Chapter 7 - “DADDY THINKS YOU’RE DIFFICULT”Sophie described something called the quiet chair.
I had seen the chair.
A wooden dining chair in the mudroom.
I thought it was where Claudia made Sophie sit for ordinary time-outs.
Sometimes it was.
Other times:
“Claudia makes me sit until I say the right words.”
“What are the right words?”
Dana asked.
Sophie answered:
“I respect you and I will obey you.”
My skin went cold.
“How long do you sit?”
“I don’t know.”
“Until bedtime?”
“Sometimes.”
“Do you get dinner?”
Sophie thought.
“After.”
Not food deprivation.
Delay.
Still concerning.
“What happens if you don’t say it?”
“She says Daddy thinks I’m difficult.”
I turned toward Detective Lopez.
She was watching the screen.
Not me.
Sophie continued:
“She says Daddy works because I cost lots of money.”
My throat tightened.
That one came from somewhere.
I had once told Claudia, privately, that private school tuition was “absurdly expensive.”
A joke.
Apparently useful material.
Dana asked:
“Does Daddy tell you that?”
“No.”
“Do you believe Claudia?”
Sophie shrugged.
“Sometimes.”
That hurt more than the scissors.
May you like
Hair grows.
A child believing love has a price does something less visible.
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