Wire Mesh Mothers

57

The aspirins tasted okay, the crackers tasted okay, and her head didn’t ache as much as it had, but Mistie wanted to go home. She was tired and she hated this truck. She wanted to see Mama, to see Daddy. Daddy did stuff she didn’t like but she still liked Daddy. He never hit her like one of the old men did his little boy Jake back at MeadowView. Daddy never “punched out her lights” like that other Daddy did his boy.

Mistie rubbed her crotch until it grew real warm. She licked cracker crumbs off her hand and then whined because she was really, really thirsty and the teacher hadn’t gotten anything to drink back at that store.

“What’s the matter, Mistie?” asked the teacher. She was driving. Her hands were tied up again, one on the wheel and the other on the stick thing on the floor.

“I’m thirsty. I want to go home.”

“I’ll look for a water fountain soon. There has to be one in one of these towns.”

“I want to go home.”

“She wants to go home,” said the girl with the knife.

“Honey, I can’t do that. It would be wrong. I’m going to make the wrong right.”

Mistie put her hands over her ears and repeated, “Mama had a baby and its head popped off, Mama had a baby and its head popped off.”

“Shh, Misite, it will be okay,” said the teacher.

“Mama had a baby and its head popped off.”

“Shhh.”