stocking the shelves.

“Arnold.” Annie whispered and he turned around to look at her. “You scared him away for me.”

Arnold nodded and took the mittens from her hands, then he lifted them and rubbed them on her face.

Annie laughed as they tickled her. “Yes, these are the mittens!”

Arnold stopped and they went over to the winter boots. They tried on several different pairs and styles and Annie picked out two pairs for herself. One pair was for when things were wet and not a lot of snow was down. They only went to mid-calf and were stylish. The other pair was for deep snow. They went right up to her knee and were nice and toasty warm inside with the thick fake fur lining.

“I won't even have to wear socks with these.” Annie said jokingly and brought them over to the counter with Arnold's single pair of boots, the mittens, and two nice winter coats.

“I'd suggest at least ankle socks, just so you don't sweat directly into the lining.” A young woman said and started to ring in the items. “They'll last longer and you won't have to deodorize them as much.”

“Do you have those?” Annie asked. “Maybe you can recommend the best one, since I haven't seen this style of boot before.”

“Sure.” The young woman said. “Rob? Can you grab me a Hen 23 foot massage odour pad?”

The man that had approached them earlier appeared from behind a shelf and saw who the customer was. “Yeah.” He said and quickly walked away.

“I'm sorry about him trying to hit on you.” The young woman said. “He's a bit full of himself when it comes to the fairer sex.” She shrugged. “He's a good worker, otherwise.”

“It wouldn't be so bad if he toned it down a little.” An older woman said when she came back to the counter with the requested foot odour pads. “I'm afraid one of these times, he's going to hit on the wrong woman and it's going to backfire on him.”

“Or she decides to make a fuss.” The young woman said and added the foot pads to Annie's purchase.

“We would have to take action officially if that happens.” The older lady said. “Oh, I love those mittens.” She said and caressed the fluffy angora mittens. “We sell out of them so quickly because everyone loves them.”

The young woman finished tallying up the cost and Annie paid with her debit card. She turned to tell Arnold to take the biggest bag and he wasn't beside her.

“Arnold?” Annie turned around and looked for him. She saw him come back to the counter with the other four pairs of white angora mittens and laughed. “What are you doing?”

“Buying the rest.” Arnold said and the young woman rang them up and he paid with his debit card.

“O-kay.” Annie said and told him to take the largest bag, then she took the other bag and the one with his mittens. They left the shop and went outside, put the bags in the backseat, then climbed into the front of the car. “Who did you buy them for?”

“Doris, Pam, and Janet.” Arnold said without hesitation.

Annie glanced at him and started the car. “What about the last pair?”

“The lady said they always sell out.” Arnold said.

Annie's eyes widened for a second, then she burst out laughing. She was glad that she hadn't put the car in gear yet. “I love you so much!” She said and leaned across the seat and hugged her son, then gave him a quick kiss. “You're just too adorable!”

“Do you want me to stop?” Arnold asked, even though he wasn't sure how to stop being something that he didn't really understand.

“Good lord, no.” Annie said and looked into his eyes. “You keep being you, no matter what.” She said. “There's no one else like you in the world and I have been blessed beyond all reason to have you in my life.”

Arnold hugged her back and held her as she eased back and used a hand to cup the side of his face.

“Even though both of our lives haven't turned out like I had thought. With everything that's happened and what we had to go through...” Annie leaned in and gave him a feather light kiss. “...we've gotten through it because we're family. No matter what happens, I won't give you up for anything.”

Arnold nodded and she let his face go.

“We should grab some fast food and head home.” Annie said and pulled out of the parking space, then drove to the closest fast food restaurant. She bought two combos and drove back home.

They brought in the food and the clothes they bought and then sat down to eat.

“I think you're taking more clothes with you now than you did the first time.” Annie said with a smile on her face. “Make sure to exchange the old things and put them into the packing boxes before taking out the new things.”

Arnold nodded and kept eating.

“It's not that I'm worried about them mixing, although I am, it's so I can take them right to the donation box and they'll get another home as soon as possible.”

“Okay.” Arnold said and they finished eating. After that, they brought his new things up to his room. It was positively crowded with everything that Annie had bought. They took the few things Annie had bought for herself, including the fluffy mittens, and put them into her closet for winter.

“There.” Annie said and sat down on the bed. She thought about all of the stores they went through and looked at her son. “We covered a lot of ground today, Arnold.” She said and pat the bed.

Arnold sat down beside her and turned slightly to look at her. “Did you have some nice clean fun?”

Annie nodded. “I really did.” She said and put her arm around his shoulders. “I also noticed that if I wasn't wearing my heeled shoes, you are actually taller than me now.”

