Age of consent
One day when I was about nine or ten, I was dusting some shelves in my parents room. I had to pull out each book, dust it off and put it back on the shelf. I took a bible off the shelf. I didn't recall seeing this one before. I opened it up and there were pages in the front where you could record marriages and births.
"Mom, what year were you and dad married," I asked
"1966"
"and I was born in 1967, right?"
Suddenly my mom stopped what she was doing and I quickly shut the bible, dusted it off and put it back on the shelf. I grabbed another book and started dusting it off before she got mad at me for getting sidetracked. Instead of yelling at me, she started talking to me. She sounded nervous, but not mad.
"I guess you just figured out that I was pregnant when your dad and I got married."
What, I thought? It didn't even occur to me, but now I was quickly counting the months in my head. They got married in December, I was born in April. Wow. Before I could finish doing the math and respond she started explaining.
"Your dad and I were in love and wanted to get married, but your Dad was too young to get married without his parent's permission. It was during the war and he was getting ready to go overseas so we got pregnant on purpose so we could get married."
"Dad was 19, right? How old did he have to be?"
"20"
I have always remembered that moment because it was the only time I ever recall my mom saying she loved my Dad, or that she wanted to have me. I would replay that conversation over and over in my head, especially after she had yelled at me or beat me. What happened? What made her change her mind about me? She wanted me. She got pregnant on purpose. What did I do to make her hate me so much?
At no point did I think the story wasn't true. It never occurred to me to check and see what the age of consent was. I never thought to ask my Dad about it, until I was sitting next to him at the computer, looking at the screen that said we did not share any dna.
Suddenly I had a lot of questions so I recounted the story to my Dad. After I finished he said "that never happened. I was out to sea and I got a letter that said "Hi Daddy." and that's how I found out she was pregnant,"
"Mom, what year were you and dad married," I asked
"1966"
"and I was born in 1967, right?"
Suddenly my mom stopped what she was doing and I quickly shut the bible, dusted it off and put it back on the shelf. I grabbed another book and started dusting it off before she got mad at me for getting sidetracked. Instead of yelling at me, she started talking to me. She sounded nervous, but not mad.
"I guess you just figured out that I was pregnant when your dad and I got married."
What, I thought? It didn't even occur to me, but now I was quickly counting the months in my head. They got married in December, I was born in April. Wow. Before I could finish doing the math and respond she started explaining.
"Your dad and I were in love and wanted to get married, but your Dad was too young to get married without his parent's permission. It was during the war and he was getting ready to go overseas so we got pregnant on purpose so we could get married."
"Dad was 19, right? How old did he have to be?"
"20"
I have always remembered that moment because it was the only time I ever recall my mom saying she loved my Dad, or that she wanted to have me. I would replay that conversation over and over in my head, especially after she had yelled at me or beat me. What happened? What made her change her mind about me? She wanted me. She got pregnant on purpose. What did I do to make her hate me so much?
At no point did I think the story wasn't true. It never occurred to me to check and see what the age of consent was. I never thought to ask my Dad about it, until I was sitting next to him at the computer, looking at the screen that said we did not share any dna.
Suddenly I had a lot of questions so I recounted the story to my Dad. After I finished he said "that never happened. I was out to sea and I got a letter that said "Hi Daddy." and that's how I found out she was pregnant,"
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