power

by anonymous

mom looked up and saw sandy staring out the window. what are you waiting for? it’s getting dark. i’m scared, said sandy. we have been over this before, there is nothing to be afraid of. i’m still scared. there is nothing to be afraid of. you’ve got the power. i don’t think so. you’ve got the power just like i did, just like jenny and betty do. they earn their keep, now it’s time for you to earn yours. dad was in his comfy chair. he looked up over the racing form at sandy. mom said, i‘ll take care of this. don’t worry. come on, honey, mom told sandy, all we are asking for this first night is a lousy hundred dollars. i can’t. you can. you’ve got the power. it’s nature’s way. jenny and betty had been watching sandy from the couch and winking at each other. i’m scared, said sandy. of what? they are just men. and women have power over men. tell her, betty. the lord gave women power over men, said betty. just like he gave humans power over dogs. praise the lord. you see, said mom. you listen to betty, she knows her bible. backwards and forwards, said betty. you can do it, kid, said jenny. it’s like mom says, just treat them like the dogs they are. dogs bite, said sandy. not if you show them who’s boss, said jenny. they are more afraid of you than you are of them. they are blinded by their madness and their ignorance, said betty. just like it says in the bible. praise the lord. all we want is a hundred dollars, said mom. we don’’t care if you get a hundred dollars from one guy or twenty dollars each from five. or one dollar each from a hundred, said betty, and mom and betty and jenny and grandma all laughed. just go, said mom. sandy started for the door. don’t come back without a hundred dollars, said dad.