5
I couldn’t call the police.
Dad wouldn’t let me.
“This isn’t something to be proud of. No need
to make it public.”
“So, my gold bars are just gone? They’re
worth thousands!”
Mom disagreed.
“We’ll find them,” Dad said.
He winked at Mom and glanced at me.
“It’s in the house. We’ll find it.”
Г
Even though Mom didn’t want to be near me,
she stayed to make sure I didn’t run off with
the gold or steal anything else.
She locked her and Jenny’s rooms and stayed
in the living room, watching me.
If she had to use the bathroom, she’d give me
something to do.
Sometimes it was cooking, other times
washing dishes or sweeping the floor.
She was afraid I’d steal something if I had
free hands.
“What’s that noise? What are you doing
now?”
Г
She opened the bathroom door a crack and
peeked at me.
When she saw me, she snapped.
“If you’re here, answer me. Cat got your tongue?”
Days passed.
Finally, Mom couldn’t stand being stuck
inside.
She invited her friends over for mahjong
“Donna, why are you always hiding in your room? It’s so dark you can’t even see, and it makes the house look se gleemy.”
L
“I have to protect my stuff from thieves.”
Mom didn’t care that I was sitting nearby,
sunbathing.
Still cold, even wrapped in my down coat.
“Oh.”
Everyone was suddenly interested and looked
at me.
“Did you lose something?”
“My gold bars. I bought them with Carol a few
years back. They were stolen.”
“Oh no!”
The room erupted.
く
“Did you call the police?”
“I wanted to, but my husband wouldn’t let
me.”
“Why not…?”
Mom nodded at me.
“It happened a few days ago. My husband
doesn’t want everyone to know.”
They seemed to understand, and stopped
talking.
A few minutes later…
“Donna’s had a tough life. She should have
been selfish and had a second child.”
く
“It’s not about having a second child. Some
people are just born bad. You can’t change
them. Donna just got unlucky. It is what it is.”
They were talking loudly, knowing they were
older than me and had safety in numbers.
Mom sighed deeply, playing the role of a
selfless, mistreated woman.
Everyone started to get angry and started to
point fingers at me.
I lazily flipped over and said to one of them,
“Susan, how’s your affair with Mike going? I
heard his wife’s a simpleton and doesn’t
suspect anything yet, right?”
“What are you talking about?”
く
Mom’s face changed.
“Isn’t that what you said? Susan’s old, and
doesn’t look that pretty but always tries to
get with Mike. If you were Mike, you’d be
disgusted.”
Mom liked to gossip, and she’d been
complaining about people.
I only heard bits and pieces, but that was
enough.
“You also said Mary doesn’t shower for
months. Every time you come back, you wash
your hands and disinfect them because you’re
scared of getting infected. Don’t forget to
wash the mahjong tiles later.”
“DONNA SMITH!”
The women argued with Mom.
Mom got angry and stormed off, slamming
the door.
Before she could yell at me, she burst into
tears and ran to her room, crying and calling
Dad.
