Pretty Much Ok It’s the dried up child that’s the problem; it’s not as though her mother has to worry about fitting a wizened being in a booster seat, or that shopping for an outfit that might make the first day of school feel ok is a hassle – it’s the not knowing, day to day. Her daughter tells her nothing. It’s the not knowing, when the mother taps open the bedroom door to wake her child, whether the world will be upright, or on its side. The Grandmother worries she’s hasn’t enough money to send even the smallest check. The girl herself’s ok. She makes sure she’s ok. Classes are ok. Food’s ok; her shoes fit and at school the kids are either solicitous or evil and therefore a known quantity. The girl knows a lot about the state of the world; she reads way more books than her classmates and could pry their heads open. She wishes her always-worried mother would give her a break and just shut up. The grandmother waits for her social security deposit and wonders whether to spring for new wrapping paper this Christmas or just smooth out what she neatly folded up last year. The dried up child is on a field trip to an historic village with lots of sheep. The mother steps out into the cold, closing the door behind her. Page 18 - Nine Mile Magazine
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