
My Turn to Stay
By the time we’d wrapped the Jordan almonds in circles of tulle tied with pink ribbon, the smile on my mom’s face had faded into the blank emptiness I knew so well; that scared me and made my stomach hurt. The lights were on but the room felt dark. No more joking around ~ putting tulle on our heads or laughing about how awful the candy-covered almonds tasted, hoping no one would break a tooth biting into one at the reception. Would Aunt Margaret’s dentures come loose? All the giggles stopped in a heartbeat~ and Mom went into her bedroom. I