The Turning Tables

Emily got out of the car feeling her stomach near the base of her feet. She knew there were going to be consequences, but at least she had the night to think of a good excuse by tomorrow morning. She crept through the backyard and quietly entered through the big glass sliding door. 2:00 a.m.? It felt like 11:00 p.m., which was her real curfew. Her parents were crazy about curfew. The door slid open and luckily, the kitchen lights were off. That was a sign that her parents were already in bed, so she was in the clear. Emily walked to the cabinet to get a cup of water when her nightmare became real.

“Emily Carly Smith,” the low voice droned. This was the voice her mother used when she was especially mad.

“Mom…I swear I was-” Emily was cut off by her mother’s razor sharp voice.

“I do not want to hear excuses. I was worried sick. Your dad and I spend hundreds of dollars on your phone bill and you can’t even return my calls?” Emily’s mom looked as though steam was about to shoot from her ears.

“Mom, I fell asleep at Sarah’s house while we were studying. I’m sorry!” Emily said apologetically. This was only partly true, but what her mother didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her.

“Emily, I can’t even look at you right now. Go to bed and we will talk in the morning. You should be ashamed.” Emily’s mom stood up to leave and did not make eye contact with her daughter. She was mad, exhausted, and disappointed. Emily could see that.

Emily knew she would have to tell her mom the truth eventually, but she did not know how. She did not want to tell her mom that they she’d actually taken a trip to a lake three hours away and spent the day there. Maybe she could get away with it? She had a bad feeling that the truth would spill out eventually. Her mom wasn’t exactly a forgiving person. She didn’t understand Emily at all and she really didn’t try. She set strict rules that Emily would have to follow and if she didn’t, the consequences would follow.

Ever since Emily was young, she had remembered being woken up by her dad’s loud shouting, usually resulting from a small argument between him and his wife. One night she had just gotten in an argument with her husband and he left for the night, leaving Emily alone with her distraught mother. Emily had been hiding in her room all night because she was afraid of her angry parents. A lot of yelling had happened, and she wasn’t sure if it was going to stop now just because her father left. She heard her mom coming up the stairs and she ran to lock her door. Her mom grabbed for the handle but found it to be locked, which made her even more mad.

“Emily get your fat ass up and open this door!” She screamed. Emily knew that this could get worse, so she turned her music on and drowned out the sound of her mother. It worked too. After about 5 minutes of continuous yelling, her mom gave up and walked down stairs. Emily could not believe her own mom would call her fat. She would yell at Emily and put her down every chance that she got. Emily knew that if she were to do anything that her mom didn’t agree with, she would get yelled at. The yelling was the kind that leaves an imprint on your mind forever, the words carve deep within her soul. She had been behaving perfectly up until this point, and she was not going to let her mother put her down again.

Just then Emily remembered something. She had overheard her mom on the phone with her grandma earlier and heard something interesting. She “could not believe” she had done it, her mom had said. It was hard to hear the discussion but she had heard the words “money”, “shopping”, and “treated myself” so she could piece them together. Manipulating her mother using blackmail was evil, she knew, but she did not want to face the consequences, especially right before prom. She decided the conversation would continue in the morning, but this time the way she wanted it to.

The sun was shining bright through the drawn curtains in Emily’s room as her alarm rang loud enough to wake a village. Emily was nervous to face her mom, but she was ready. Her mom was going to work today, so she would already be downstairs drinking her first cup of coffee. Emily stumbled down the stairs and into the kitchen, where her mom sat with one hand on her coffee mug and the other with her pen to paper.

“I have a few ideas for your punishment,” Emily’s mom said as her eyes lifted from the piece of paper. “You won’t like any of them, but it’s the price you have to pay.”

“No mom, I don’t think that will be necessary.” Emily gleamed with confidence. She knew how her attitude would upset her mom. She watched her mom’s face get red. If this went wrong, Emily would be in even more trouble, but this was a chance she was willing to take. “Mom, I know what you did. I overheard you talking to Grandma. Dad is going to love hearing about me staying out all night, but you know what he will love more? Knowing you wracked up the credit cards with your obsessive shopping again. “

Her mom’s face went still. The early sun, still coming up, was lighting up Emily’s face. She felt as if God was sending a light beam her way to make her look powerful and superior.

“Emily, this has nothing to do with me.” Emily’s mom placed her coffee cup on the table and set down her pen to fold her hands.

“I think Dad would love to hear that I was up late studying and fell asleep, resulting in my 2:00 a.m. arrival, but he will be ecstatic if I pull up the credit card-”

“Emily, honey, I understand. I think we can figure it out if you just don’t say anything to dad…” Her face became softer and she looked less angry. Emily knew how her dad would react. He hated when her mom spent his hard-earned money, and the battle would result in a month long suspension of the use of her mom’s credit card. Her father was manipulative and controlling. That was no secret.

“Mom, I think I need a later curfew. What do you think?” Or should I go ask dad?” The sly smirk arose on her face. This was going exactly how she had planned it in her head.

Just then the two of them heard footsteps. It was Emily’s dad. He was on his way downstairs. This was very odd, considering he did not usually get up until about nine, and it was still very early. Emily looked at her mother’s face, which was beginning to look a bit green. Her father shuffled his feet to the doorway of the kitchen and looked at the two women with his eyes half open, still trying to adjust to the light.

“What the hell is going on? I can hear you guys all the way from upstairs.” His face was intimidating and harsh.

“Hi Honey, I think Emily has something she wants to tell you.”

Emily looked at her mother in disgust. She thought that her plan was working, right up until this point. She could not throw her mother under the bus about her spending. She didn’t like her, but the sadness from her mother would undoubtedly be thrown onto her, and she could not risk that happening.

“Dad, we are out of milk and I was just asking mom to buy more when she got agitated at my stupid question. I mean who would want to go buy milk at this hour anyway? We decided it would be okay if she just got it later today.” Emily’s mom looked at her in disbelief. She didn’t say anything or refute her answer, she just looked back at her husband and nodded her head.

“You have got to be kidding me.” Emily’s dad made his way to his wife and grabbed her arm. She almost jumped out of her chair. “Don’t you ever wake me over something so stupid ever again. I am a working man. I need to sleep.” His voice rumbled low like the sound of distant thunder. He let go of her arm and headed for the stairs. Once they were sure he was back in bed, they began to quietly speak.

“So Mom, how about that later curfew?” Emily looked at her mother hopefully.

“That’s do-able, but that’s it. No more than curfew. 12 a.m or nothing.” She got up and walked towards Emily. She had never seen this side of her daughter.

“Thank you Mom. Pleasure doing business with you.” With that, Emily walked up the stairs and got ready for school. She was pleased with herself. Everything had gone exactly as planned. But if her dad ever found out about this, she would be dead. She felt content right now though. This was her and her mom’s little secret. Her mother would never tell, would she?