A Biography of the Woman Who Never Was
Part 1: The Girl
Chapter 1
Shannon sat, rocking herself on the living room floor of her grandparent's house as they and her mother yelled and cursed at each other. Her family was white trash. She knew it, even though it would still be a few years before she'd actually hear the phrase; the moment she did, she would instantly know that was what her family was.
The house was a hovel. Half-assed built by a poor man, sold and resold to successive generations of other poor people. Some who tried to do half-assed repair jobs on it, some who just said fuck it and left it rot while in their possession. It was a house that over the years had become a mish-mash of various architectural details that had been envouge at the time (or at least their cheapest approximations). It was well passed whatever could have passed for its prime and should have been torn down years ago but was left to stand because the economy always produced people who were poor enough not to be able to afford anything else.
The furniture, likewise, was an eclectic lot of side of the road finds, junk sales, and hand outs from family members who had been fortunate enough to claw their way up to middle class. Nothing matched, nothing congealed into anything even remotely close to a sense of style, it was furniture stripped to its bare basics - chairs for sitting and tables for holding things.
Her mother's home was even worse though. An an apartment carved out of a building that was barely big enough to count as house. The plumbing leaked, it smelled of mold and garbage, the electrical was constantly going out, it was a vomit inducing, hell hole.
Shannon had been brought here tonight because her mother thought she needed a break from parenting. Of course she seemed to be on parental break more than she was actually parenting, something her grandfather was quick to point out.
"YOU DON'T KNOW HOW HARD IT IS BEING A SINGLE MOTHER!" she screamed at them.
"If you're weren't ready for the responsibility of raising a kid, you should have stuck to sucking dick," her grandfather fummed back at her.
Shannon's grandfather was a drunk who thought his obligation to his family began and ended with his paycheck. He paid the bills, gave his wife some cash for groceries, the rest was his to get shit faced with. On the nights he wasn't too blasted, he'd stumble his way up the stairs to the bedroom he shared with his wife and paw at her, trying to get a "little lovin'" as he put it. Most times she fought him off, sometimes she didn't, sometimes she just couldn't work up enough of a damn to bother and just laid there as he drunkenly flopped on top of her.
Her grandmother was an extremely religious woman. She read the Bible daily and would preach to Shannon every time she came over about how she needed Jesus in her life. She took to heart the Biblical admonition to be subservient to her husband, although she did come close to almost killing him a couple times.
Her mother was every bit her father's daughter, a loud mouthed, pissed off drunk. And, like her father, whenever she got drunk, her brains immediately sank to her genitals. Shannon was all but certain she had been conceived during one of those drunken escapades, much like her sibling who was now taking up occupancy in her womb.
"What the fuck are you planning on fucking doing when that other little bastard drops? Huh? Ya gonna try and drop that one on us too?" her grandfather barked.
"YOU NEVER LOVED ME! YOU NEVER GAVE A FUCK ABOUT ME! I'M YOUR FUCKING DAUGHTER AND YOU NEED TO HELP ME!" her mother screamed back.
Shannon covered her ears with her tiny hands. She wanted to disappear, she wanted to die, she wanted them to die. It was then, the door to the living room opened up and Shannon looked up. Suddenly her face lit up with joy. "Aunt Mary," she began to say but her aunt just raised her index finger to her lips and motioned for Shannon to come over.
Her Aunt Mary was the only one of her family that she could say she truly loved. Mary had wanted to be a nurse growing up. She dreamed of helping others. Unfortunately, as the second born girl, it was expected that she would help take care of the house and her younger siblings. Her parents made her drop out in the tenth grade, destroying her dream. The next two decades were spent being a second mother to first her younger brothers and sisters and then to their children. She never dated, never allowed to, so her nieces and nephews became her surrogate children, Shannon the most though.
Shannon gave a quick look down the hall to the kitchen to see that her mother and grandparents were more occupied with screaming at each other than paying attention to her. She got up and ran to her aunt who quickly shewed her outside, onto the porch. There she gave her a big hug.
"Come on," Mary whispered and took Shannon's hand. The two went down the steps to the sidewalk and started walking.
"Here, I have something for you." Mary handed her a small paper bag.
Shannon took the bag and gasped as she saw what was inside. Slowly, with trembling hands, she removed the treasure from within. "It's the Mego Wonder Woman," she gasped in almost divine reverence.
Mary smiled warmly as she took her four year old niece's hand. "I thought you you might like her."
Shannon hugged her aunt with all her little strength. "I love her!" she exclaimed. Wonder Woman was Shannon's favorite character. Too young to read the comics, she loved watching the TV show. She thought Linda Carter was so beautiful and brave and strong. She hoped to one day be like her.
Shannon let go of her aunt, looked at the doll, then back to her aunt. "Where are we going Aunt Mary? " she asked confused but happy.
"To Misses Fry's house. It'll be quiet there, and you can play with your new toy."
Her aunt's face looked to be a mixture of anger, sadness, and joy, all at the same time. It confused Shannon but she never questioned it. She was happy to be away from the yelling, to being with her aunt, and to have her new toy.
She took Mary's hand again, looked up and smiled. "Ok," she said sweetly, and off they walked, down the street, under the cover of the night and stars.