Honor Thy Mother

Nefarious Trotter was born shortly before midnight on New Year’s Eve.  He was the sixth child born that day at St. Edmondson’s Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, and at fourteen pounds, thirteen ounces, was the record-setting baby for St. Edmondson’s. Two days later he was taken to what was slowly becoming a dysfunctional, but still loving, home located in the modest middle-class neighborhood of Oxxon Hill.

Even as the newborn was learning how to smile, his parents’ tumultuous marriage was being tested to the extreme.  The latest blow had come in the form of his father’s recent termination from his job as foreman at a local brewery, for allegedly engaging in a sexual act on the job with a male co-worker.  With everything happening in the Trotter household, there was no reason for optimism about the family’s future.

John Trotter denied the incident to the end, dismissing it as the white man’s conspiracy to rid the company of all black men on the job who held a position of power.  Even with his persistent denial, it was still a hard pill for Mary Trotter to swallow.

The young couple’s excessive lifestyle had resulted in a mountain of bills that seemed insurmountable, even before John’s alleged antics cost him his handsome salary.  It seemed the only thing holding the family together was the strength of Mary Trotter. 

A natural beauty, Mary had an elegant face and a figure that could have easily landed her on the cover of Centerfold magazine.  But with no apparent job skills, plus the embarrassment of the entire neighborhood knowing about the circumstances behind her husband’s firing, and no defense against the local rumor mill except John’s obfuscate explanation, her will was understandably shaken.  Add to that combustible mix an infant son whose record-setting arrival size and appetite had seemed cause for celebration for the delivery room staff--but left Mary in no mood for celebration. 

Her husband had already established a history of ineptitude when facing critical situations, so Mary knew she had her work cut out for her.  If you had to have this burden placed on any woman’s shoulders, you could not have found a more capable candidate.

            Mary had already endured a lifetime of unwelcomed antics from every lascivious-minded male she ran across from the moment her ripening body began to separate her from her peers.  Blessed with a voluptuous figure and an exceptional innocence, she had the potential to capture the imagination of kings with one simple glance at her. 

-As Mary turned thirteen, her mother, Marilyn Thomas, watched her daughter transform from an awkward teenager into a beautiful young temptress.  Marilyn understood the critical timeline she faced in order to prepare her naive daughter for the uninvited attention that would be her burden for life--especially in the tough, low-income neighborhood of Green Mount Avenue.    

Marilyn delicately explained to a young Mary the true intentions of the disingenuous predators who would approach her, armed with smiles, compliments and monetary offerings in an attempt to penetrate her defense and exploit her innocence.  This heavy mental weight was boxed up and presented to the young girl with the unromantic explanation: “It simply comes with the territory.” 

            A year later the fourteen-year-old be<