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The Women of Our Lives

Women leave town and children in hands of men
What would happen if all women were to disappear from a town, leaving the men to not only work, but also take care of the family and the home?

Mother loved us all. She loved us endlessly. She'd always say, "Love is abundant" and "Love is everlasting". But if her love for us was everlasting, why did she leave us behind? Why did she hop on the train carrying her away from us like a package being sent?

I remember the day. The day when women left the men and children. I remember the smell of the steam engine. The engine which pulled my mother away from me. I remember all the mothers and housewives waving from the windows of the rain. They waved holding nothing; no handkerchief for tears, and no gloves for good bye. I remember their smiles. Smiles with no sadness, fear, and whose gleam I would never see again.

Juliet was disgusted with me. She didn't understand why I missed Mother. "She left us!" she'd say. "She left me! All because I was a month after the cutoff". Girls who were eighteen were considered women, so they could leave with the others. But Juliet was 17 and eleven months. "How selfish can she be?" Juliet had said at the trains station.

Father took the loss hard also. Mother was the love of his life, the apple of his eye. Now she was leaving his world dark. "You were the light of my world," he said to her picture as we ate dinner that night. It would be the first of many less dinners.

"All my friends were already seventeen! I'm going to be one of the oldest girls in town! I can't even move out until another two years!" Juliet was furious. It was as if smoke could pour out of her ears at any minute. "And what about Jordan?" she pointed to the baby I was spoon-feeding mushed peas to. "He's a baby with no mother. How will he grow up to be normal? This will haunt his life forever."

"The only thing that will scare him is your wailing and screaming," Father replied angrily." I am perfectly capable of raising two children and a baby on my own." Juliet's comment was incredibly rude; I feel that she is just angry.

That night, no one slept. Juliet angrily tossed and turned in her bed, making grumbling noises that sounded like she was grinding up rocks into pebbles. Father spent most of the night catering to Jordan's every beck and call; his crying became louder as the night drew on. I in my bed breathed quietly, hoping to hear the front door open, and Mother would walk in as if she was at a long day of work. Part of me knew that wouldn't happen; I knew she was on a train headed away from here, and away from me.

School was tough for the next few days. Half the teachers were women who walked out and were on the same train as my mother. My teacher, Mrs. Anderson left our class to another teacher, Mr. White. Mrs. Anderson also left her husband, her dying father, and her daughter, Mini. Mini was in Mr. White's class so when he combined the classes, I saw her with red, puffy eyes.

Mini was an old friend of mine who I've known since we were babies. She always wore a bow in her hair and had her books in a neat stack sadness for losing her mother. She pulled up a chair and shared my desk. Her head fell onto my shoulder and her hand reached for mine.

"How could she just leave?" mini mumbled sadly.

I squeezed her hand and was present. She needed my shoulder to cry on. At lunch that day, Mini and I ate together. We always did this, but today seemed different. Mini and I ate together. We always did this, but today seemed different. Mini sat sadly with her untouched food, staring at a photo. The photo showed Mrs. Anderson waving from the train. She was happy.

Mini looked at me from across the table and grimaced. "Why am I the only kid with puffy eyes? Aren't you sad?"

I nodded and quietly munched on my food. Mini closed her lunch bag and left me by myself. i saw her go to the girls' bathroom. Probably to cry in private. She'd be fine I'm sure. At the end of lunch, Mini was still in the bathroom. I saw girls walk out of the bathroom; some with worried expressions and some were giggling.

I waited another ten minutes, but still no Mini. I walked confidently to the door and opened it. A few girls were putting on makeup and screamed. One threw lipstick at me before running out the door. The other cleaned up her and her friend's things before leaving. I knocked on the stalls until I found one with Mini. All the other girls had left by then.

"Get out. i know it's you, I can tell by your shoes." I leaned on the door and it swung open, causing me to fall. I thought the door had been locked.

Mini sat on the toilet seat with her knees tucked in. Her face was buried into her legs and her hair draped over her shoulders. I sat on the bathroom floor and waited with her. She was waiting for her mother to come back. So was I in a way, but in that moment, I was waiting for Mini to come back to me.

"You're going to get in trouble. I'm not going to help you," she mumbled. I tapped her on the shoe and looked at her. She saw me through the strands of her hair and sighed. "I wish she'd come back."

Surprisingly, no one came to send me away. Neither girl told on me for being in the girls' bathroom. Mini was bluffing when she said she wouldn't help. That day, Mini learned that I was going to always be by her side. I also learned I'd always be by her side. If her mom couldn't do that for her, at least I could.

After I walked Mini home, I also walked home. I hoped my mother could be there to ask me how my day was, but I came home to a screaming baby. Father was sleeping on the couch and Jordan was angrily throwing a tantrum in his high seat. I pulled some baby food out of the fridge and served it to him. Once he'd calmed down, I put a blanket on Father and put Jordan to bed upstairs.

At the front door, I saw some mail had been dropped through the slot. I sorted through it finding many bills, but I also found a letter with "Dear Jude" written on the back.