Chapter 10 - Lily’s interview
A child advocacy interviewer spoke with Lily.
I was not in the room.
Daniel was not.
Carla certainly was not.
The interviewer began broadly.
“Tell me about the barbecue.”
Lily did.
Swing.
Carla yelling.
Skewer.
Pain.
Mom kicking.
Grandma.
Ambulance.
Then:
“Tell me about times you were with Aunt Carla before the barbecue.”
Lily described ordinary things first.
Movies.
Cookies.
Swimming.
Carla painting her nails.
Important.
Children can love people who frighten them sometimes.
Then:
“Aunt Carla gets rules.”
“What kind?”
“Respect rules.”
“What are respect rules?”
“Don’t say no mean.”
“Can you say no nice?”
“Sometimes.”
“What happens if you don’t?”
“Chair.”
A dining chair near the kitchen where Lily had to sit apart.
“How long?”
“I don’t know.”
“Does someone tell you?”
“Until I’m ready.”
Ready meant apology.
Did anyone hit her before the barbecue?
Lily said:
“No.”
Then paused.
“Carla flicked me.”
“Where?”
Arm.
“How?”
She demonstrated a finger flick.
Minor.
Did Grandma hit?
“No.”
Grandpa?
“No.”
Did anyone use objects?
“No.
“Until barbecue.”
That mattered.
No hidden months of severe physical abuse.
The pattern was coercive discipline and emotional secrecy.
The skewer strike was an escalation.
May you like
Not the latest episode in a secret beating campaign.
Accuracy mattered.
