Cluttered {Watty Awards 2016}

Three

Emily jumps up and down, latching onto my hand as we follow the others to the parking lot.

The day becomes bleaker when Emily and I return home a few hours later. Just walking into the crowded entryway alone makes my happiness deflate. Luckily Emily doesn't seem to be as affected by the mess today as I am. She just continues to skip to her room, probably to play with her dolls. Mom's car wasn't in the driveway, so I know she has to be out shopping. Again. The thought makes my hands ball up into fists.

For the next few hours, I try to clean as much of the kitchen as possible. I wash all the dirty dishes in the room, sweep the dirty floor, and start going through the pantry and fridge. It's amazing at how much food is way past the expiration date. The inside of the fridge is disgusting. Old spilled food has begun to grow mold, there's a puddle of blood in the meat drawer, and rotting fruit and vegetables in the crisper. A part of me just wants to rake out everything and throw it into the trash. I'm not sure I will be able to eat any of the food that remains. I shake my head when I finish cleaning the fridge out, looking at the two full garbage bags in front of me.

Next I wash out the fridge. It's not an easy job; I almost throw up three times. It seems to take forever, but finally the inside is clean. Not a single spec of dirt or rotted food remains. I can breathe easier as I replace the still good food, though I am still wary about it being contaminated. I open the freezer and just stare. It's so full of food that it has all been iced over. I'll have to go through it another day. Maybe tomorrow.

As I'm shutting the freezer, I hear the front door being unlocked. A moment later, I hear the all too familiar rustle of shopping bags. I immediately grit my teeth and turn toward the doorway. I hear my mother unload the new junk onto the couch. Then she shuffles into the kitchen.

Her dark green eyes widen as she looks around. "Wow, been cleaning?"

No shit, I want to say, but I don't. I just nod.

She gives me a slight smile, showing her grayish teeth. Then she shuffles to the fridge and opens it. She holds the door open for a moment and I wonder if she is admiring my cleaning until her round face turns toward me and her eyes are suddenly narrowed. Uh-oh. Her eyes go to the two trash bags. The fridge door slowly shuts as she goes to the bags and opens one.

"Hailey, what are you doing? This stuff is still good!" She starts pulling stuff out, shaking her head and mumbling beneath her breath. "For Christ's sake, I just bought this a few weeks ago! This was expensive!" She looks up from the bag to me.

My mother used to once look like an older version of me. Over the years she got older and heavier. She's very overweight now—perhaps three hundred pounds- but doesn't seem too concerned with it. Her black hair is almost halfway gray by now, though she keeps saying she's going to start coloring it. The sad thing is that she's only in her early forties. She doesn't seem too disturbed at how she's changed. Maybe she's stopped caring.

Shaking her head, she pulls the bag to the fridge and begins to pile the outdated food back inside. My stomach does several somersaults. "Mom, that food is bad. Look at the expiration date." I try to keep my voice calm, but I can hear the anger in the words.

She waves a dismissive hand as she shoves rotting fruit back inside. Don't get sick, don't get sick. "Nonsense. Those dates are only there so they can get you to replace stuff sooner. Food stays good way past the date. We can't afford to replace food all the time."

"Maybe we shouldn't buy so much," I can't help but say.

She stops what she's doing for a moment before slowly turning toward me. Her dress is rumpled from her shopping adventures. "Maybe you should stop trying to throw my food away. I pay for it so stop touching it!" Her nostrils flare at me.