Ignoring the obvious answer, Mom instead said, "Honey, you promised to always be there for me, to give me whatever I needed, and to never deny me. Baby, I just need you. Your all I want. I can't even imagine not wanting you. You do things to me that I've never experienced. All I want is to make you as happy as you make me. I love you, honey. I can't lose you. I need you."
In her defense, Mom was actually referring to not wanting to lose me as a son and not wanting me to move out and stop talking to her. I of course had led her right into this moment and seized on the literal wording of her pleas. I continued to look at my mother, who was now almost in tears. I made a show of nodding my head silently as if acknowledging my previous promises.
I allowed her to pull me back against her body
