Spin Cycle: Mother's Day

Mother’s Day

She was eight years old. Her and her family was living on the third story of the house on the corner. It was Mother’s Day and they were all getting ready for church. She had gotten her baby sister ready and was waiting for her parents. The apartment had a long stairway that lead down to their front door, opening to the second story. She sat on the top step and was worrying that her new mother would think that she didn’t like her, because she had no Mother’s Day gift for her.

She snuck out the door and down to ground level. She was just going to wait outside. While walking around on the grass that framed the corner, she spied some pretty flowers up close to the other house on that corner. She knew those would make a great Mother’s Day gift. Who doesn’t like flowers?

She walked over and gathered a fistful, stood there admiring them. She turned and started walking back, all the while thinking of how happy her new mother was going to be. She was very pleased with herself for a whole minute.

She soon realized someone was coming after her! Fear crept in and she started to run and cry at the same time, all the while still clutching the flowers. She rushed to the front door of their apartment and the man had caught up to her before she could get the door opened, she screamed with all her might!

The man had her and she couldn’t get away! She had never been so scared in her whole life. She couldn’t understand why he was after her. What did he want?

While holding her by her dress he was going to knock on our door, but her daddy had heard her scream and flung it open. The man’s hand was still in the air and inches from her daddy’s face. Her new mother was just steps behind her daddy and rushed down and grabbed her arm and pulled her in to the apartment. She heard the stitches in her dress break from being yanked from the man’s grip.

She was still in a state of shock and crying hysterically, wrapped around her new mother’s waist and safely hiding behind her daddy. She heard the man tell her daddy about her stealing flowers from his wife’s flower bed. Suddenly her fear of the man turned into fear of her daddy. She tried to explain the desire to have something for her new mother for Mother’s Day; it was difficult for them to understand because she was crying so hard.

Her new mother sat down on the steps and asked to see the flowers. She held them up and gave them to her. Her tears were starting to calm a little. Her new mother took them and looked up at her and smiled. That was all she was after, was that smile and she couldn’t help herself from falling into her arms and letting the tears gently roll.

Her daddy and the man were watching them and they softened from grizzly bears to teddy bears. The man then requested that she was to go to his house and apologize to his wife. Her eyes pleaded with her parents to not make her go, she was still scared of the man. Thankfully her new mother took her by the hand and walked over there with her.

She knew she would be in more trouble if she protested, so she walked clutching to the only person she knew to protect her. Her mind was all over the place trying to think what was going to happen to her. Was she going to get beat for stealing or worse get locked away for it?

They were escorted into the living room of the house and the lady was sitting there glaring at her. She tried to hide behind her new mother’s body, but her new mother pushed her out in front of her, like saying “Here is the guilty, do what you will with her”. She was stung by this gesture and looked up at her new mother pleading silently.

She stepped forward and said she was sorry, in a whisper. Her new mother made her say it again, but louder. The lady asked why and all she could do was shrug her shoulders and turn her face away, the tears were coming again. Hot ones, they were burning her face. Her new mother sent her towards the door and told her to go home and wait for her.

After getting a real good lecture on stealing, she was sent to bed exhausted.

Her new mother and that lady became best friends for many many years. That was the best Mother’s Day gift she ever accidentally gave her.