Lorna was born with a fierce sweet tooth. Beginning in first grade, on her way to school, Lorna would slip into the local bodega and buy herself two bags of Skittles and a thing of Nik-L-Nips (those waxy bottles filled with neon colored sugary perfection). On the last day of school, while kids were tossing their books in the air drunk with freedom, Lorna was having five cavities filled. Her mother was distraught, blaming herself and her liberal policy of permitting her daughter one tall glass of soda with dinner. From then on, soda was forbidden, but still Lorna continued chewing on those Nik-L-Nips and sucking down Skittles until she lost her baby teeth. With a new set of teeth to destroy, Lorna graduated to Sugar Daddies (the candy not the man) and super sized Mary Janes. Years later, trying to curb her daily Diet Coke habit, Lorna thought briefly about blaming her Mom for banishing soda and thereby infusing it with the lure of forbidden fruit. Ultimately, Lorna realized that just as her older brother delighted in lording it over her by crowing about his children’s various accomplishments and seemed biologically incapable of shutting up, so, she too was at the mercy of her inner demons.
Battling Demons
March 1, 2013 | 0 comments