Mother, in a good mood, allowed me to sit with her at the vanity as she got ready for work. Our hips touched slightly, her warmth running through me.
She was working on her face and hair when Winky Dink, my favorite TV show, came on.
I wiggled in the seat.
I wanted to draw pictures on the Magic Screen. Winky Dink needed me to hide him from the bad guys, even if my lines wobbled.
I wished Mother would hurry up and pick her wig for the night. On either side of the vanity were two plastic heads with no faces, each displaying a platinum wig, one short and curly, the other shoulder length and curled under in a pageboy. Mother ignored both of them and, instead, took a plastic box with the ponytail, my favorite, out of the middle drawer.
She looked down and smiled at me...
This story has been moved to The Fat Lady Sings.
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"The Mermaid Dress" was originally published in Are You EVER Going to be Thin? (and other stories), 2004. 35-53.
Copyright 2004, Jennifer Semple Siegel.
May not be reposted or reprinted without permission from author.