My son Chris

Hugh's friend Chris from SF came to visit this month for 10 days. He stayed with us and as its a small flat, we got to know each others habits and peeves pretty well. Hugh enjoyed the constant male company. I endured many a quip about women's body parts, sports and the consumption of macho cuisine. They were like ten year olds on a field trip with no school monitor looking. They went go cart racing (twice), played tennis, ate out every night (sometimes with other testosteroners) and giggled over youtube videos "dude, ya gotta ck this one out". We took Chris to estancia La Candelaria for the weekend. By now, the staff greet us by name and remember Utta of course. The weather turned icy cold for a few days so we got a taste of winter and enjoyed late afternoons by the fireplace sipping mate and nibbling on argentine pastries. Chris and Hugh played more tennis, rode horses and we all took long walks with the dog. It was kind of sad for me. None of the things I usually enjoy doing at the estancia were jibbing with the new pregnant bod - riding wildly on the fastest polo pony they have, taking runs in the morning out to greet the cows, riding bikes over the bumpy pasture and chasing the tennis ball in the soft clay courts in a pretend game with Hugh were all out. So, I did a lot of walking, practiced yoga in the room, got a massage, read and took naps.

One of the maids came in on the second day we were there (having observed us the day and evening prior) and asked with a straight face "Is he your son?" - glancing over at Chris. I dropped my jaw and then laughed a little too hard and told her no - we were only 7 years apart in age, though yes, he's obviously younger looking than the average. Chris and I grinned at each other. I didn't know who should be more embarrassed. It was the first time anyone assumed I could the mother of a near grown up person. The rest of Chris's trip, we took to calling him Son and he referred to us as Mom and Dad. It was good practice if and when we're saddled with a smart alecky teenage boy.