Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)
This is our contribution to the Six Sentence Story bloghop.
Hosted by Denise, the only requirement is to present a story in six (and only) six sentences.
This week’s prompt word:
GUARD
“Would it be too much to hope for our son learning to be more on guard; a kid like him, head in the clouds all the time, is asking the other sixth graders to lash out, it’s what we did at that age,” the man seemed to address the otherwise empty kitchen, even as his wife placed the tea cup and saucer at the upper right corner of the evening newspaper opened on the kitchen table; his smile of thanks faltered as he rotated the handle on the steaming cup to precisely three o’clock and adjusted the teaspoon on the saucer.
The tall woman compressed her lips, a tacit expression of agreement, however, her husband had already turned his attention to the black-and-white newsprint, sparing him the blaze of protective fury in his wife’s eyes; folding the front page carefully to the left, the man continued, “You’re his mother, and for reasons beyond me, there are times when he’ll listen to you, go have a talk and tell him to apologize to whoever and, while he’s at it, grow a thicker skin.”
The boy, sitting with his back against the plain headboard of the single bed, the tensor lamp, chrome-articulated neck leaning over his shoulder like a concert pianist’s page-turner, looked up from the circle of light illuminating the pages of the book, his eyes held both questions and answers as his mother stepped into the room, tension diminishing ever-so-slightly as she shut the door;
“You’re here to tell me to not let them get to me, that I just need to grow up,” no longer focused on whatever he was reading, the boy’s attention flared like a kitchen match in an empty basement.
“Well, yes, but this is one of those life lessons that need to be memorized like passages from a favorite book; what you felt in class today, when that boy, William, said your book report was pretentious is part of a strength rather than the weakness you’re thinking it is right now; like it or not, it will take time to practice being you.”
“Thanks a lot, Mom, so all I have to do is hurry-up and run into doors, sit on tacks, have ‘Kick Me’ signs taped to my back in school and I’ll get to become the best person I can be?”
“Well, yes, …but at least you won’t have to become your father,” the walls of the bedroom seemed to bulge inwards for a split second, until both mother and son broke into gales of silent laughter.
*
About clarkscottroger
The familiarity of it…gestures with huge undertext.
A mother’s odyssey…the one is realized years after…in this case though, a brave heart indeed! She doesn’t shy away from the now of hwr child’s journey, waiting the god of future past to make things right.
No wonder she is such a vivid and comfort presence, even after all those years.
Fortunate is the one who can appreciate the magic when it happens.
and those of us who recognize it after-the-fact are fortunate in having the benefit of the insight without, necessarily the torment of creation… that said, (in terms of the Doctrine) we are, all of us, beneficiaries and progenitors, owe it to the others (while a certain bias exists for me for one of the three, all are heir to the positive effects of the perspective afforded us by everyone’s favorite personality theory
Loved the mother – son bonding ☺️
thank you, Reena
good picture of a family bond. could be a dad as well. you pack these. so good.
Thanks, Paul
Your arithmetic continues to baffle me
Don’t feel bad…
Hey! Speaking of math! The Wakefield Doctrine has this cool ‘Your personality type revealed in one simple arithmetic problem!’
Ready?
What’s 2 + 2?
…wait a minute, I think I know what you’re referring to! Sentence Count!!
I say, with only the slightest embarrassment, that your bafflement is arising from my admittedly
desperatejudicious use of a semi-colon in the third sentence… (Semi-colon motto: “Helping prompt writers keep favorite descriptions and characterizations despite their better judgement since 1496</em>”)I wanted to reach into the story, move the cup back round and drop some strawberry jam on the neatly folded paper as I passed. All credit to the author for writing such a clear character. (The mother and son were, of course, good too, but it was the father that really got to me – maybe because I once had a boss like that! ;) )
haven’t we all! (‘a boss like that’)… (if I might hazard a guess: you would employ a slight and subtle misdirection as part of the process of rotating the cup* and, if possible involve the target in the jam run…. maybe, ‘hand you the preserves?’
lol
*like to 1:00 ish… not overly noticeable (at first lol)
The pain of being that kid can fade some, but it’s never fully gone.
totally agree (a price of the perspective afforded by the Doctrine is to see my people when young… and hope for the best for them)
The boy’s attention flared like a kitchen match in an empty wastebasket.” What a stestlknf as nd clear image…nothing I’ve ever seen before. Ever. Wow!
Also, wicked twist in the end! Bravo!
Ugh! Auto correct, I hate you. “Stestlknf as nd” was meant to be “startling”, I think!
God bless/may they burn in hell the inventor of Spelcheck
thank you, (why on earth was I forced by the Sisters of Mercy to write my ‘spelling words’ fifty times (so very frequently) when we would end up with Spekkchell?!
Ooh, sharp tongue. Wise words from mum, but hard for the boy to get through that phase of his life and learn to own himself and his strengths. You don’t have to be your father should be words taught to every boy.
Not saying that all fathers are bad, not at all, just that it can be a hard light to follow.
Agree.
*thanks for the commentationing
A Clark for a mother must make for an easier transition into adulthood.
Thank you.
Hmmm. To me this reads like a smug mother and son engaging in father-bashing, clark. Struggling to see what his sins are to deserve this.
I agree with Trish that the lesson of you don’t have to become your father is an important one. The same can be said to girls that they don’t have to become their mothers. The older I get, I see more similarities between my mom and me, and also more differences.
It sometimes seems that our journey through life did not have to wait for time to pass before we are in a position to see things from additional perspectives
And that’s why he listens to her.
agree
Your writing is good. However, for me the mother is teaching the son to have a dislike and a disrespect for his father – a message I don’t like – regardless of the, “so called bond”, that might be created between mother and son.
thank you. We’re trying (through writing way more blogposts than I would have imagined) to improve our wordage skills… this Six is one of the more strongly commented-upon post in quite a while!