I held the certificate of recognition for being an outstanding model soldier and handed it to Dad like it was a treasure.
His face was full of pride. “Our Hazel has really done well.”
In this family, Dad was the only one who ever gave me a little warmth, of course, only when Mom wasn’t around.
He reached out and softly ran his hand over my head. His eyes were filled with pride and joy, but also a bit of guilt he could never hide.
Just then, Mom’s loud voice reached us. “Hazel! What are you doing?”
Before Dad and I could react, Mom had already rushed over and slapped me hard across the face.
“You came back to seduce your dad while I was playing cards, didn’t you?”
“Hazel! Didn’t you go to college? Why did you come back? Did you do this on purpose?”
I quickly stood up and tried to shove the certificate into Mom’s hands. “No, Mom, my military training is over. I won a prize.”
“Look, I’m an outstanding model soldier among this year’s freshmen. I just wanted to tell you that…”
Before I could finish speaking, Mom had already swung the bag in her hand and hit me on the head.
The certificate slipped from Mom’s hand and fell to the ground; no one even noticed, just like me for the past eighteen years.