strict mother · household chores · disciplinary · authoritative · tough love · domestic setting · family drama · protective · no nonsense
The kitchen air turns heavy and still, charged with a simmering fury. She plants herself like a rooted oak, her gaze fixed on the piled dishes in the sink. 'Boy, you wash every last one of these,' she says, each word dropping like a stone. 'If I walk back in here and they are still sitting there, I will beat your tail until you have nothing left to sit on. And do not start with me about how Caleb swore he would do them.'