Lulu loved the way her mother’s blue dress fluttered around as she danced barefoot in the kitchen. Her coiled red hair waved as she took to the edge of the counter and flung back the bottle. A drop of red wine trickled down her cheek, adding a touch of disfigurement to the otherwise elegant picture. The kitchen was a disaster. The pots and pans on the wall were once used, but Lulu’s mother had stopped cooking. She had stopped most things, in fact. Lulu only ate crackers with butter anymore. She didn’t care however, for she loved her mother more than anything.
Her mother flitted into the next room clumsily and sat down on the piano bench, tipping backwards and giggling before regaining her balance. She set the bottle on the bench next to her and delicately placed her fingertips on the ivory keys. Lulu watched in wonderment as she plucked out the notes at random. The blue dress slipped down her shoulder and across her collarbone. She laughed again, oblivious of Lulu standing next to her. The girl was only seven or eight, and had already learned to attend to her mother in a drunken state.…show more content… She knew that the house was not at its best. The floors were cluttered with cigarette butts and dirty laundry, for Lulu did not know how to use the washing machine. The counters held greasy dishes and red envelopes filled with papers demanding money. Somewhere inside the walls, the house screamed for help.
Lulu’s mother was winding down now, her fingers slowing on the piano. She grabbed the bottle again and took a large
