True story…

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“Sharon, it was lovely to see you after all this time,” Mother said as she air-kissed a woman I had never seen before as though they were long-lost besties. They clutched hands, swung them back and forth like kindergarteners, grinning to each other madly; their renewed friendship would endure.

Fat chance. The broad had no clue.

They blew kisses to each other, promises to keep in touch blowing into the wind, and Mother closed the door behind her.

“Did you SEE that?” she said, all smiles gone, efficiently mopping up wet drink rings and empty peanut holders.

“See what?” The game begins.

Mother’s eyes bored into mine and her lips squeezed together tightly as she walked away from me. “She was wearing an ankle bracelet.”

I heard her just fine. “What? I didn’t hear you.”

She turned, slowly, one sweaty drink in each hand, cocktail napkins trailing. “ I SAID, she was wearing an ankle bracelet.”

“Oh. Is there something wrong with wearing an ankle bracelet?” Here we go.

“Don’t be obtuse. It’s cheap, and she’s fifty-five years old. It’s unacceptable.”

I raised my eyebrows. Exasperated, she turned on her heel and slithered into the kitchen, just barely hiding the grunt I knew was just under the surface. My daughter. Will she ever learn the rules? Who to accept into her inner circle and who to slap away?

“Can I have an ankle bracelet?” Button one.

“NO!” She threw a sponge into the sink.

“Why not?” Button two.

“Because it’s common, cheap, and only cheerleaders and cheap girls have pierced ears and ankle bracelets. God forbid a tattoo. You know this.”

Button number three, the big one. “I do?”

She turned very slowly to face me, again with her mouth into a lost-lipstick slit just barely able to get the words out.

“Go. To. Your. Room.”

Which is exactly where I wanted to be in the first place.

With my first paycheck out of the house I got a golden tattoo of an ankle bracelet – very small, very feminine, very classy, but still. Permanent.

To remind me.

Don’t be judgy.

By Kathy Weyer

From: United States

Website: http://www.kathyweyer.com

Twitter: katweyer

Facebook URL: https://www.facebook.com/kathy.weyer.92