June 10th: Mothers
My Mother Never Said…
, by R. L. Cherry

My mother never said “I love you” to my father.  I knew she really did.  Love him, that is.   If he were even a few minutes late coming home from work, she would worry.  It was a long drive and she would wonder aloud if he had been in an accident, nervously basting the roast to keep it from drying out or stirring the soup to keep it from sticking.  But when he walked in the door, it was “What took you so long?” and a glare rather than “I love you,” and a kiss.  When I did see her kiss him, like when my two sisters and I threw them a surprise party on their 40th wedding anniversary, it was quickly and self-consciously.  And without the words, “I love you.”  Why was it so hard for her to say those three words to my father when she could say them to us children?  Perhaps it was because my grandmother, widowed when my mother was an infant, never provided a role model.  Maybe in her early, formative years, she never heard a woman say them to a man.  I am no psychologist, so I can only speculate.  Could anyone say why with certainty?  At my father’s funeral, I thought I saw her mouth those three words to his body, lying cold and dead in the casket, as she rested her hand on the hard, varnished wood.  Even then, she never said them aloud.

*

R.L. Cherry began writing fiction when he was in high school in the form of short stories. Most were of a futuristic/sci-fi theme. Although he never actively pursued having them published at the time, he has had several in ezines lately. He has written a column on classic cars and hot rods for The Union newspaper in Grass Valley, CA, for over six years [as Ron Cherry].

He has two books available, Christmas Cracker, which has SoCal P.I. Morg Mahoney solving a case of kidnapping and murder in Northern England, and Foul Shot, the story of Chicago Police detective Vince Bonelli and the woman who rips through his life with passion and issues that threaten to destroy him and all he holds dear.

Find him at RLCherry.com




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One response to “June 10th: Mothers
My Mother Never Said…
, by R. L. Cherry”

  1. HelenaM says:

    Sad and sweet


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