Graduation Day

It was graduation day. Her graduation day.

The morning ceremonies were over and Saturday stood still for awhile. It was getting hot. Her mother was in the kitchen preparing food for the party later that afternoon. He was putting the finishing touches on the lawn in the back yard, trimming and making sure there was an even 2-inch space between the grass and the surrounding concrete.

Her brothers and sisters had scattered off to friends' homes, and her aunt lie quietly dozing on the sofa. She sat on a chair in a corner of the unused living room; just yesterday she and the other kids had hand-waxed the hardwood floors, their mother following behind with the electric buffer. Sitting still in her new pink wool suit, a gift from her aunt, she felt stifled in the girdle, stockings, and pearl white pumps, but also great relief at never having to go back to high school. She had not been accepted at college yet, and doubted she ever would be.

She had two options: continue to work at the Leed's Shoe store in town and live at home, or move in with her aunt across the Bay and work in her office. Really though, there was no choice; she couldn't stay here. She had graduated from high school and this was the first and perhaps only time to get away from him. It would mean leaving her sisters behind to fend for themselves.

She got up and walked over to the hi-fi cabinet, lifted the lid and put on her favorite Joan Baez album - the one he had forbidden her to play. Things would be different from now on she thought, as she turned up the volume.

Martha
September 10, 2011