The Penny
“Three weeks had gone by, and Daddy’s job had ended.I could tell by the way Mama tiptoed through the hallway. I could tell by the way Jean started blaming me for things I didn’t do.I’d messed with her blue eye shadow, Jean accused, and I’d ruined the brush. I’d snuck money out of her purse. I’d shoved aside hangers in her closet and now her skirts were wrinkled. Jean always came at me on the attack, with sergeant-square shoulders. She wanted to fight the world, it seemed, and I was always the fi...rst prey she encountered.Mama never talked about what went on with Daddy, the fear he must’ve laid on her, the threats he made and carried out. Sometimes I’d walk into the kitchen in the morning and find her leaning over the sink, staring down the drain with her face grim, her eyes dry. When I tried to hug her, she’d pull away.I’d tasted liberty only to have it stolen again.How I dreaded Daddy’s return the evening of his last day on the job. Every step Daddy took toward our sweltering flat pushed me farther away from Eddie Crockett and the Six Blue Notes, and from Aunt Maureen’s constant need to feed me pork steak or Gooey Butter Cake (“Eat this, honey.MoreLess
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