Little Girl in the Mirror by Tara Mondou

Author:Tara Mondou
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: True Story, Mother/Daughter Relationships, Cape Breton Nova Scotia, Stratford Ontario, 1950s small town
Publisher: Tara Mondou
Published: 2020-12-06T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Stratford-Spring/Summer 1958

Several long months had passed and nothing in the Wrenn household had changed. It was morning once again and Cathy’s mom had already gone to work. Cathy was still lying in bed dreading the thought of going down to the kitchen when she heard Mrs. Wrenn at the bottom of the stairs.

“Cathy! Come down the stairs this instant!”

Oh, God! What did she want? Cathy slowly got out of the bed and went and stood at the top of the stairs.

“Lift up your nighty! I want to see if you’re behaving yourself.”

Cathy froze. What? Lift up her nighty? She wasn’t going to lift up her nighty. Mrs. Wrenn huffed and started making her way up the stairs; Cathy backed away towards Kenny’s bed.

“Lift it up, now!” Mrs. Wrenn said.

Cathy slowly pulled up her nighty and saw the look of anger pass over Mrs. Wrenn’s face. “You little devil, you’re wearing your underpants! How many times have I told you to take them off at night?” She started shaking with anger, and Cathy put her hands up in case she was going to hit her. “This is your last chance, young Miss. I am going to come up these stairs every morning from now on to make sure you’re behaving, and if I find you with underpants on again, you and your mother will be kicked out of this house for good!” She spun on her heel and stomped back down the stairs.

Cathy let her nighty fall down to her knees. She couldn’t move; she was frozen. After a few moments, she walked slowly over to the mirror. She didn’t have to stand on her tippy toes anymore. She was tall enough to see her friend, and her friend’s face was drained of all colour; her eyes were as big as saucers and she looked frightened.

Cathy suddenly realized why her mother didn’t say anything to Mrs. Wrenn, why she didn’t stick up for her daughter, and why they didn’t move out. Rita was afraid of Mrs. Wrenn. She was afraid of what Mrs. Wrenn would say or what she would do. There were times when it seemed like her mother got along all right with Mrs. Wrenn, but even during those rare moments, her mother always seemed wary of the woman, as if she didn’t trust her. Cathy wondered if something had happened to her mother in the past, if at some time in her life she felt helpless and unable to defend herself. But Cathy knew one thing, if her mother was truly afraid of Mrs. Wrenn, then Cathy was too.

Then new feelings bubbled up, ones she had never felt before. Besides feeling afraid, she also felt embarrassed, she felt let down. She realized her mother was weak and couldn’t or wouldn’t defend herself or her daughter. What kind of a mother is so afraid of someone that she would allow her daughter to go through life like this? If her mother wasn’t going to stick up for her, who would? She felt ashamed of herself and of her mother.

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