I am
terribly close to breaking another one of my constitutions and reading her
mind. I have shockingly few
constitutions intact which is one of the reasons I am holding childishly on to
this one. It will be her fault when I do
it; just like it was the first time, when I was nine years old. We were sitting around the table one night, a
typical family dinner, when I asked her an innocent question about my
father. In that swift unguarded moment,
her face contorted with pain and fear.
In my confusion I read her mind and learned she was ever so slightly
afraid of me. Of course I changed the
subject, silently vowing to never read the mind of another. Over the years I’ve amended that rash
decision. It has been whittled down from
never reading any one’s mind; to never reading the mind of a family member; and
finally to never reading her mind again.
She is the last obstacle to my using my talents freely.
I try to
appear patient as she rambles on about her youth. There is a point to this, I must remind
myself. My mother had called me fairly
in hysterics, begging me to come home.
Foolishly I jumped in my car and sped to close the distance between
us. I had done this threes time in the
less than three months since I had moved to Maryland. It had to be the last. I was not worried about getting a speeding ticket;
I’ve never gotten one though I rarely drive any where near the speed
limit. The miles were taking a toll on
my sanity. My patience was wearing
rather thin with this woman who had given birth to me. Each time she called, she had herself
convinced she would finally tell me her big, shocking news. The news that would rock my very
foundation. She would utter the words
that would knock me down a few pegs; off of the pedestal the world had
apparently placed me on. Perhaps, she
silently wished, it would take some of the air out of my ego. I had not gleaned this information from reading
her mind, rather her actions. I knew
despite her love for me, she still lived in fear of me. Of my rejection, of my acceptance. Who knows?
I have never been that certain of her sanity. The thought makes me smile.
“You’re
not even listening to me,” Mother pouts.
“Have you
said any thing?” This banter could go on
for hours if I let it. I fear I may end
up doing her bodily harm. I had taken an
unscheduled extended vacation from the magazine where I am an advice columnist. My editor almost had a heart attack until I
gave her my back-up advice letters. Of
course the letters seeking advice were also written by me, but she didn’t need
to know that. I gave myself excellent advice and took some too. I advised myself to take a vacation. By now I would have thought I knew a bit
about taking advice, mainly when to take it and when not to. Yes, I should have taken a vacation but under
no circumstances should I have come to my mother.
The last
time I came here ended badly. My mother
had come close to peeling off the final layers of her dramatic display when she
decided she just could not do it. I
reared up to my full 5’7” towering above her.
Even if she had not been sitting, I would have towered over her, she’s
only 5’1; but it was more intense with her sitting. I could almost feel her
fear and this time, I liked it. Standing
before her I slowly sank to my knees in front of her and whispered, “You will
take your news to your grave.” Then I
left.
I knew
better. I could not have stopped the
words from leaving my lips along with the menace that accompanied them, but I
knew better than to disrespect my own mother.
By the time I got back to Maryland I called her and all was
forgiven. A part of me wanted to make
her forget the incident, but I chose to let her keep it.
I am
honestly not certain of the extent of my abilities but I have confidence in
them, in the end that’s what matters.
Ever since I can remember, things have always turned out as I expected;
if not better. I had an ideal
childhood. I breezed through high school
and college with a 3.5 grade point average, achieved with minimal effort. I was as popular as I wanted to be and have
had as much success as I have desired. I
am 32 years old, beautiful, accomplished and single. That in itself takes miraculous power to
achieve. I have had my share of relationships
at varying levels of commitment. To sum
up my dating experiences: I have never cheated on any one, emotionally.
That’s
another thing that scares my mother. She
is afraid that I will find Mr. Right and afraid that I won’t. Even she is not sure which scares her the
most. I think she is worried that I will
meet someone with abilities like mine and together we will create a
monster. To admit that, would be to
admit that I am a monster; and what mother wants to think that of her only child?
There is
no limit to what I think I can do.
Partially that is my mother’s fault.
When I was growing up she never failed to tell me: “There’s nothing you
can’t do, baby.”
Well, I
believe it. I know I can read minds; I
can tell when people are sick by that smell they emit; I can visualize what
people will look like when they are older; I can make at least small animals do
what I want-though I rarely attempt this on humans; and I can move objects with
my mind. If such a place existed I would
go somewhere to learn how to maximize my abilities. It has been rather fun watching them develop
on their own. I have tried to use them
for good; with only a few notable incidents where I failed on that account.
Just as I
feel my resolve slipping, the very air around my mother changes. It’s her attitude really. Her eyes are more focused, her demeanor is
intent. Good gracious! I do believe she is about to tell me.
“I must
tell you, Steven is not your father.”
“What?” I know she has misunderstood
my outburst. My mother seems to think
she has shocked me. I am at once angry
and disappointed. This is no news to me. I had discovered this ages ago by reading the
minds of various relatives. I’ve always
known this. I am angry that she thinks
my love for him will diminish. I have
always been fiercely protective of my father—as he will always be known to
me. Her treatment of him has been the
cause of more than one argument between her and I. She is constantly degrading him for having
been a mail carrier for over twenty years.
He is the only constant in her life and she is precariously close to
losing it. One thing that keeps me from
sending a tiny bolt of electricity, if indeed I can even control such a thing,
to her heart is that my father truly loves her.
In all of her selfish, bitter ways, he finds comfort. It’s almost sickening.
This is
one of those times I feel I can not stand to be in the same room with this
woman. As if time with her is time away
from something, anything else. Yet there
are times I can think of nothing more than the comfort and love she has given
me through out the years. If not for her
I would not be this woman I am I remind myself.
If only she would get that smug look off of her face.
“Mother, I
already know this. One of your drunken
sisters told me years ago.” Ahh, that’s
done it.
“There is
more you need to know. It’s about your
real father. No one else knows this and
I would not tell you if it were not urgent.
When I was younger, some of my friends and I took a trip. You know, we had just graduated from college,
the world was at our feet, but since money wasn’t, we took one of those cruises
to no where. One of my friends started
sort of seeing a crew member and convinced him to let us borrow one of the
U-boats. We wanted to explore a little
island not too far from where the ship had anchored. He agreed to come with us. The island was beautiful, yet stifling. The smells were intense, the air thick. It felt as if everything was breathing.
Don’t look
at me like that, we all felt it. Anyway,
some how I got separated from the group.
I was lost and more than a little afraid. After walking for what felt like hours, I
came upon a house. Wonderfully built,
fairly modern, forgive the real estate agent in me,” she smiled, “ I was moved
to go inside the house. I felt like
Goldilocks. When the door opened to my
touch, I knew I should get out of there fast.
But I didn’t. I went inside and let the door close behind me. The foyer was dusty and dark. I groped around the rooms, sometimes on hands
and knees, trying to make heads or tails of the house. It was larger than it looked from the
outside. Although it was clearly
abandoned, it had a warmth to it, as if it had not been long abandoned. After wandering around the house for almost
an hour, I flipped on a light switch-- don’t ask me why I didn’t do that before--and
to my surprise; the lights came on.
The dust
disappeared and before my eyes the form of a man appeared. He was the most attractive man I had ever
seen.