School Days

I never knew how good my life was until everything was gone. Everything changed the day I turned eighteen just like my family had been warning. What they did not do was warn me about what was going to happen on the day I turned eighteen. If they had, I would have been significantly more prepared than I was. As it turned out, I came home from school on my eighteenth birthday to have my bags packed and waiting for me by the front door. My parents were waiting in the kitchen, relaxing and drinking tea. I knew by the way my dad kept glancing at the fridge that he would much rather have a beer than a hot cup of tea, but he wasn’t allowed to have a beer until five o’clock. 

I was not only surprised by the fact both my parents were home, but more so of the fact they were sitting together at the kitchen table in the middle of a Wednesday afternoon. My dad never came home from work early and my mother never came inside from her garden except to eat and use the bathroom. I quietly sat down at the table with the two of them and wondered what they could possibly be thinking and why they had decided to pack my bags while I was at school. Nothing had ever been said about leaving or moving. Nothing. 

“Well, Heidi. It’s about time for you to move out. Now that you are a legal adult, it’s time to start making your own way in the world.” My father took another gulp of his tea as if he didn’t know what to say next. My mother continued to sip on her tea without saying a word. 

“Move out? Right now? Where -” I started, trying not to let my jaw fall all the way to my chest. 

“You’re an adult. Figure it out.” 

“But couldn’t you have warned me you were going to kick me out on my eighteenth birthday? Yesterday we were talking about a party.” 

“Here’s your warning: you have until tomorrow morning to find a new place to sleep. A new place to live. Probably a job to support yourself.” 

With that final statement, both of my parents stood up and headed toward the front door. I sat at the table in shock as I heard the front door slam and my father’s Chevy truck start. I had had suspicions this was going to happen by the way my parents had been acting over the last few weeks, but I was surprised my mother was going along with the plan. What my father didn’t realize was the fact I had had a plan in action for some time now to counteract him kicking me out when I turned eighteen. What he didn’t know was all of my ‘study sessions’ were really a part time job and a search for an apartment. Because I held the biggest secret of all… I was pregnant and getting married tomorrow. As soon as I moved out. And I had never been happier.