“I figured you do something like this.” She sighed, then made no other sound. The headlights from a car passing in front of the house briefly illuminated the backyard, creating mysterious shadows. Once, they were going to build a pool back here. The girls could swing then jump in the crystal blue waters, splash around to their hearts’ content. The foam cushion crinkled as Angela pushed herself off the loveseat. She stood next to him at the screen and faced him. He said, “Last year was different. I’m better now, a better father. Please, let me see my girls.” “I can’t risk their lives,” she said. “Not again.” He could not remember the exact moment when the single mid-day beer turned into three or four, when he sometimes swapped the beer for Maker’s Mark. Only that he had been alone in the big house with two small, screaming girls. He rocked one to sleep and the other needed a diaper change. And another bottle. Soon both
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