Maybe I was just born unlucky, or maybe people
just didn’t like me. No one ever believed me..
Not even my parents.
“I’m not the only one who lives here,” I tried to
arque. Mom scoffed. “But you’re the only thief.”
Right. Mom and Dad were innocent. Brittany
was innocent. Only I was tainted, rotten to the
core. Dad just stared at me, his lips pressed
together, disappointment etched on his face.
“Call the police,” I said, “If you’re accusing me
of stealing, you need proof. Your prejudice isn’t
enough.”
- 5.
They didn’t call the police. Dad wouldn’t let her.
“It’s not something to brag about,” he said.
“Why air our dirty laundry?”
<
“So, my gold is just gone? It was worth.
thousands!” Mom protested. “We’ll find it,” Dad said, winking at her, his eyes flitting over to me. “It’s in the house somewhere. It’ll turn up.”
Even though Mom couldn’t stand being in the
same room as me, she stayed. She was
determined to keep an eye on me, convinced I’d
run off with the gold or steal something else.
She locked her bedroom door and Brittany’s,
too, and camped out in the living room,
watching my every move. If she had to use the
bathroom, she’d make sure I was busy, either
cooking, washing dishes, or mopping, terrified
I’d have a free moment to steal.
“Why are you so quiet in there? What are your
doing?!” If I didn’t answer within thirty seconds,
she’d panic, crack open the bathroom door, and
crane her neck to peek inside. Then, spotting
me, “Well, answer me! Cat got your tongue?”
A fru daun saaad liba thin Cinally unakla të
<
A few days passed like this. Finally, unable to
bear the monotony any longer, Mom invited her friends over for a game of mahjong.
“Carol, honey, why are all the blinds closed? It’s gloomy in here.”
“Gotta keep the thief out,” Mom said, glancing at me, who was basking in the meager sunlight filtering through the window. “Oh my,” her friends gasped, turning to look at me. “Did you lose something?” “Yeah, the gold bars I bought with Brenda last year. Stolen,” Mom announced.
“No! Did you call the police?”
“Of course I wanted to! Robert wouldn’t let me.”
“Why not?” Mom jerked her chin towards me.
“It just happened a few days ago. Robert doesn’t want people talking.”
Her friends exchanged knowing looks, clucking
11:19
48
their tongues sympathetically. The silence.
stretched for a few minutes before someone
spoke. “Poor Carol. Should’ve had a second kid,
just in case.”
“It’s not about having another child. Some
people are just born bad. Can’t change that
Poor Carol, stuck with her.”
Emboldened by their numbers and seniority.
they gossiped without restraint. Mom played the role of the selfless, wronged mother to
perfection, fueling their indignation. They practically vibrated with the urge to berate me.
I rolled my eyes and smiled sweetly at one of them. “Hey, Mrs. Davis, how’s that thing with Mr. Johnson going? Heard his wife’s a bit…
slow. Has she caught on yet?”
Mom’s face went white. “Ashley! Don’t be
ridiculous!”
I
48
“Isn’t that what you said? That Mrs. Davis is old enough to be his mother, looks like a toad, and
dresses like a teenager trying to get his
attention? You said if you were Mr. Johnson,
you’d puke…”
Mom, never one to hold back, had been
gossiping about her friends to Dad for days. I’d only caught snippets, but it was more than enough.
“And you said Mrs. Miller’s so filthy, she hasn’t showered in two months, smells like a sewer, and you have to disinfect everything after she
leaves, just in case you catch something. Don’t forget to wash the mahjong tiles later…”
“ASHLEY LYNN!”
The game broke up in a flurry of angry
accusations, and Mom’s friends stormed out.
Mom was livid. She slammed her bedroom door,
leaving her purse and shopping bags by the
<
door. She didn’t even have time to yell at me
before bursting into tears and calling Dad.
- 6.
Mom refused to come out for lunch that day.
She told me to get out, that she didn’t even want to hear my voice. But, fearing I actually would leave, she threatened to call the cops if I stepped outside, reminding me that she wouldn’t be the one embarrassed.
“I’m not going anywhere,” I said. “I’m staying for the holidays.” That made her even angrier. She stayed locked in her room all afternoon. When Dad got home from work, he took her a plate of food and coaxed her into eating a few bites.
Later, he pulled me onto the balcony for a “talk.” I shouldn’t have embarrassed her like that. “Your mom’s proud. She has a thin skin.
Now she can’t even face her friends.”
<
“They kicked her out of their group chat.”
He tried to reason with me. “Just apologize to
Mrs. Davis and the others. Tell them you were
just mad at your mom and made it up. It’ll all
blow over.” I refused. No matter what Dad said,
I wouldn’t budge. “You’ve changed,” he sighed.
“You used to act out, sure, but it was always
directed at other people. You never deliberately
humiliated your mother. You always listened to
us.”
I didn’t say anything. When you stop expecting
anything from people, you stop tolerating their
bullshit.
I’d coughed all night, my back aching so badly I
couldn’t sleep. Mom’s only response had been
to tell me to shut up or die already. No “good
morning,” no concern.
Just this one last winter. I’d give them this one.
last winter. then I was done.
