I didn\u2019t do this to make you disappear. Promise me.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n
I promised him.<\/p>\n
Eight days later, he died.<\/p>\n
After the funeral, our house became painfully silent.<\/p>\n
Dad barely spoke.<\/p>\n
Mom\u2019s favorite blue cup stayed on a kitchen shelf, and she played it every morning because, somehow, knowing that she was still there made the house feel less empty.<\/p>\n
Then Dad married Shirley.<\/p>\n
Shirley had been Mom’s best friend.<\/p>\n
People acted like that should make things easier.<\/p>\n
It wasn’t.<\/p>\n
Within a few days, Mom’s blue cup disappeared.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was shacked,\u201d Shirley said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
Daddy sighed.<\/p>\n
It was just a cup, Delilah.<\/p>\n
It was Mom’s cup.<\/p>\n
Then Mom’s photograph disappeared from the hallway.<\/p>\n
Another photo was turned to the wall.<\/p>\n
Every time I complained, Shirley smiled and called me too sensitive.<\/p>\n
One afternoon she said, \u201cYou look exactly like your mother when you\u2019re angry. That must be hard for your father.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Little by little, I began to realize that I was not just taking away Mom’s belongings.<\/p>\n
I was trying to get Mom out of our house.<\/p>\n
Then he started to get into my room.<\/p>\n
I caught her once standing next to Mom’s graduation dress, with the dress bag partially open.<\/p>\n
What are you doing?<\/p>\n
\u201cReviewing if there are moths.<\/p>\n
In my closet?<\/p>\n
He looked at the dress.<\/p>\n
Your mother wouldn\u2019t want her work destroyed.<\/p>\n
Don’t talk about my mother.<\/p>\n
Her smile changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou really think you\u2019re kind of a little replacement for her, right?<\/p>\n
I ordered him to come out.<\/p>\n
That night, I told Dad what had happened.<\/p>\n
Instead of defending me, he said that Shirley was trying to help.<\/p>\n
She also lost Kathy.<\/p>\n
She lost a friend. I lost my mother.<\/p>\n
Dad looked exhausted.<\/p>\n
I can’t with this tonight.<\/p>\n
That was the moment when I realized that I could no longer count on him to protect the things I cared about.<\/p>\n
Two weeks before graduation, one of the handmade flowers by mom was released from the neckline.<\/p>\n
I cried more than the damage deserved, because I felt another part of it disappear.<\/p>\n
Gary took me to an arrangement store run by Mrs. Howard.<\/p>\n
When I explained that my mother had made the dress before she died, Mrs. Howard promised to be very careful.<\/p>\n
Then, as he examined the stitches, he suddenly fell silent.<\/p>\n
Has anyone else brought this dress here?<\/p>\n
“No.<\/p>\n
Perhaps photographs?<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
Mrs. Howard explained that a woman had gone to her store a month earlier with detailed photographs of a dress almost identical to mine.<\/p>\n
People and society<\/div>\n
I wanted an exact copy finished before graduation.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mrs. Howard refused.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was it like?\u201d Gary asked.<\/p>\n
“Tall. Blonde. About forty-five years. Expensive bag. Very impatient.<\/p>\n
I didn’t need to say the name Shirley.<\/p>\n
We all knew.<\/p>\n
Then Mrs. Howard lifted the inner lining of Mom’s dress.<\/p>\n
With tiny blue thread there was only one letter.<\/p>\n
K.<\/p>\n
Kathy.<\/p>\n
Mom had signed her job.<\/p>\n
I played the little blue print and cried.<\/p>\n
Now I knew what Shirley had been planning.<\/p>\n
But I had no idea how cruel he pretended to be.<\/p>\n
\u2014<\/p>\n
# PART 2 \u2014 THE NIGHT HE TRIED TO DELETE MOM<\/p>\n
The night of graduation arrived.<\/p>\n
I almost stayed at home.<\/p>\n
Instead, I stood in front of the mirror in my room in Mom\u2019s powdery pink dress.<\/p>\n
