The Day My Mother Left
1. I was tired of waiting up. We had baseball tryouts all afternoon, and my muscles ached from running around the field. I sat at my desk drawing a bird and almost fell asleep with the pencil in my hand. Then I heard the car pull up and the garage door close.
I switched off my desk lamp and got in bed under the cool sheets. The spring night was warm enough that I could leave my window open. Outside I heard the peeper frogs singing in the pond. It was raining, the type of rain that brought thunder. A wind blew a whoosh sound through the window screen.
The door slammed, and my mom and dad walked into the kitchen. Dad dropped his car keys and wallet in the top drawer by the fridge. Mom hung up her jacket in the hall closet. Before I fell asleep I hoped to tell her tryouts had gone well. As with every night, I would not let myself go to bed until she came into my room, kissed me on the cheek, and said, "Good night, sweet dreams, Jeremy -- I love you." But tonight my dad was angry.
"Phoebe!" he yelled.
"Leave me alone, Carl."
"No, I won't leave you alone."
Mom's footsteps approached the stairs. Dad's followed, harder an ... read full excerpt from: Day My Mother Left ebook
