Page 122 of The Secret to Belonging

Alison adds your name to her answering machine

you get hired at a video store at the Northridge Mall

bring home microwave popcorn and Red Vines

Alison starts school

you get a second job at Mayfair Market

bring home day-old bread and wilted produce

one morning on her way out the door

Alison pauses

picks up a stamped envelope ready to mail

what’s this?

shit

you didn’t mean for her to see the letter

addressed to your parents

what. the fuck. is this?

you’re sending them money??

after everything that’s happened, you’re still

sending them money???

you can’t explain it

your father standing at the ashes

your mother crying in agony

if you’re able to help them, shouldn’t you?

don’t you have a basic human obligation?

the truth is, it’s easier to just send cash

than to live with the guilt of abandoning them

Alison shakes her head

they really hooked you good

Alison goes into the bedroom and comes back

with something in her hand

sits down next to you on the futon

listen, she says