It’s sort of her signature style. Makeup and a loud mouth. She digs through my cosmetic bag and pulls out some purple lipstick. “Have you spoken to your dad lately?” she asks. I’m getting dressed behind her, so I can’t pretend not to have heard. I pull up my dress. “Not since he walked out, but he keeps sending me gifts.” I hold out my wrist to show off a diamond bracelet. “How about you?” “I see my dad behind a barbwire fence once a week,” she says, not at all embarrassed about the situation. He’s not getting out anytime soon, and Violet has accepted it. Her reasoning is, if he really cared about her and her brother, he wouldn’t have done anything to get put in jail over in the first place. “At least you get that,” I mumble. “God, you’re so whiny. Your dad isn’t in jail. You can go see him whenever you want. You just need to quit your bellyaching and visit.” I don’t say anything, but continue to fix the belt around my waist. She doesn’t understand the relationship between my parents and me.
