Vacancy: Marriage and Mother

“ Vacancy” My life has been full of “relocation’s” as my mother would call them, although none of them were very far from the other; the reason behind moving was always either divorce or marriage. My brother and I were forced to relocate four different times during our childhood and adolescence. With my mother remarrying three times and my father twice, we both grew up with trust issues because we did not understand the term commitment. After my parents divorced when I was six, I moved into a small apartment with my mother and brother. Across the street was the private school my brother and I attended at the time. I think that was the reason my mother preferred that location. We stayed at that apartment no longer than we had to; as soon as my mother saved up enough money to put a down payment on a house, we were out of that infested nightmare. The house we moved into was a pleasant place to call home. Four bedrooms, three bathrooms and a sizable basement. The first time my brother and I attended public school was in that home. I was a third grader and him being a seasoned eighth grader. I cried everyday for the first week because I dreaded every moment I spent in that classroom. From my understanding, my brother had a similar experience. I recall that he would come home saying he was going to quit. My neighbor Cody Wheeler, was my best friend while I lived there. The first day we moved in he knocked on the door and asked if I wanted to play with him. Cody was a strange and awkward kid. I think he was that way because his mother lied to him every opportunity she had. She also babied him more than any mother should ever do to their child. I did not know it at the time but the other woman that resided in Cody's house was his mothers girlfriend and lover. Sometimes I think back and wonder when or if Cody ever figured it out. After four years in that house, my mother got remarried to Officer Mike Phillips. They both decided they wanted a