Mrs. Howard refused.
“What was it like?” Gary asked.
“Tall. Blonde. About forty-five years. Expensive bag. Very impatient.
I didn’t need to say the name Shirley.
We all knew.
Then Mrs. Howard lifted the inner lining of Mom’s dress.
With tiny blue thread there was only one letter.
K.
Kathy.
Mom had signed her job.
I played the little blue print and cried.
Now I knew what Shirley had been planning.
But I had no idea how cruel he pretended to be.
—
# PART 2 — THE NIGHT HE TRIED TO DELETE MOM
The night of graduation arrived.
I almost stayed at home.
Instead, I stood in front of the mirror in my room in Mom’s powdery pink dress.
For a moment, I saw his face in mine.
Then I touched the blue K hidden inside the lining.
I won’t disappear, Mom.
Downstairs, Dad looked up and was paralyzed.
You look exactly like your mother.
For a second, I thought I finally understood.
Then Shirley called from the kitchen.
“I hope I don’t spend the whole night crying like her.
Dad shuddered.
I stared at it.
“Say something.
He barely managed to say, “Shirley, please.
That was it.
When Gary arrived, he looked at me and smiled.
“You are beautiful.
At graduation, I finally started to relax.
Friends filled the dress.
When I told them that my mother had, her expressions softened.
Gary offered me a punch cup.
