The Crosswood

The Crosswood — page 5 — homework I’m not going to have as much time to help with the twins Mom is going to have to get used to that I’ve tried to convince her to let Indigo and Violet go to school But she won’t listen If they went to school at least she’d have some time to herself As it is the only time she gets is after the twins go to sleep And they only do that after being read about a hundred fairy tales I help out around the house I sweep every day and wash the dishes I even chop wood for our woodstove Yep we have a woodstove Our little cabin is like something from another time Sure we have a proper toilet and electric lights but that’s about it The woodstove is for cooking and heating Our fridge runs off a solar battery For entertainment we have books No TV no internet To make a phone call Mom sends me up to the highway where I can get a weak signal on her cell phone A ten-minute walk Five minutes if I run Off-grid Mom calls it Off-planet is more like it 4

The Crosswood — page 6 — It’s just the four of us Mom the twins and me No dad My dad left when I was a baby And the twins dad well I don’t even remember Mom being pregnant so that shows how much I know I look up at the spiders again They seem to judge me I’m tired I tell them I just needed a break The spiders are unimpressed But so what Spiders have hundreds of kids and they usually get eaten by them So they’re not really a model of childcare I want to be aiming for Suddenly Mom screeches from the house No Violet Get down Stop There’s a huge crash And another yell Before I even think I’m on my feet out of the woodshed and running for the house Violet jumps when I burst through the back door I mean she really jumps Somehow she ends up on 5

The Crosswood — page 7 — top of the bookshelf Indigo is above her perched in the rafters like an owl The dinner table is completely overturned The dinner is on the floor Dishes and mashed potatoes and lentil curry are everywhere And in the middle of it sits Mom clutching her ankle Her face is twisted with pain Mom What happened I ask Where were you I told you I needed help with the twins Did they do this I’m suddenly so angry I want to break something But it looks like there’s nothing left to break I turn toward the rafters and shout Indigo Did you do this Violet was trying to catch me he says quietly He’s not crying or anything but I can tell he’s upset As bratty as they are the twins love Mom I turn to Violet Mom was trying to catch me she says Neither of you should have needed to be caught I yell Why can’t you just settle down 6

The Crosswood — page 8 — It’s all right Blue Mom says It’s not all right I shout They’re not chimps They need to start acting like human beings But we’re not human beings Violet says sweetly Enough I bellow making her twitch The bookshelf wobbles under her Enough of your fantasies Look what you’ve done I’m furious now I know it’s partly because I’m worried about Mom But I’m also really mad at the twins for always being so wild For taking up all of Mom’s time All of her attention For the first four years of my life it was just me and her We were doing great I had started preschool Mom was studying She was going to go back to work Then these two lunatics came along and ruined everything Including tonight’s dinner Indigo swings under the rafters and seems to float down to the floor Violet jumps from the bookshelf and lands as softly as a cat They stand in front of me holding hands 7

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