36... 24... 34. Those figures, when I heard my children huddled together and giggling about them, brought back sweet memories of when the tape measure that wrapped the curvy features of my anatomy, matched those very numbers. My name is Marsha but for most of my 44 years on this planet, folks have called me Molly. I live here with my mother Adria, whom we always called Addie and my twenty-two-year-old son Bobby plus my 19-year-old daughter Trisha, nicknamed Tish.
I once had that classic hourglass figure that jiggled seductively and caused illicit sexual imagery to course through the minds of horny young men who caught my eye and were able to bring a sultry smile to my lips and a twinkling sparkle to my blue eyes. The numbers have changed by slight but noticeable fractions with each of them growing a bit and the supple sturdiness of my bountiful contour has felt the effects of gravity. Those carefree days of toying with men's affections and controlling most people's lines of sight by merely shifting my weight or taking a deep breath, have been lost in the breeze. I guess, that like every woman, I miss those seductive days.
My sensuous build and my devil-may-care attitude slowly eroded over time as I came to realize the consequences of making rash judgements and failing to think seriously about my future. In the decades afterwards, I was forced to accept the burden of raising two children from two different fathers; neither of which have been seen for years, the salary reduction commensurate from trading a position as a private secretary to serving coffee and eggs at a neighborhood diner, and basically supporting four people on that income with nominal help from babysitting and lawn maintenance money.
My first husband, the swindler, swept me off of my feet and lavished me with jewels, clothes and a big new house. I thought that I had struck gold and that the remainder of my lazy days would be champagne and roses. Everything was wonderful and I was overjoyed to be carrying his child, right up until the FBI took him to prison and the IRS confiscated everything that he had ever laid eyes on. His next parole hearing is four years from now.
I also became a pariah for unwittingly having enticed people to invest in my husband's schemes and being discovered as a social-climber, for courting the very people who could afford the luxury (and the lawyers,) for making bad business deals and snubbing the honest folks that I'd grown-up with. I was left with a newborn child and a stack of bills. You'd think that it would have taught me a lesson.
A few years later, while still sowing a few wild oats and not being able to see that a penny-less, single-mom with a history of bad decisions, would not have been such a great catch, despite her 36Ds, I married a guitar player in a house band, who immediately got me pregnant and just as quickly, disappeared. And for some reason, as bitterness and barely concealed rage became my waking disposition, I hate to admit that I began to take it all out on my son. My bad attitude festered for years and I hate to say that I treated him so unfairly.
We were never really a "loving" family and as our financial and living conditions became more condensed, with my mother moving in and the kids becoming adults and everybody needing more of everything, my nerves were more strained with alcohol adding fuel to the fire, my simmering, pointless anger was directed more and more towards Robbie. Maybe, (in my feeble defense,) he just reminded me of my first ex and the "good times" that were swept into the garbage. He has grown to become a fine young man, for what little I pay attention to him, and though he has a limited education he always wants to help out. It only makes me want to hurt him more.
One evening when he came home and handed me a few bucks to contribute to the house fund, I lost it. My poor son stood there helplessly as his semi-drunken, harpy of a mother lashed-out at him for apparently no reason. I told him that the bank accounts were overdrawn and that the landlord was threatening to call the sheriff. I said that we couldn't last much longer like this and that I felt that he should consider moving out and getting an actual job. And with his feelings obviously bruised and noticing the biting reproach of my tone, when he asked if I had made this same "suggestion" to Tish, I unfortunately phrased my reply that left no doubt, that she was my favorite and that he would have to go. I know that this makes me sound awful as a mother and as a human being and later, after I calmed down a little and sobered-up a lot, I regretted every single word and thought of it all. But there was no taking it back and an invisible wall had been forever constructed between us.
Robbie was basically a nice kid. He was well-built and had the same swarthy complexion of his father. His dark eyes were alluring and he had a habit of gently curling the lip on just one side of his mouth that gave the observer the impression that whatever he was talking about, would turn-out just fine. It was entirely my fault that I couldn't love him enough, but whenever I saw him and especially when he made that facial gesture, that he inherited from a man whom he didn't even remember, I felt a sickening sensation in my stomach.
Tish was another story. She took after me in most ways. At nineteen, she was put together in just the way that I was at her age. Her hair was long and blonde, she had firm rounded breasts and a shapely butt, and I believe that she knew her way around a man's body. Tish could be a conniver and I had noticed how she could manipulate others (especially men,) when she wanted something. She had a soft spot for Bobby and often followed his lead. There was in her, a quality or possibly a character-flaw, that I remembered from my youth and didn't want to inhibit her. I possibly thought that I could relive my life through her. Alcohol and desperation make for some crude self-reflection. And even though they were actually step-siblings, they most often got along well and lately had been whispering and plotting with each other. I know the expression of "not seeing the forest through the trees," but I always felt that if a dispute erupted, Tish and I would represent the majority.
This brings me to the evening when I walked in on them as they were watching the late news. And I heard them mention those three numbers, 36,24, 34. Not understanding that they were only the last three in a series of six, I merely assumed that they were discussing the measurements of either Tish or some woman that Robbie was interested in. They were both giddy with laughter over some "inside" joke and when they saw me, they hurried-off to one of the bedrooms where I faintly heard Robbie speaking on the phone to someone.
Through the years, Tish had also noticed that I was harsh with Robbie and it seemingly drew them closer together. And I came to realize, that she always knew where her interests lay. The following day, they came home late and were both drunk. Bobby had a big cigar and Tish was wearing a new, slinky little outfit. I was sitting at the kitchen table with my mother, going over the box of delinquent notices. We were also drinking, but I didn't count that. My anger and deep disappointment in my own situation, had me in a foul mood. When the kids said that they were celebrating, I cut them off firmly and harangued Robbie for wasting money and getting his underage sister drunk. Tish tried to protest but I chastised her for being obscenely dressed and I may have used the term "whore." Then I once again "suggested" that it might be better for everyone if Bobby packed his things and moved out.
Almost in unison, they called me a dumb bitch and both retired to his bedroom where the door was slammed and shouting and laughter was heard. I threw an empty glass at the wall and my mother slipped away to her room. A stillness hung over the house for a few hours. I was getting ready for bed, I had just showered and was wearing only a pair of robin's egg-colored panties and fuzzy slippers under a long terry-cloth robe. The warm water had calmed my nerves and I applied a thin layer of powder to my reddened flesh. My long blonde hair, still damp but finely brushed, fell to my shoulders and the cool night air was toying with my perky nipples.
I passed Tish's room and was surprised to find the light out, she doesn't normally knock-off so early but then I remembered that she had been drinking. When I approached Bobby's room, there was still a sliver of soft lamp-light under the door and I could hear the bed squeaking, then I heard muffled voices. I just assumed that he was sitting on the bed talking on the phone to some chippy. With the last bit of bitchiness in me, I opened the door and was going to make a remark about the phone bill when I noticed that he and Tish had seemingly fallen asleep together. Robbie's eyes were contentedly closed as he lounged above the covers and his step-sister was curled across his belly, her head facing away from me. They appeared to be sweetly dreaming and a low, snoring sound filtered from the room.