Borrow
I am 21 a dorm counselor
Taking 16 hours at UT Austin
In the early Spring semester
Visiting my companion in
San Antonio who is 26 with
Two children 7 and 5 when
She tells me the 7-year-old is
Incarcerated in the Galveston
Child Psychiatric Clinic for close
Observation and the phone rings.
It is the front desk of the Clinic in
A panic that our child has broken
Out of their Clinic and they can’t
Find him. I tell them to walk outside
And then walk toward the closest
Water to find him which they do.
He stole the keys letting himself out.
In another visit with my companion
Two months later I discover she is
Carrying my child so we get married
The next week and a week later, all
On weekends since I take classes,
We drive to Galveston asking to
“Borrow” our kid for a movie where
We pen him into a row so he cannot
Run away then go back to
San Antonio without a doctor’s proper
Clinic discharge. The Clinic calls in a
Panic asking where is the kid to
Which we reply we have borrowed
Him indefinitely for close home
Observation despite their protests
Of irregularity and rule-breaking.
We owe the Clinic close to $13,000
Since my companion has no
Insurance nor do I so we end up
Paying $5 to $15 a month then
Later on more until we pay off the
Debt decades later in our marriage.
The kid just needs attention, love,
Time and discipline with a belt to
Come to his senses which he does.
I give the belt whippings on the butt
Until the boys are 13 then their Mom
Must give the whippings which
Makes her tear up, much worse
Than any whipping as a guilt on the
Misbehaving child that they
Have made their Mother cry.
We form a family where all help
And contribute and we are all
Appreciative of the benefits gained,
Mom is happy and does not cry so
We are all happy and learn to
Work together to make homemade
Pizzas, corn dogs, popcorn, baked
Chicken, burgers, ham and a
Hundred more delicious dishes
All on a shoestring budget but it
Takes two parents to pull it off
Plus the support of all three sons.
And Mom smiled and we were all
Happy that we had each helped.
And, after we left married student housing,
We even got a puppy.