You Can't Break Her

Six| Unknown consequences

September 1993

I watched from the window of our house as my mom and her friends danced and laughed. At the center of the party was a large pot on a fire pit filled to the brim with cobs of corn. I nearly drooled, watching the fire lick the boiling pot from the second floor of our red brick house.

Another party, thrown by my mother and again I was informed that I would not be allowed to stay up. It was only for grown-ups. All I hoped for was to eat corn and spend time with my mother, instead, I was told to sleep while they partied close by.

"Aren't you supposed to be sleeping?" Judy asked when she came upstairs to use the washroom.

"Yes, I had a nightmare."

She sighed, turning to get my mother. "I'll be right back."

I glanced out the window at the fire-lit driveway with Jessica's friends standing around, drinking and laughing. Why couldn't I stay up and eat?

"Go to bed now, missy," my mother said as she stepped onto the top floor. "You were told to stay in bed. You can't be up this late."

I flinched as she stepped closer, thinking she might lunge at me. "Yes, mother." I bowed my head, ambling to my bedroom.

"I know you want to join the party, but you just can't."

"I just want to-"

"You can't. It's not a place for children," She proclaimed the law.

I listened. Otherwise, I faced unknown consequences. It was never the same punishment twice - my mother always had a creative way about her.