Kristie was wearing her favorite blue sweater and her mom’s gold mustard seed necklace. Her reddish blond hair was long and straight and her big blue eyes were expertly made up to match the sweater perfectly. She was lovely.
She was excited to show her parents the proofs of her graduation pictures. They were sitting in their usual spots at the dining room table. Her dad had a drink of the hard stuff in one hand and a cigarette in the other with an ashtray full of ashes and spent butts in front of him.
Her mom sat nearest the kitchen with a similar complement before her. Both of them had stacks of paper work piled up on extra chairs and an assortment of bankers’ boxes surrounding them.
The telephone table in one corner was stuffed with receipts, bank books, and notes. Dad sat nearest the phone ready to field communications. The adding machine was at Mom’s elbow ready for her expert bookkeeping aptitude.
Kristie was seventeen – beautiful, talented, smart, rebellious, outspoken – a typical teenager feeling her oats. It was her senior year, a tumultuous time for all of them where boundaries continued to be challenged on all sides.
Maybe it was the alcohol? Or maybe it was the stress of being in the restaurant business? Maybe it was the endless fighting, bullying, and bickering about limits, restrictions, dating, or show business? Or maybe it was about the dynamics of an alcoholic dysfunctional family where they all played their roles exactly on book?
Kristie proudly showed them the photos. She was happy with them and thought that they would be too. Her dad made a little snide gesture accompanied by a snort, and slowly, quietly tore the photos in half while pointedly staring into her eyes.
It wasn’t the response she had expected, but she held his gaze in defiance and quietly retreated into her room. She wondered – did they fight about that? Did her mom defend her? Isn’t your senior year supposed to be fun with plans about college and your future?
Thinking back after many years of consideration, Kristie thinks it was about the stress of the restaurant business, four kids ages 17, 14, 7, and 6 years of age… alcohol and money. Two years later she has the photos printed up with her own money and presents them framed as a gift to her beloved besotted parents.
(First published 5/17/12)
