“It was a nice night. Mom and Dad had been fighting about something for days. I have no idea what it was about, just that my mom was very upset. It was one of the reasons the girls left the house. They were tired of hearing it. So dinner was on the table and we were eating. All of the sudden my mom stands up and points a gun at Dad. I have no idea where it came from. It’s like it just appeared in her hands. She screamed something, but I was frozen to my chair, mid-bite. I couldn’t do anything. Dad stood up too and held out his hands. I think he was trying to calm her down or something. She wasn’t having it at all. I flinched when she pulled the trigger. “After the gun went off she looked down at it like she hadn’t seen it before. Over and over she was screaming, ‘What have I done?’ I still couldn’t move. I dropped my fork. The clatter was loud. I think it echoed in my head. I thought for sure I was next. Mom looked over at me. She was struggling with the gun—almost like it was alive or something.
