"Sadie Lou Scott," she said to her reflection, "you are a terrible mother."
Her sad, tired reflection stared back at her. It was 9:30 AM, and she was at home. To be more specific, she left her home to go to work and left a few minutes later, jobless, to return to a house she didn't know how she would pay for. Ten years ago, Sadie Lou was a fiery ball of spunk with a head full of ideas and determination to open up her own diner one day. Then she fell in love, had a family, and got sidetracked. Now here she is: a depressed, lonely, broke, single mother who is now jobless and one missed paycheck away from being homeless. If she was only homeless by himself, it wouldn't be so bad. However, she was the mother of an angry, troublesome eight-year-old boy who wasn't doing well in any of the schools he kept getting expelled from.
At home, Reuben wasn't so bad. He took up his father's old responsibilities, such as mowing the lawn and...well, Trevor Scott didn't really do much around the house. He was a businessman, so the boundary between family time and work often blurred. Reuben would always do the chores and run errands for the family. The mother would cook, clean, and provide a source of pocket money for the family. The father was the main source of income to pay for the house, the car, Reuben's schooling, and other big family investments. As far as domestic roles were concerned, Trevor did take it upon himself to be the disciplinarian. He managed his family the way he managed his business: with a firm, emotionally distant, totalitarian hand. He did mow the lawn, but only because Reuben wasn't tall enough to do so at the time. That's why, as a parting gift from Trevor, he bought a lawnmower that came with the seat that was small enough for the six-year-old Reuben at the time.
One year later, Trevor had a personality transformation, he married a woman that he was cheating on Sadie with for six months, and he gave that woman a happy family. At the same time, Reuben went from always being sad to mad, and he was currently becoming indifferent. He was slack on his chores and schoolwork. As for Sadie Lou, she went from being determined to defeated.
And now she was jobless.
"If I get one more call from the teachers, I give up on life" she said slowly, meaning every word.
Meanwhile, Reuben's teacher so happy about Reuben's academic U-turn she felt compelled to call his mom and tell her the good news. She had Reuben's mother on speed dial, so it didn't take long to call her.
Sadie heard her phone rang just as the words escaped her lips. She glanced at the phone to see who it was. It was Reuben's home teacher, Ms. Delarosa. She let it ring; she didn't have the energy or the heart to hear what Reuben had done this time.
Miss Delarosa caught her a voicemail and said ecstatically, "Hello Sadie Lou! This is Samantha here. Reuben got a 95 on his classwork today! I hope you receive this message. I'm really excited for your son! Call me back, and I'll tell you all about it. Have a good day. M'bye."
Sadie Lou came back from the bathroom with painkillers in her hand and saw that the teacher had left a voicemail. She ignored it, sipping some water and taking the pills one by one before she can hesitate. On her twelfth pill, she had regretted her decision and scrambled to dial 911.
"911, what's your emergency?"
"I took 12 painkillers. I wasn't supposed to. Please send an ambulance!"
"Ma'am, where's your address?"
"230 Dunsbury Ave., apartment 5C."
"Okay ma'am, we're 8 minutes away; please stay on the line." The dispatcher heard the phone dropped and sadly said, "I guess she can't. We need an ambulance going to 230 Dunsbury Ave., apartment 5C! A woman overdosed on painkillers and is now unconscious!"
