Prompt 68 - Nurture - "Cats and Mothers" - ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
spikespetslayer - OC
Nov. 10th, 2007 11:58 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
dedra.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
tamingthemuseTitle: Cats and Mothers
Fandom: None-OC
Warnings: Language
Rating: T
Summary: Alexia wanted a way out of the life that she had and would do whatever she must to get it.
A/N: Some of the stuff I write comes directly from my life. Not this one.
It was her daughter’s humble opinion that in the great scheme of things, a cat would be a better mother.
To be honest, it wasn’t what she did, but what she didn’t do. Alexia thought that at the very least, her mother could go to the parent-teacher conferences that were scheduled, maybe attend a volleyball game or two in the seven years that she had been playing. Maybe once in twelve years of school, get her fat ass out of bed and make her breakfast, even if it was only toast and coffee.
None of these things had ever happened, not once. Alexia had raised herself while her mother was busy working night shift and sleeping her days away. Evenings were spent with friends and running around trying to find Alexia a new ‘father’. The only time that she saw her mother was the odd occasion when she surprised her in the bathroom as she dressed for work.
Alexia did so one night, to her mother’s dismay. The waitress uniform was just a tad too tight, the buttons stretching the material over an ample bosom that had never seen the mouth of a babe suckling. “Mom,” she began, and her mother took the cigarette out of her mouth and balanced it on the edge of the sink so she could lean forward to apply lipliner.
“Yeah? What, you need money again? I just gave you twenty bucks last Tuesday.” Her mom swiped a smear off her lip with a manicured pinkie and turned away from the mirror. “I guess that McDonald’s did raise their prices. Lemme get my purse.”
Alexia leaped to her feet and grabbed for her mother’s arm. “Wait. That isn’t what I want to talk to you about.”
Her mom looked down at the nail-bitten fingers that wrapped around her upper arm. “What is it? Are you pregnant or what?”
“No, I am not pregnant! Mom, will you listen for a second? I want to go to college.”
“College? Where the hell do you think that I’m going to come up with the kind of dough for college?” She picked up her cigarette and saw that it had burned down to the filter so she lifted the toilet lid and tossed it in, flushing as she let the lid fall.
“I’ve had offers for scholarships. Several, in fact. I need you to fill out some financial forms and sign some papers and then I’m out of your hair.” In her mind, Alexia added, for good if I’m lucky.
“Financial forms? Like hell I’m letting the government get a gander at my financial records. You’ll just have to find another way.”
Alexia snapped. All control fled her mind as she stood, towering over her mother by a good six inches. She advanced on her mother until she was pressed against the bathroom door, her face a mask of fright and anger as Alexia grew bigger in her vision than she had ever been before.
With a deceptive calm, Alexia leaned against the door, looking down on the woman who had given birth to her. “No, I won’t. You haven’t done a damn thing for me since they cut the fucking umbilical cord and I’ve never asked or expected you to. You will sign these forms, you will give me your last tax return and you will shut up and do whatever you have to do to get me into college. I will not end up a two-bit waitress in this dead end town like you have. I will not. So I’m not asking you, Mother, I’m telling you.”
Alexia was happy to see her mother nod in agreement. “Fine. I’ll expect you to have them on the table in the morning. Good night, mother. Have a good night at work.”
After Alexia closed the bathroom door, her mother leaned weakly against the counter and lit another cigarette. For a moment, she wondered what she had spawned from her womb. The thought quickly flew out of her head as she thought of the possible hook-ups that she might stumble into that night at work. You never knew what exactly would walk through the door of the diner in the middle of the night. There was always something different.
In her room, Alexia stared out of the window at the stars that were half-hidden by rooftops covered in antennas and wires. She would make it away alive no matter what she had to do. Soft mewling in the alley below brought her back to her original thoughts about cats and motherhood. If you forced her, she would have to say that maybe her mother was similar to a cat—nurture the kitten until they were old enough to find food of their own, then cut them loose.
Alexia couldn’t wait to get cut loose.
