All the ugly and beautiful things book5/24/2023 ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Mom promised Leslie and me new toys, but we were so excited about meeting our cousin that we didn’t care. The day after that second phone call, Grandma visited, and argued with Mom behind closed doors about “reaping what you sow,” and “blood is thicker than water.” Grandma, my soft-in-the-middle, cookie-baking grandma shouted, “She’s family! If you won’t take her, I will!” Then Aunt Val got arrested for something Mom wouldn’t say, leaving no one to take care of Wavy. The first news she had was that Uncle Liam had been arrested for dealing drugs, and Aunt Val needed money. That was where Mom first started polishing The Tragic and Edifying Story of Wavonna Quinn.Īfter Wavy was born, Mom didn’t hear from Aunt Val for almost five years. Sometimes they talked about books, but mostly they gossiped. I learned all this from eavesdropping on Mom’s Tuesday night book club. If you ever consider playing Good Samaritan to a pregnant woman, think about cleaning that up. Nine months pregnant, Aunt Val hitchhiked to the next town for help. She was born in the backseat of a stranger’s car, because Uncle Liam and Aunt Val were homeless, driving through Texas when their old beat-up van broke down. Maybe on the way to the hospital, your parents’ respectable, middle-class car broke down. It seemed to me that could happen to anybody. My mother always started the story by saying, “Well, she was born in the backseat of a stranger’s car,” as though that explained why Wavy wasn’t normal. ![]()
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