For a moment, I saw his face in mine.<\/p>\n
Then I touched the blue K hidden inside the lining.<\/p>\n
I won’t disappear, Mom.<\/p>\n
Downstairs, Dad looked up and was paralyzed.<\/p>\n
You look exactly like your mother.<\/p>\n
For a second, I thought I finally understood.<\/p>\n
Then Shirley called from the kitchen.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope I don\u2019t spend the whole night crying like her.<\/p>\n
Dad shuddered.<\/p>\n
I stared at it.<\/p>\n
\u201cSay something.<\/p>\n
He barely managed to say, \u201cShirley, please.<\/p>\n
That was it.<\/p>\n
When Gary arrived, he looked at me and smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are beautiful.<\/p>\n
At graduation, I finally started to relax.<\/p>\n
Friends filled the dress.<\/p>\n
When I told them that my mother had, her expressions softened.<\/p>\n
Gary offered me a punch cup.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I would be proud of you.<\/p>\n
Then the doors were opened for the accompanying parents.<\/p>\n
Parenting of children<\/div>\n
I looked for Dad.<\/p>\n
Instead, I saw Shirley.<\/p>\n
My cup slipped from my hand.<\/p>\n
I was wearing my mother’s dress.<\/p>\n
Not the original, but an almost perfect copy.<\/p>\n
The same powdered pink fabric.<\/p>\n
The same tight bodice.<\/p>\n
The same handmade-looking flowers.<\/p>\n
The only thing missing was Mom’s little blue K.<\/p>\n
Someone whispered, \u201cIs that Delilah\u2019s mother?\u201d<\/p>\n
Another student replied, \u201cNo. That’s his stepmother.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n\n
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See more<\/span><\/div>\ndoor<\/span><\/div>\nPeople and society<\/span><\/div>\nDictionaries and encyclopedias<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/ins><\/div>\n
Shirley walked straight to me.<\/p>\n
“Oh, Delilah! Look at us. We’re on the go!<\/p>\n
You copied Mom’s dress.<\/p>\n
She leaned closer so that only I could hear her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t own the pain, honey.<\/p>\n
How could you do this?<\/p>\n
His smile became colder.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou thought I\u2019d make you special tonight. I wanted you to understand that you’re ordinary.<\/p>\n
I turned to my father.<\/p>\n
Tell him to stop.<\/p>\n
Dad looked down.<\/p>\n
Not here, Delilah.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe took Mom\u2019s last gift for me.<\/p>\n
Translation tools and resources<\/div>\n
Please lower your voice.<\/p>\n
That hurt almost as much as Shirley’s cruelty.<\/p>\n
I turned to the exit.<\/p>\n
Then Gary took me off my elbow.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t disappear.<\/p>\n
Mom’s voice came back instantly.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone is watching,\u201d I whispered.<\/p>\n
Gary looked around.<\/p>\n
-Okay.<\/p>\n
And he added:<\/p>\n
Let them see what he did.<\/p>\n
I told him I couldn’t face Shirley in front of hundreds of people.<\/p>\n
You don\u2019t have to face it alone.<\/p>\n
Gary walked to our senior counselor, Mrs. Chen.<\/p>\n
What I didn’t know was that Gary had already spoken to her after our visit to the repair shop.<\/p>\n
Mrs. Chen had also met my mother.<\/p>\n
Mom had volunteered for years helping with the school\u2019s theatrical productions.<\/p>\n
And Mrs. Howard was at graduation helping prepare a memorial exhibition.<\/p>\n
The truth was already inside the building.<\/p>\n
Gary just needed Shirley to get into it.<\/p>\n
\u2014<\/p>\n
# PART 3 \u2014 THEY ALL SAW THE TRUTH<\/p>\n
Gary approached Shirley politely.<\/p>\n
You look amazing tonight.<\/p>\n
She straightened up immediately.<\/p>\n
Thank you.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will make the recognition to the parents before the tribute. Would you get on stage?<\/p>\n
Parenting of children<\/div>\n
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