Try-State Area

- Wednesday, June 1st - The Morning News

Emily sat eating her toast and watching the weather report.

Maggie came into the living room and picked up the remote to mute the television. Usually when her mother worked the dinner shift she didn't wake the next morning until after Emily left for school. Today was the exception since she needed to dole out a punishment.

With the volume off, the only remaining sound in the room was the crunching as Emily bit another piece of toast.

Her nerves made her mouth go dry as she chewed, making it difficult to swallow.

I want to go into the kitchen to get another cup of coffee but I dare not move away right now...

Maggie was now staring at her.

She doesn't seem exactly angry anymore... I think if she was, she'd have said something already... She usually leaves me little doubt as to when she is mad... Perhaps she's reached a new level of pissed off where she'll give me the silent treatment?

Emily ventured to look at her mother. She could see that Maggie was in bad need of a haircut and a dye job, with a solid inch of graying roots showing and her bangs in her eyes by at least that much as well.

Maggie had no makeup on. Emily noted the deep circles beneath her eyes which emphasized how pale her mother was.

Working retail under fluorescent lighting and in the dimly lit restaurant, Mom doesn't get nearly enough sun...

Crow's feet and deep frown lines were starting to etch themselves permanently into Maggie's face, showing the result of the last seven years of stress.

I'm sad that I've been a major cause of that tension over the years and I feel guilty that I added to her anxiety this week...

Emily looked down into her empty mug again.

Maggie cleared her throat and began, "I'm sorry I called you a slut yesterday. You didn't deserve that. I just worry about you and I don't want you to make any stupid decisions."

Emily looked back at her mother but didn't say anything.

"I know you're smart Emily. But that doesn't mean that you can't be influenced by peer pressure or get swept away in a moment and do something that you would regret for the rest of your life. Especially you, given everything you've been through and deal with," Maggie explained.

"Mom, this is just like riding the bus the first day of high school. If you don't give me a chance to experience things I'll never be able to learn how to be an adult," Emily reasoned. "I'm finishing up my sophomore year of high school. I'm going to be going away to college in two years and you can't expect me to go there without ever having even kissed a boy! You were married at twenty-two for God's sake!"

Her mother scowled. "I know what I chose. But you're different."

Emily began to open her mouth to argue, but her mother held up her hand.

"I mean you're different than me. But still, I want to save you from making the same mistakes that I did. I should have focused on myself instead of your father. I should have finished college, but now I'm stuck working crummy jobs when I could have done so much more."

Emily stood up and started packing her backpack. "Mom, no offense but I've heard this a million times. I know how important school is and in fact, I'm going to be late to school if I don't go now. So... what's my punishment?"

Maggie sighed. "I've decided not to punish you."

Emily stopped packing her bag and looked at her mother.

Is she serious?

"You're right. This is like the bus ride on your first day. And I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and I'm going to have to learn to let go a little bit more," Maggie conceded.

Emily screeched, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you Mom!"

She threw her arms around her mother's neck to hug and kiss her.

"Don't make me regret it Emily Louise," Maggie warned.

Emily picked up her open backpack. "I won't," she promised as she ran out the door before her mother could change her mind. She zipped her bag shut as she ran down the stairs to the front door.