By the time I had to make sure Somebody’s son was taken and picked up from kindergarten, her husband had left her. As I entered Jr High, things changed again. Now she wanted freedom. Her desire for freedom meant that I could be sitting in class and suddenly, I would be summoned to the principal’s office. Then I would have to leave school and go home. Do you remember cousin Connie, the niece that came to live with us? She had a father-in -law. That’s who Somebody took up with. Apparently, before school was out for me, the bar had opened, and they had better plans. Now my plans included making sure everyone ate dinner and went to bed. I had tasks such as these as I watched her take funds that was meant for the house, being used to buy booze and her new beau 2- and 3-piece suits. She dressed him fine as the children in her household were both ill-shod and ill-clothed. Money. We got none. You can keep the change from going to the store. No. However, after a timely plea for some type of allowance, she departed with $3-5 worth of food stamps when they were issued.
Whether I went to school and was summoned home, or I just didn’t go that day, I was now home on a regular basis. That left time. And an idle mind is a playground for the devil. And no, I wasn’t grown, but I wasn’t innocent either. No one was there to stop me. I was the oldest (or next to the oldest) kid in the house. I could have friends come over…male friends. I also had the task of marking the calendar each month.
One day I found out that we were going to have to move. I guess when government subsidies are not well spent, moving is the next thing to do. With no apartment forthcoming, guess what? My little brother and I got to go and stay with my older two brothers on the southside. 6329 S. May St. OMG! Normalcy! A brother who worked in the post office and a sister-in-law that worked retail. I had a niece and nephew there to whom I wasn’t a personal servant. I could just walk outside or go to the park there on 64th and Racine. I could go to the Englewood theatre. I could help with the kids or just go to the store for a treat. I could do totally innocent and healthy things. Then Somebody called my new guardians. She spoke with them about nothing much and then she wanted to speak to me. Her ammunition was the calendar I had(not) marked. Her question to me was, “Did my new place know that I was pregnant?” I hung up the phone. She called back. If I wasn’t going to tell them then she would. And she did.
End of 2nd Chapter