Chapter 3 - “ANSWER MY QUESTION”“What did you do to my mother?”
Michael’s voice vibrated through the phone.
I said:
“Your mother hit Olivia.”
Silence.
Then:
“What?”
“She slapped our two-year-old in the face.”
Behind the door, Sarah shouted:
“That is not what happened!”
Michael heard.
“Mom is there?”
“Yes.”
“Put her on.”
“No.”
“Emily.”
“Ask me about Olivia.”
“What?”
“Ask me whether your daughter is okay.”
Silence.
I could hear traffic through his car speaker.
Then:
“Is Olivia okay?”
“Her nose bled. Her cheek is red. I’m taking her to urgent care.”
“Why did Mom hit her?”
There.
Why.
Not did she.
A beginning.
“Because Olivia reached for Tyler’s hot dog.”
Michael exhaled.
“That doesn’t make sense.”
“No. It doesn’t.”
“Mom doesn’t hit kids.”
Tyler spoke from beside me.
“Yes, she does.”
Michael stopped.
“Tyler?”
“She slapped Olivia.”
My son’s voice shook.
“Hard.”
Michael said nothing.
Then Sarah began pounding again.
“Michael! She assaulted me!”
He heard that too.
“Did you hit my mom?”
“Yes.”
His breathing changed.
“I slapped her after she hit Olivia.”
“Jesus Christ, Emily.”
“I shouldn’t have.”
“You think?”
“No. I know.”
That response left him nowhere easy.
I continued:
“I will tell police exactly what I did if she wants to report it.”
“Police?”
“I’m taking Olivia to be examined. Depending on what the pediatrician says, they may be required to report.”
Sarah stopped pounding.
Interesting.
Michael said:
“Don’t turn this into some criminal thing.”
I closed my eyes.
“Your daughter is bleeding because your mother struck her.”
“She had a nosebleed.”
“Caused by being struck.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Tyler watched.”
A pause.
Then:
“What benefits did you cancel?”
There it was again.
Money before the child.
I looked at Tyler.
He was listening.
Too much.
“I’m hanging up.”
May you like
“Emily, don’t you dare—”
I ended the call.
