Hey, whoa there. Slow down. This one's weird.
(1) This tragedy is told one line at a time. If the endless scrolling starts to hurt, please consider taking a short rest. Slow, gentle reading is recommended. (2) All sexual relationships take place between consenting adults; however, this is a work of surrealism, and highly sensitive readers should proceed with caution, as the incest depicted here is more stressful than usual. (3) Mom's psyche is disfigured, and her story reflects this in both form and content. Apologies if experimental fiction is heretical to your tastes, but I tried submitting this to Poetry and it got kicked back for having a plot. So here it stays, big and proud and upsetting to you.
Still reading, then? Neat. Thank you, and good luck.
.:bw:.
Mom calls Dad on his way to work.
Dad seems distracted.
He mutters something as he pulls into his office parking garage.
Mom pauses and says, Hon, are you listening?
Dad says, Shoot, that's odd. Oh.
Dad hangs up abruptly.
Daughter calls Mom and asks for a ride home from high school.
She's not feeling well.
Mom calls Dad.
It goes straight to voicemail.
A police officer interrupts Mom on her way to her car.
Dad has been caught with porn on his work computer.
Mom says, What kind of porn?
He has been arrested at work on charges of production of incest pornography, sale and distribution of same, and incest.
Mom says, Incest?
Mom says, With who?
The officer calls Mom 'Ma'am.'
The officer says, I'm truly sorry to be the one to tell you this.
At the station, Mom talks to Dad through a plate glass divider.
At home, she talks to Daughter through a locked bedroom door.
Mom calls the police station, is told he's being arraigned.
The bail is high.
Mom calls the court, is told his case has not been assigned a trial date.
A reporter calls and asks about the arrest, does she have a comment.
She hangs up on the reporter.
Dad's employer calls, he is suspended from work without pay.
She calls Dad's boss, who does not pick up the phone.
Dad's employer emails the suspension, and it says the same thing: he is suspended from work without pay.
She prints a copy of the email, sets it aside.
A lawyer calls, Dad has requested her help.
The lawyer asks if Dad is guilty.
The lawyer says he is not asking her opinion, just wants to know the facts.
She doesn't answer.
The lawyer calls again, asks her to think about whether there is any information that could support Dad's innocence.
There isn't.
The lawyer says, I am not saying I believe him. I'm asking you, do you have any information?
No.
The lawyer says, Think about this carefully. It's very important.
I don't have anything for you.
The lawyer says, You need a lawyer.
She has no idea where to start looking.
She opens her laptop and starts a search for a criminal defense lawyer.
Daughter's teacher calls and says, We're having a hard time getting her to focus in class.
Do you think she'd be interested in tutoring?
A therapist calls and among other things says, Your daughter is a very good artist.
A reporter calls and asks how her daughter is coping with the arrest.
Mom hangs up.
Daughter refuses to speak to her, but will not let Mom into her room to check on her.
Mom knocks.
Daughter yells through the door, Leave me alone.
Dad's lawyer calls.
A judge has released Dad from jail.
His trial will start next month.
Mom calls the public defender's office, is told the same thing.
Mom calls the prosecutor, is told the same thing.
The trial is the first week of November.
Daughter goes to the therapist, who asks her to draw a picture.
The therapist asks, What's happening in this picture?
They are going on a date.
Is that you and your boyfriend?
I don't have a boyfriend.
It's you and your friend?
No.
The camera is a symbol, the therapist says.
The therapist says, What's the meaning of the camera?
The therapist says, Your daughter has made a great deal of progress in a short period of time.
Dad comes home from jail and goes straight to bed.
He only makes one appearance in front of Mom.
When he does, he does not look at her.
Daughter does not come out of her room.
The phone rings.
Dad's employer has decided not to pursue criminal charges.
That's good, the lawyer says. That's good.
Mom says, So he's off the hook?
I can't guarantee he's off the hook, the lawyer says. But this is a good development.
Daughter will not speak to her.
Mom knocks.
Daughter yells.
Mom knocks.
Mom says, I'll get the screwdriver if I have to.
Daughter opens the door.
Her eyes are red, her face is swollen, her hair is tangled.
Daughter sits down on the floor.
Mom sits across from her.
They sit like that for a long time.
Mom says, Talk to me.
Daughter says, I don't want him to go to prison.
Something inside Mom dies.
Daughter sniffles.
Mom says, We have to talk to the police.
Daughter says, No.
Mom says, They'll keep him in jail.
Daughter says, No.
Mom says, Yes.
Daughter says, He didn't do anything wrong.
Mom says, Yes, he did.
Daughter says, No, he didn't.
Mom says, Daughter, he did.
Daughter's face turns red.
Mom says, They will send him to prison, where they will hurt him for what he did to you.
Daughter starts to cry.
Mom says, He hurt you, so they'll hurt him.
Daughter says, He didn't hurt me! I'm eighteen!
Mom says, He did hurt you. You don't understand yet, but you will.
Mom gets on her knees and crawls over to her daughter.
Mom hugs her daughter angrily.
Mom rocks her daughter back and forth.
Mom kisses her daughter's cheek.
Mom smells her daughter's hair.
Mom rubs her daughter's back.
Mom sings her daughter's favorite song.
Mom sings softly.
Mom sings gently.
Mom sings soothingly.
Daughter falls asleep.
Daughter wakes up.
It is Halloween.
They are in front of the lion exhibit.
There are no lions.
The exhibit is empty.
Mom and Dad are disappointed.
Daughter is not.
Daughter climbs up on the bench and puts her arms on the rail.
She rests her chin on the top of the rail and gazes at the empty exhibit.
Her eyes are big.
Her smile is wide.
Dad kneels down and snaps a photo.
Mom is smiling.
Mom is laughing.
Dad is kneeling down, he is taking the photo, his smile is small, his eyes are squinted, his nose is wrinkled.
He is looking through the camera.
The police surprise him when they take him away.
Mom is upset to see them, even though she'd counted the seconds to their arrival.
Something about the sheer meaning of them.
How could he do this to them?
Mom gets brave and calls her lawyer later that week.
Mom asks if she can look at these videos her husband made.
She says, I have to.
After all those years together.
The lawyer invites Mom to his office.
He leaves her alone at his computer.
Mom throws up two minutes into the first video.
Daughter is smiling, happy, enamored with the attention she is getting.
Mom finds this harder to look at than the teen's nudity.
Daughter looks emotionally deformed, standing there grinning.
Smiling.
Grinning.
Comfortably naked for Dad.
Mom stops the video and stares at the screen.
