I’m 7 years old when my mother tells me that she’s pregnant. The guy who’s been coming around since I was 2 years old is the father.
If only I hadn’t been terrified of car washes, they wouldn’t have met. My mom had THE coolest car back then; A 1969 Barracuda fastback that was bright red.
Side note: Future step-father had a dark blue one and they used to drag race in NH. I got to stand at the starting line when they raced, and I didn’t go deaf. 
Wedding day:
It’s raining a lot. Something is wrong because mom is in a phone booth making a call while Paul & I wait in the car. I can read her lips and she is not complimenting whoever she is talking to.
They marry in an empty restaurant. I am sitting at the bar drinking Shirley Temple’s ( I was actually just eating the cherries and asking for more-the bartender gave me a glass of cherries and I left the drink alone.)
After we get home, I did something to piss off my step-father because he is slamming my head against the wall and yelling at me. The only thought that is going through my head is, “So this is what marriage is like?” “I don’t like it at all!”
As of that day, I was no longer allowed to get my own breakfast in the morning and watch cartoons. I had to stay in my room until they opened my door and said that I could come out.
I read a lot to escape back then.
That was also the start of housework becoming my job, except for laundry. Saturday morning routine was to get a bowl of cereal, clean my room, the bathroom, living room, and dust all of the woodwork, (There was a lot of woodwork) and cut the grass.
Then I could go play until the street lights came on. These were the days before home computers, video games, cell phones and remote controls for anything. We actually spent time outside, and enjoyed ourselves!
In fact, all of the neighborhood kids would play neighborhood hide & seek. We had 3 streets we could use to hide and the only rule was no going inside any homes, but hallways of apartment buildings were ok.
There were times too that my step-father and I would play catch, that would then turn into Run The Bases with the neighborhood kids. My dad & I were always the ones catching. I used to love playing catch with him. Aw hell, he was a way cool dude to hang out with when he wasn’t beating the crap out of me.
I couldn’t wait for a sibling! I was 7 years old & so lonely. I was primarily around adults and had a hard time socializing properly with kids my age. I thought they, for the most part, were stupid.
I was learning college level words in the 4th grade with my best friend, Lynn Rose Cann, who by the way was one of the prettiest girls besides Nancy Pellerin that I had ever met. Both of them were my best friends and even though I fought every boy and almost every girl in my class, I defended Nancy’s and Lynn’s honor to everyone.
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