Page 44 - Reason To Sing by Kelita Haverland

Reason To Sing

experiencing a new kind of liberty. We live within walking
distance of a strip mall which includes a corner store. And
you know what that means? Candy and chips and chocolate
and more candy!
So here we are with new friends and cousins and candies
at our fingertips and life is feeling okay. I miss Daddy for sure,
but I have to admit, there are benefits!
And that is when the doorbell rings.
“Somebody’s at the door!” Billy yells from his bedroom.
“Can somebody please answer it?” I holler back, expecting
my friend Lisa. I’m still brushing my hair. A girl has to look
good in the big city.
“It’s alright, I’ve got it,” Mommy answers. She’s been extra
nice to us since we moved.
I hear a man’s voice. It catches me by surprise. Because
I know that voice. I without a doubt know that voice. I run
down the stairs to confirm my suspicions and when I do, I
stop in my tracks and then back slowly up the staircase.
There has been no warning at all but there he is, standing
at our front door like he owns the place. Mommy looks so
happy to see him. I feel embarrassed witnessing her girlish
flirtations. With him? I just cannot understand it.
What should I say? What should I think? I find myself
speechless. All I can hear are Daddy’s drunken words
stumbling out of his heart. Mommy doesn’t love me anymore.
She loves Mike.
It was true! What he had been telling me, was right.
Mommy really doesn’t love Daddy anymore.
I inch my way back upstairs and stand as if in a trance,
gazing out from my bedroom window. It’s a beautiful spring
night. My mother is driving off with this man. This man who
is married to another woman. This man who said he was my

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