My mother's sobbing cut off mid-breath.
She rose to her feet and brushed at dust that wasn't there on her slacks.
"Silvia, don't blame me. I'm only doing what's best for you."
"What's so great about that job? Working yourself to the bone for chump change. Even a dog wouldn't put up with it. Better to marry early and find yourself a man."
"That Lawrence boy, Frank Finch, Carmen Lambert's son, he's a good catch. Honest, obedient, and an only child. Once you marry in, everything that family owns is yours."
I wanted to crack my mother's chest open and see what color her heart really was. Black, or red.
Carmen's son was a halfwit. He couldn't even take care of himself. What decent girl would marry him?
Worse, Carmen had buried herself in debt paying for the boy's treatments.
A pit like that, everyone else ran from it. And my mother wanted to shove me in.
There's a kind of speechlessness that turns into bitter laughter.
There was no telling what new low she'd sink to next.
So I'd play along. Give her what she wanted.
Two more days. I just had to survive two more days, and she'd never be able to run wild again.
I nodded. "Fine. I'll do what you say."
The moment I agreed, her face split into a delighted grin.
"I knew you had your head on straight. Who takes civil service exams anymore? Only an idiot kills themselves over a thankless job."
"I handpicked this man for you out of dozens. Once you marry in, that household answers to you."
"And when you give Frank a son, your Aunt Carmen will wait on you hand and foot, like you're royalty."
I looked at my mother, at that face so certain it was right.
Something lodged in my throat like a thorn. I couldn't swallow it or spit it out, and it stung with every breath, a dull, aching pain.
In all this world, it was supposed to be just the two of us, leaning on each other to get by.
Yet she'd slandered me, smeared me, more than once, and always in front of others.
I saw it clearly now. She was driving me toward the edge.
I turned without a word and shut the bedroom door.
The tears wouldn't stop.
I slid down the back of the door, drew my knees up, buried my face between them, and wrapped my arms tight around myself.
It was the only way I could feel that I was still alive.
In the dead of night, I drifted in a shallow, restless sleep.
Then I felt hands tearing at my dress.
I shot upright with a gasp.
Frank was half-kneeling on my bed, bare-chested.
His eyes were fixed on me, unblinking.
Drool hung from the corner of his mouth as he slurred, "Wife, my mommy told me to sleep with you."
My mind detonated. Everything went white.
This big, hulking man in front of me terrified me for the first time.
On instinct I leapt off the bed and bolted for the door, only to find it locked from the outside.
I pounded on it, screaming until my throat tore. "Mom, open the door! Let me out!"
My mother's voice came through, cold as stone.
"Silvia, you and Frank are getting married sooner or later. Tonight's the perfect chance to bond with him."
"Your Aunt Carmen and I are both waiting to hold our grandbaby."
"Don't worry. Your Aunt Carmen showed Frank some videos. He'll be gentle with you."
I never imagined my mother would stoop this low.
Rage shot straight to my skull, nearly burning through what was left of my mind.
My gut twisted with regret, cold sweat breaking out as I beat on the door again and again.
"Mom, I'm begging you, open the door. Whatever it is, we can talk it out once you open it."
I heard her footsteps walking away.
"I won't bother you two lovebirds. Be a good girl, and I'll let you out tomorrow."
The dead heat of summer, and I felt like I'd been dropped into a block of ice.
