My Mother

”

Another pause. Longer.

“Well,” she said carefully, “I’m sure emotions were high.”

That was how my family survived my mother.

They softened her violence with phrases.

Emotions were high.

She didn’t mean it.

You know how she gets.

Don’t poke the bear.

But I was looking at my daughter, whose cheeks were marked where the mask pressed into her skin.

“No,” I said.continue reading …