Chapter 18 - Maya asks me one question
A week after the incident, Maya sat across from me at breakfast.
Both wrists still bandaged.
She asked:
“Did you know she treated me badly?”
I wanted to say no.
That would have been convenient.
Instead:
“I knew she could be cruel.”
Maya stared at me.
“Not the question.”
I understood.
Had she complained before?
Yes.
Small things.
Evelyn criticizing her clothes.
Parenting.
Cooking.
Calling her:
“Temporary.”
I usually said:
“That’s Mom.”
Or:
“Don’t let her get to you.”
I had treated my mother’s behavior as a personality Maya should manage.
That was my failure.
“I knew enough to take you more seriously than I did.”
Maya nodded.
May you like
That answer hurt.
Truth sometimes should.
