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Excerpt #3
Then came the day that Molly broke up with her latest boyfriend and returned home. Luckily, she didn’t notice her father’s things on her dresser as she dumped a large garbage bag of clothes on her bed. When she went out for another load, Lily quickly gathered Sam’s belongings and brought them to her room.
“So—,” Molly said, coming into the kitchen afterward, “I guess I’m not the only one in this family who likes a little variety, huh?”
Lily’s jaw dropped. “I’m not exactly a teenager trying out a lifestyle but, yes, I need time to myself once in awhile.” She purposely omitted any reference to her daughter’s tasteless comment.
Molly snorted. “Call it what you like, Mom. But tell me, was he better than Daddy?”
Lily bristled, unwilling to let that insult pass. “I won’t dignify that remark with an answer, young lady. And you’d do well to remember that I’m your mother, not one of your trashy buddies.”
“Oh, sure, when me or my friends do it, we’re trash. That’s really rich. Why don’t you just come out and admit it, Mom? All that time you were preaching to me about morals you were getting a little extra on the side.”
Outraged, Lily lashed out with a well-placed hand to the girl’s cheek. “I told you not to speak to me like that. I’m your mother, dammit, and you better show some respect or get out of my house.”
The minute she issued the ultimatum, Lily knew she could never enforce it. Surely, Sam would have something to say about kicking his daughter out. Suddenly, support came from an unlikely source.
“Molly!” Sam said from the hallway. “You apologize to your mother this minute!”
Molly turned to her father, her eyes filling up at the rare reprimand. Then, lips quivering, she mumbled, “Sorry.”
Feeling more like the instigator than the offended party, Lily nodded her acceptance of the forced apology. She wanted to say that she, too, was sorry, but her throat was clogged with her own tears.
Leaving both husband and daughter in the kitchen, Lily fled to her room. She was only seconds away from erupting into tears when Sam entered. Unable to face him, she turned her head to the wall. “I’m so sorry,” she murmured. “I really didn’t want to get into it the first five minutes she was home.”
He busied himself by putting his socks and underwear back in his dresser drawer. “Mmm,” he said, neither agreeing or disagreeing.
“And I shouldn’t have threatened to kick her out. I know you’d never allow that.”
He paused. “To be truthful, I don’t know what I would have done. She’s just a kid. She talks before she thinks. That’s what kids do.”
He finished putting his drawer to order, and then left. No more was said on the subject, but Lily knew in her heart, if push came to shove, it wouldn’t be Molly’s ass that got kicked to the curb.
Thank you for reading.
Joyce
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