Once mom and some neighbor ladies were sittin’ out back behind the projects where we lived. It was a hot summer night and they’d drug some kitchen chairs out there . . . tryin’ to stay cool. They were laughin’, talkin’, and drinkin’, bouncin’ their babies. At first mom did have Alice on her lap but I could tell she didn’t really want to hold her. The other ladies were huggin’ their kids, kissin’ em . . . givin’ em a bottle. Mom just put Alice down. Alice didn’t like that . . . she fussed and cried with her arms out stretched. But mom didn’t pay her any attention. Finally Alice managed to get to her feet. She was balancing herself . . . holding onto mom’s chair. Then suddenly she leaned into mom and proceeded to bite mom so hard on the leg she almost took a plug out of her. All the other ladies just looked as mom screamed and knocked Alice in the head.
Those women didn’t know what was goin’ on till they saw the red teeth marks on mom’s thigh. They just stared in disbelief. Mom moaned and rubbed the awful bite mark. Then she grabbed Alice and slapped the shit out of her. Alice screamed and cried and plopped down her diaper around her ankles. No one knew what to say. Everybody just got up and grabbed their chairs. The party was over. We went inside and mom slapped Alice again and then put her to bed. Alice was standin’ there screamin’ in her crib. Mom yelled, “You vil be sorry you hot done dat in front of dos voman.” Then she slammed the door and went in the front room. Mom was nuts and I knew it. I was only 4 years old. I hated lookin’ at her and listening to her curse my little sister. I hated watchin’ her. I hated realizing that that night she was officially declaring war on a toddler.