Arnold blinked his eyes for a moment and then stood up. Annie knew what he wanted and she stood as well. She stepped close and pressed the tip of her nose to his... or tried to. They used to match perfectly, and now the tip of Arnold's nose was a quarter of an inch higher.

“See? We don't match any...” Annie stopped talking when Arnold tilted his head the exact amount to put the tip of his nose on hers.

“We still match.” Arnold said.

“Arnold...” Annie started to tell him that he was growing up and he spoke again.

“I'll do anything for you, Mom.” Arnold said.

Annie opened her mouth to tell him that he didn't really mean that, then she couldn't help but look into his eyes and see the sincerity there. “Arnold, I...”

Arnold moved his head to the side a little and took her into a hug as he rested his chin on her shoulder. “I love you, Mom.”

Annie put her arms around him to hug him back. “I love you, too.”

After a few moments, Arnold eased his hold and leaned back to look at her face. “I need a shower.”

“So do I, after all that running around we did.” Annie chuckled. “I'll go first this time.”

Arnold nodded and went to his room to get his sleeping clothes ready, namely a pair of shorts that he only wore to bed. He sat on his bed and waited patiently. No real thoughts passed through his head, since nothing demanded his attention at the moment. He couldn't do anything that he wanted to do until he knew what his mother had planned for him.

The bathroom door opened and Annie came out wearing only a towel. “There's tons of hot water left.” She said and used a towel to dry her hair. “I forgot to tell you that I had the construction crew install a double capacity hot water heater. I think the foreman said it would last for an hour on full hot or something.”

“You would look like a raisin.” Arnold said and stood up.

Annie laughed and held a hand up. “More like twenty minutes!”

Arnold walked over and took her hand in his, rubbed her wrinkled fingertips lightly with his thumb, then kissed them. “They will be back to normal in ten minutes.” He said and went into the bathroom and shut the door.

Annie had a slightly red face and her hand was still in the same spot that Arnold had held it. She turned it over and looked at her wrinkled fingertips. He kissed them to make them better, just like he did to my knee the last time I fell out of bed and banged it.

Annie stood there for several minutes and stared at the bathroom door as she wondered who else he had been doing that to. She chuckled at herself and finished drying her hair, grabbed her sleep clothes, and put them on.

He's such a sweet boy. Annie thought and pulled the blanket aside and laid down on her bed.

Arnold came out of the bathroom and dried himself off, slipped on his sleeping shorts, and went to his mother's room. “What are we doing tomorrow?” He asked and climbed into bed behind her and pulled the blanket over them.

“I'm planning on sleeping in late and cuddling you until the alarm goes off, then we can eat and I'll leave the house for a few hours to let you do one of your specimens.” Annie said.

Instead of just one arm, Arnold used both arms to hug his mother.

“Arnold?” Annie turned in his arms and looked at his face. “I can't sleep with your arm under my...”

“Thank you.” Arnold said and gave her a kiss, then he rolled onto his back and kept her in the hug. Annie had never been held like that before, even after nearly twenty years of marriage, and she wasn't sure what to make of it. It was both comfortable and uncomfortable, since Arnold wasn't her usual soft pillow that she normally slept on.

Almost as if he sensed her thoughts, Arnold moved slightly and adjusted himself, rather than making her adjust her position, and suddenly Annie only felt comfortable as her head rested against his chest.

How did he do that? Annie asked herself in surprise.

Her mind starting going over the things Arnold had been doing and she wondered, once again, where he was learning all of it. She remembered him mentioning special biology periodicals that he had access to and the things they taught him about human behavior.

Could one of them teach him how to make a woman comfortable when laying against a man's body? Annie asked herself.

She honestly didn't have an answer and she couldn't even call the college and ask, since they were all on vacation. Not that she would know how to phrase that particular question, anyway.

Excuse me, could you tell me what periodical or book you have that taught my son how to let a woman use him like a pillow? Annie thought with amusement and stopped her laugh before it escaped. Just ignore it for now. She told herself and calmed down. Just go to sleep and enjoy it for now. You can worry about it tomorrow.

Annie settled down and let out a sigh as she fell asleep against her surprisingly comfortable son.

*

Arnold had felt his mom as she tensed up, relaxed, tensed up again for several moments, shifted slightly, then she had relaxed and fell asleep. It was then that Arnold discovered that the knowledge that Doris had imparted to him was actually useful for something other than just having sex. It was versatile and could be used in different situations. All he had to do was test it on other women and confirm it.

Little did he know that was exactly the warning that Amy had given Cissily the day before about him.