A League of Dangerous Women by Mary Frances Bowley

Author:Mary Frances Bowley
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-05-14T16:00:00+00:00

2

IT WAS LOVE

The leaves on the maple and ash trees lining the street had transformed into vibrant reds and purples on the fall afternoon Skylar bounced off the school bus. She'd just finished her first day of first grade. Her long, blond hair flowing behind her, Skylar ran to the front door of her Baltimore home and let herself in.

The house was quiet. Skylar hurried to her mother's bedroom door and opened it. As usual, the lights were off and the shades drawn. Her mother lay with her back to the doorway

“Mommy I'm back from school!” Skylar called. She wanted to tell her mother everything.

Her mother stirred but said nothing.

Skylar's thoughts rushed back to that morning, when she'd first walked into her new classroom. It seemed as if all the other first graders were surrounded by smiling parents who took pictures and helped their children to their seats. Skylar had to walk alone around the room until she found her name scrawled on one of the desks. How she'd wished her mother had come with her.

Skylar blinked away the memory and the tears that had started to form. She moved to the other side of the bed. Donna Olshansky's eyes were shut.

“Mommy, would you come outside and play with me?” Skylar asked. “Please? The sun's out. It's warm.”

Donna moved her lips, but no sound came out. Her eyes remained closed. Finally, softly, the words arrived: “Not today, Skylar. I'm too tired.”

Skylar crawled under the blankets with her mother—as she had so often before, as she would so many times in the years ahead—and gently placed her head on her mother's stomach. She could hear it growling underneath her mother's nightgown.

Skylar sighed. Please, Mommy , she thought, couldn't you get up and play this time? Please?

For Skylar, it was just another lonely afternoon. Her mother suffered from a multiple personality disorder, battled severe depression, and spent much of her time in bed. Her father, a gambler and alcoholic with a temper, had not lived with the rest of the family since before Skylar was born. When he did show up, usually without notifying them, he was physically and verbally abusive. Debbie, Skylar's oldest sister, was often out of the house, busy with her own friends. Her younger sister, Nancy, was just a toddler.

Vicki, who was two years older than Skylar, tried to be a mother for her younger sister, but she was hardly qualified to raise another child. Far too often Skylar had to fend for herself. When she played “house” with her friends, she never asked to be the mommy—she wanted to be the daughter. It was just play but for a few minutes, at least, she could pretend that someone was taking care of her. She only wanted someone to notice her—to love her.

God was missing from Skylar's life too. Donna loved to read from the Bible when she was able, but she rarely had the energy to take Skylar to church. For Skylar, there was no personal connection with God.

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