My mom thought I was kidnapped.

Let me tell you about the time my mom thought I was kidnapped. But first, here is a quick background of my childhood so you would understand the situation better. My father served in the US Army for 20 years. Where this story takes place, we were living on the US Army Base in Baumholder, Germany. I was in the 1st grade, circa 1998.

Our apartment complex was literally a 2 minute walk from my elementary school. My mom would always wait for me outside along with other parents picking up their children after school. I remember I was in line with my class getting ready to go home. My friend stood in front of me, let's call her Tanisha. Tanisha turned around and asked me if I wanted to go to after school choir with her. I told her that I wish I could but I can't because I had to go home.

This little girl told me that there was candy at after school choir. So my dumbass followed her.

'Till this day I'm still trying to figure out why the adults coordinating the program didn't take roll or asked why I was there. Let me tell you, I was having the time of my life. Meanwhile, I had no idea the trauma my poor mother was going through. My mom waited and waited for me outside until she noticed that no other kids were coming out of the school. She went to my teacher to ask where I was, which she had no idea because she thought I left to go outside with the rest of the class. My mom went to the principal to ask where I was, of course she didn't know neither. Side note: my father was deployed in Albania at the time and my mom was just starting to learn how to speak more English. Plus my brother was only a baby at the time, so I could only image how all sorts of messed up she was at that point.

After my little mini candy and music adventure, I was making my way back home when all of the sudden a police car pulls up next to me. I recognized the MP (military police), who was a friend of my parents. "Desireé, do you know that your mother has been looking all over for you?"

Me:

See, I was 6 years old. A silly little 1st grader that loved singing, even way back then. And once Tanisha told me that there would also be candy at after school choir, I was sold. I completely forgot about my mom and the fact that I could possibly get my ass beat.

Because candy was life.

So I'm standing there processing what the MP just told me. My mother...my Dominican, Caribbean/Latina, mother. was. looking. all. over. for. me. I was terrified for my life, ya'll. On top of that, the officer asked me if I wanted him to take me home. In my mind, I thought he meant that he was going to handcuff me and take me to jail. I said no thank you and ran home.

When I got to the door of my apartment, I didn't know what to think or what was waiting for me inside. All I know is that I could still feel the fear 18 YEARS LATER. I stood at that door for a good 5 minutes and finally decided to knock on the door. A family friend opens the door and just looks at me. This lady shakes her head, let's me in, and quietly points to the living room. I slowly make my way down the hall...and as I turned into the living room, I noticed that the lights weren't turned on. The curtains were even closed so only a little bit of light was shinning through. Suddenly it looked like I was in a scary movie. The room was dark and eerie. Across the room sat my dad's recliner chair, that was facing the opposite direction. My mom was not in sight...or so I thought. I stood there for a few seconds when all of the sudden...

the

recliner

chair

slowly

began

to spin

around

until I was face to face with...

MY MOTHER.

THE HORROR.

She was beyond relieved that I was okay, but boy did I get in trouble. I still feel bad for putting her through that. You'd think I'd learn my lesson after that but no. When I was 9 years old, I did it again...and when I was 16. But that is another story time.