“When Life gives ya lemons, son, remember to cover your face. You don’t want juice in your eyes,” my Pa would always say. He told me it was a metaphor; to hope for the best and not expect anything. I never got any lemons from life. In fact, all them things life had to offer had a price tag my Ma and Pa cursed.
Living in the outskirts of Fillydelphia wasn’t tough, but it was no sunshine and bunnies either. Ma and Pa worked real hard for the sake of me and my sis – Dad made gears at a local factory and Mom posed as a model in a small agency. Both of them worked at night, so when they came back in the mornin’ they’d sleep through the day. Still, Ma always found time to make us packed breakfast, and Pa sent us off to school with a hug and a smile.
School wasn’t hard, but some of the foals there thought themselves better than others. Pa told me to not be like that – “Them ponies are expecting something for nothin’ and that ain’t how the world works,” he would say. “It’s important to keep yer head straight, but above nopony.”
Ma and Pa loved each other very much, but there were times when they’d close the doors to their bedroom and argue. We learned the hard way not to open them doors for no reason; we didn’t need to anyway, cause they’d always make up to each other soon after and everypony would be happy.
One day Pa asked me what I would like for my birthday. Silly me, I said I wanted a scooter, something that only the rich foals had. Pa was a bit startled an I told him it would be okay if I just got a toy or something else. I was worried he would actually work his hooves to the bone to buy me that stupid scooter – he did something better instead!
“Son,” he said, giving me a small sack, “these here are your scooter.”
I looked into the bag and saw only lemons. “That ain’t a scooter, Pa,” I replied cautiously.
“Not yet,” he smiled, ruffling ma mane, “you see son, I’ma gonna teach you how to make money for the things you want. You see how your Ma and Pa work for the things they need – I reckon you’re old enough to do the same!”
It was the best day ever – Pa took a day off from the factory and taught me how to make lemonade. Since the lemons were from my Pa, not from Life, I didn’t cover ma face. We had tons of fun, but Ma screamed at us when she saw just how sticky the kitchen ceiling was after we finished.
The next day I put up a sign that said “Fresh Lemonade”. I made really good lemonade. It was so good and I liked makin it so much that I totally missed the moment my cutie mark appeared! Yessir, a real Cutie Mark! It looked like a half-sliced lemon with a drop of juice dangling from it. Ma and Pa were so proud of me they threw me a party. It wasn’t a big one, an only ma family was there, but for me, it was the best party ever.
All the foals at school complimented my Cutie Mark an I felt like the king o’ the world. They heard about my lemonade and came flocking after school to taste it. Bits started coming in like crazy and soon I could buy my own lemons. I didn’t cover my face from those too.
One day Pa didn’t come back home from work. Ma told us that his friends offered him a better job somewhere else an he would be gone for some time. She was so happy for Pa she was cryin! It didn’t take too long for my Dad’s friends to show up and pack his stuff – they looked like serious guard ponies, so maybe Pa got a place somewhere in Canterlot?
The lines to my lemon stand were huge each day. It was hard to squeeze all them lemons, mix with just the right amount of sugar and my secret ingredient – it was so secret even I didn’t know what it was. But it tasted great. I could already see myself going down the road on my brand new scooter.
Few weeks after Pa got promoted, Ma told us she would be switching jobs as well – she said something about a day job at a care center. She promised she would have time to read us bedtime stories from now on, play with us and tuck us in. Things were looking pretty good, everything was goin the right way.
It was a Saturday when I woke up – Ma was already gone, or maybe she didn’t even come back from her last day at her old work. It seemed strange she would be workin’ on a weekend, but I had ma own work to do, so I understood. I took my lemons, the sugar and secret ingredient outside and started preparing fresh lemonade. It was quite early, so nopony was out on the streets yet. I was surprised when an adult mare stopped by my stand, looking at a piece of paper she was holding by magic.
The lady looked serious and had a pair of black rimmed glasses on her nose, from above which she looked at me.
“Want to try my lemonade, ma’am?” I asked politely. Mah Pa always taught me to treat ladies with respect and kindness. And I did.
“No, thank you, child,” she said, a sad note in her voice. “Do you live here?”
“Yes ma’am! If you’re looking for my Ma and Pa, they’re out at work now. Pa got a new job somewhere else and Ma is working at a day care centre. Do you want me to tell them something when they come back?”
I dunno what I said, but the mare’s eyes started watering. “Can you read this?” she asked in a whispered voice.
The piece of paper landed in front of the lemon I was just about to squeeze. I was a good reader, so I read out loud the neatly written letters: “By the order of the Council of Justice and Care, Abediah Storm and Beatrice Storm – hey, my Ma and Pa! – are rel… relie… reliefed? of their parenting privl… I’m sorry, I don’t know these fancy words.”
The mare sighted, but she seemed more sad than irritated. She read the rest of the text out loud: “…are relieved of their parenting privileges, effective today. Abediah Storm, found guilty of multiple instances of theft, break and entry and blackmail is deemed unfit to continue his duties as a parent and has been apprehended and sentenced to 15 years of incarceration. Beatrice Storm, found guilty of prostitution and participation in illegal drug smuggling is deemed unfit to continue her duties as a parent and has been apprehended and sentenced to 15 years of incarceration. Given the above, the children Michael Storm and Alicia Storm are to be relocated to a temporary family until further decisions by the court are made.” The lady stopped reading and she sobbed.
“I’m sorry…” I said, a little bit shocked by these fancy words and things I just heard about Ma and Pa, “I dun understand…”
“Your…” she started in a breaking voice, “Your mommy and daddy aren’t coming back… Sweetie… You have to come with me…”
“But mommy was gonna read us a bed story tonight!” I yelled.
“I’m so sorry… She can’t…”
I totally forgot about my lemons. I didn’t feel my hoof press down really hard. And ah forgot to cover mah face…