Fandom: None-OC
Warnings: Language
Rating: T
Summary: Alexia wanted a way out of the life that she had and would do whatever she must to get it.
A/N: Some of the stuff I write comes directly from my life. Not this one.
It was her daughter’s humble opinion that in the great scheme of things, a cat would be a better mother.
To be honest, it wasn’t what she did, but what she didn’t do. Alexia thought that at the very least, her mother could go to the parent-teacher conferences that were scheduled, maybe attend a volleyball game or two in the seven years that she had been playing. Maybe once in twelve years of school, get her fat ass out of bed and make her breakfast, even if it was only toast and coffee.
None of these things had ever happened, not once. Alexia had raised herself while her mother was busy working night shift and sleeping her days away. Evenings were spent with friends and running around trying to find Alexia a new ‘father’. The only time that she saw her mother was the odd occasion when she surprised her in the bathroom as she dressed for work.
Alexia did so one night, to her mother’s dismay. The waitress uniform was just a tad too tight, the buttons stretching the material over an ample bosom that had never seen the mouth of a babe suckling. “Mom,” she began, and her mother took the cigarette out of her mouth and balanced it on the edge of the sink so she could lean forward to apply lipliner.
“Yeah? What, you need money again? I just gave you twenty bucks last Tuesday.” Her mom swiped a smear off her lip with a manicured pinkie and turned away from the mirror. “I guess that McDonald’s did raise their prices. Lemme get my purse.”
Alexia leaped to her feet and grabbed for her mother’s arm. “Wait. That isn’t what I want to talk to you about.”
Her mom looked down at the nail-bitten fingers that wrapped around her upper arm. “What is it? Are you pregnant or what?”
“No, I am not pregnant! Mom, will you listen for a second? I want to go to college.”
“College? Where the hell do you think that I’m going to come up with the kind of dough for college?” She picked up her cigarette and saw that it had burned down to the filter so she lifted the toilet lid and tossed it in, flushing as she let the lid fall.
“I’ve had offers for scholarships. Several, in fact. I need you to fill out some financial forms and sign some papers and then I’m out of your hair.” In her mind, Alexia added, for good if I’m lucky.
“Financial forms? Like hell I’m letting the government get a gander at my financial records. You’ll just have to find another way.”
Alexia snapped. All control fled her mind as she stood, towering over her mother by a good six inches. She advanced on her mother until she was pressed against the bathroom door, her face a mask of fright and anger as Alexia grew bigger in her vision than she had ever been before.
With a deceptive calm, Alexia leaned against the door, looking down on the woman who had given birth to her. “No, I won’t. You haven’t done a damn thing for me since they cut the fucking umbilical cord and I’ve never asked or expected you to. You will sign these forms, you will give me your last tax return and you will shut up and do whatever you have to do to get me into college. I will not end up a two-bit waitress in this dead end town like you have. I will not. So I’m not asking you, Mother, I’m telling you.”
Alexia was happy to see her mother nod in agreement. “Fine. I’ll expect you to have them on the table in the morning. Good night, mother. Have a good night at work.”
After Alexia closed the bathroom door, her mother leaned weakly against the counter and lit another cigarette. For a moment, she wondered what she had spawned from her womb. The thought quickly flew out of her head as she thought of the possible hook-ups that she might stumble into that night at work. You never knew what exactly would walk through the door of the diner in the middle of the night. There was always something different.
In her room, Alexia stared out of the window at the stars that were half-hidden by rooftops covered in antennas and wires. She would make it away alive no matter what she had to do. Soft mewling in the alley below brought her back to her original thoughts about cats and motherhood. If you forced her, she would have to say that maybe her mother was similar to a cat—nurture the kitten until they were old enough to find food of their own, then cut them loose.
Alexia couldn’t wait to get cut loose.
no subject
Date: 2007-11-11 12:10 pm (UTC)There were moments in this where I wondered how the child had managed to grow into something as normal as she had. *laughs* What's normal these days anyway?