said, smiling at Lotta. I didn’t need to say it twice. They were off.
It was another twenty minutes before the exit doors opened to the throngs of movie-goers exiting the theater. Megan and her skater-dude were halfway back in the crowd. She wasn’t wearing the jeans and oversized T-shirt she’d had on when she left the house; no, instead she was wearing a very short miniskirt I’d never seen before, and a very tight top that showed a belly ring I’d never seen before and way too much fourteen-going-on-forty boobage. Skater-dude, his oversized shorts about to fall off, the dirty watch cap still pulled down to his eyebrows, and still wearing the shades, had his arm around my daughter in a very possessive way, fingertips only a half-inch from aforementioned boobage.
I got out of the car and walked up to them. Because of the crowd and eyes only for each other, they didn’t see me until skater-dude stepped on my foot.
‘Xuse me . . .’ he started, then looked up and froze.
Megan looked up too, and her pale skin turned a purplish shade that clashed with her red hair. She tried to pull away from skater-dude. The sudden movement started a reflexive move on skater-dude’s part, and his hand grasped Megan’s breast. She screamed and bolted and he jerked his hand away and started shaking it like it was on fire. I just stood there and watched while the dwindling throngs moved around us.
Finally I said, ‘Megan, get in the car.’ She did.
Turning to skater-boy I said, ‘At this point I don’t like you. But I know I’m just going on instinct. Come to dinner Friday night and I’ll see if I like you or not.’
‘Huh?’ he said.
I left him standing there trying to figure out what I’d said, and got in the car to drive Megan home.
‘I invited your friend over Friday night for dinner,’ I said casually as I started the car.
Megan turned all shades unbecoming and said, ‘Huh?’ Skater-dude was definitely influencing my daughter – at least her grasp of the English language.
‘Do I really have to repeat myself?’ I asked.
‘Mom, you didn’t!’ Megan wailed.
‘Daughter, I did,’ I said calmly.
‘Ground me!’ she pleaded. ‘Take away my electronics! All of it! Even my MP3 player! Beat me! Anything but that!’
I smiled. ‘We’ll all have a lovely time,’ I said.
ELIZABETH, THE PRESENT
We’re having a sort of anti-party Friday night. Sometimes I wonder about my mother. Megan lied to her, got her belly button pierced, and did all sorts of stupid things, and instead of grounding her for the rest of her life, Mom’s inviting her – excuse the expression – boyfriend over for dinner Friday night. She said we could all bring someone and it will be like a party. I’m just not sure what she’s up to, but I know it can’t be good. I’m inviting my friend Alicia to come over. Lotta got permission from her boss to be a couple of hours late to work, and Graham’s going to pick her up at her house and he’ll pick up Alicia on the way back. I’ll go with him, ’cause Alicia’s way shy and she’d feel uncomfortable with just Graham and Lotta. Oh, and Dad’s going to be home. So, everybody, including Mom, is going to have a ‘friend’ over. Ha! Ha!
Megan is totally flipping out! She knows Mom and Dad are going to do something to torture and humiliate her (one can only hope, haha!), but she’s just not sure which. And (I can’t help but laugh here – yes, I’m a bitch!) her belly button is infected! Ha! Green stuff is oozing out of the hole but she won’t take it out because he bought it for her. The reason it’s infected, I’m sure, is because it’s made out of some nasty stuff from a third world country, or he bought it out of a bubble gum machine and Meg is allergic to plastic!!!
BLACK CAT RIDGE, TEXAS, 1999
I got Bessie down for a nap in her new house and her new bed, then went back outside to pick up the Codderville News-Messenger that was sitting by the front door. I
It was another twenty minutes before the exit doors opened to the throngs of movie-goers exiting the theater. Megan and her skater-dude were halfway back in the crowd. She wasn’t wearing the jeans and oversized T-shirt she’d had on when she left the house; no, instead she was wearing a very short miniskirt I’d never seen before, and a very tight top that showed a belly ring I’d never seen before and way too much fourteen-going-on-forty boobage. Skater-dude, his oversized shorts about to fall off, the dirty watch cap still pulled down to his eyebrows, and still wearing the shades, had his arm around my daughter in a very possessive way, fingertips only a half-inch from aforementioned boobage.
I got out of the car and walked up to them. Because of the crowd and eyes only for each other, they didn’t see me until skater-dude stepped on my foot.
‘Xuse me . . .’ he started, then looked up and froze.
Megan looked up too, and her pale skin turned a purplish shade that clashed with her red hair. She tried to pull away from skater-dude. The sudden movement started a reflexive move on skater-dude’s part, and his hand grasped Megan’s breast. She screamed and bolted and he jerked his hand away and started shaking it like it was on fire. I just stood there and watched while the dwindling throngs moved around us.
Finally I said, ‘Megan, get in the car.’ She did.
Turning to skater-boy I said, ‘At this point I don’t like you. But I know I’m just going on instinct. Come to dinner Friday night and I’ll see if I like you or not.’
‘Huh?’ he said.
I left him standing there trying to figure out what I’d said, and got in the car to drive Megan home.
‘I invited your friend over Friday night for dinner,’ I said casually as I started the car.
Megan turned all shades unbecoming and said, ‘Huh?’ Skater-dude was definitely influencing my daughter – at least her grasp of the English language.
‘Do I really have to repeat myself?’ I asked.
‘Mom, you didn’t!’ Megan wailed.
‘Daughter, I did,’ I said calmly.
‘Ground me!’ she pleaded. ‘Take away my electronics! All of it! Even my MP3 player! Beat me! Anything but that!’
I smiled. ‘We’ll all have a lovely time,’ I said.
ELIZABETH, THE PRESENT
We’re having a sort of anti-party Friday night. Sometimes I wonder about my mother. Megan lied to her, got her belly button pierced, and did all sorts of stupid things, and instead of grounding her for the rest of her life, Mom’s inviting her – excuse the expression – boyfriend over for dinner Friday night. She said we could all bring someone and it will be like a party. I’m just not sure what she’s up to, but I know it can’t be good. I’m inviting my friend Alicia to come over. Lotta got permission from her boss to be a couple of hours late to work, and Graham’s going to pick her up at her house and he’ll pick up Alicia on the way back. I’ll go with him, ’cause Alicia’s way shy and she’d feel uncomfortable with just Graham and Lotta. Oh, and Dad’s going to be home. So, everybody, including Mom, is going to have a ‘friend’ over. Ha! Ha!
Megan is totally flipping out! She knows Mom and Dad are going to do something to torture and humiliate her (one can only hope, haha!), but she’s just not sure which. And (I can’t help but laugh here – yes, I’m a bitch!) her belly button is infected! Ha! Green stuff is oozing out of the hole but she won’t take it out because he bought it for her. The reason it’s infected, I’m sure, is because it’s made out of some nasty stuff from a third world country, or he bought it out of a bubble gum machine and Meg is allergic to plastic!!!
BLACK CAT RIDGE, TEXAS, 1999
I got Bessie down for a nap in her new house and her new bed, then went back outside to pick up the Codderville News-Messenger that was sitting by the front door. I
Similar Books
