by Emily Melvin
1. Mom and dad walked down the concrete steps. Side by side. She opened his car door for him. Waved him goodbye. Dad drove right into the for sale sign. She ignored it. Started her car. Mom and the Honda sped towards a new day. 2. The couple of twenty years, known on the block. Went for a drive one day. Not in the same car. They each had to work. Ignored the for sale sign. He stepped on his breaks too hard, she was already in drive. Dad stalled in place. Mom’s Honda drove away. 3. She kicked him out. Dad scraped his knee on the concrete steps. He was pushed into his car. Door slammed in his face. Mom curses him out, while he tried to cover up the pain. She beat his car with the for sale sign. He had no place to stay. 4. Dad screamed at mom, abused her for years until she was gone. Couldn’t take it anymore. Took her youngest, put her into the Honda. Dad cursed Mom out as they drove far away. Stabbed himself with the for sale sign. Still has scars to this day. 5. The youngest kicked dad out and pushed mom the other way. Locked mom in her Honda. Left dad begging, drunk, on the concrete steps. Kid made a “dad for sale” sign. Stuck it into his neck. Mom was scared of her youngest. Their lives are better this way.
Emily Melvin has a major in communication arts with a concentration in writing, as well as minors in creative writing and digital filmmaking. Along with writing poetry, she practices journalism in her classes and through her time working as a writer and editor for The Ramapo News.