A Skeleton in the closet

One day like any other

I remember very well how my whole life changed. It was three years ago, some days after Halloween.

The schoolgirls and schoolboys left school before the bell had rung. As school's finished for the day, they were fleeing as if teachers would change their minds. I smiled because it reminded me of a documentary about the migration of wildebeests in Africa. Thousands and thousands of wildebeests, innocent and prepared to go through a deep river with hidden crocodiles that wanted to eat them. So the crocodiles represented the teachers, not students of course!

My seven-year-old son Thomas holding Taylor's hand, his younger brother. When they got to me, Thomas kissed me, whereas his brother told us about his school day. Keeping talking, my wonderful three-year-old chatterbox hugged me.  I smiled at each of my sweeties and took their hands. We walked a couple of minutes to reach our car, a rental Mini Cooper - because I had avoided a dog on the road and JJ's car had fallen in love with a tree, you can easily imagine how my husband was delighted to learn this news, because this damn old Ford, Mindy as he called her, was his first love - I opened the passenger side door and moved the seat forward so that Taylor could sit down behind driver's seat, chatting endlessly. If I had a nickel for every word he said, I would be rich and could buy the whole Earth! As a good mom, I helped him fasten with his seat belt, answering the questions he was asking. Suddenly, Thomas pulled on my long, white left sleeve so that I would pay attention to him.

"Yeah, Thomas? What do you want?"

"Our cookies, please Mommy!" Taylor said with a large smile across his lips.

"You too, Tom?" I asked him, turning to look at him.

Thomas made a face, took time to think and finally nodded his smiling head. Also I left him to settle himself near to his chatting brother – in spite of the risk of a Third World War – closed the door to run around to the trunk. My sons started to fight about something as I opened the trunk. When I closed the trunk, there was a crack of lighting then I heard a rumble as cold rain violently poured on me. At this point, I was so desperate. That wasn't because of the tricks my sons were playing or because of this damn rain and the umbrella that I'd forgotten at home, thinking that it wasn't going to rain. No! Just because God was mocking me!

Consequently I took shelter in this noisy, busy, four-wheeled jail.

"Stop, guys!" I screamed while Taylor held his brother's arm to bite him and Thomas pulled Taylor's hair hardly.

"Taylor, do NOT do that! If you bite your brother, I'm gonna give your cookies to him!"

"My wonderful brother, I'm sorry! I really love you and my cookies!" he cried, trying to hug his older brother.

"Thomas, let go of his hair or I'm gonna leave you at school tomorrow!" I threatened him.

"You can't! 'Cause then you'd have to leave Taylor too! Then Miss Goodman'll call you! And so you'll have to pick us up!" he answered, sticking out his tongue.

"I can tell her that I'm not able to pick you up because I've to give the car back to the rental agency!" I replied because I've never handled it well when he dares me and my authority.

"Mommy, I love you! I don't wanna stay at school with him and Miss Campbell! She scares me! She sounds like she was a mummy from Egypt that they'd brought to the Natural Museum while dinosaurs reigned on Earth and a spiteful individual resuscitated her!"

"Sweetie, that's just a story that your classmates told you to frighten you. A simple tale they tell to scare you! Now, tell me who told you these things?"