She had in her hand a tiny doll that, she explained, the DSS social worker had given her earlier today. (Good! Though we've not seen anything of Latrice since those first couple of days, and had been wondering where the hell she'd been, she's apparently been keeping up with the case.)
Iris also had a couple of plastic pig key chains from her grandfather's bank--you can see where this is going, right?--to give to the boys. Her mom had insisted that she give away "ten tiny things" in exchange for the new toy, and these were the first two. (Not good!)
I asked Iris if Latrice was still with them when her mom told her that. And of course the answer was no. (@#$%$^!!!!)
****
In other Iris news, peanuts have been stricken from the very short list of acceptable foods:
"My mom says they make me grumpy."
I've been trying not to share with Iris any of my opinions about her mom. I'm sure she feels confused and conflicted enough already, and while I do want to validate her experience, I don't want her to feel like her mom and I are at odds and she has to choose between us.
But it's getting harder and harder--not to let my jaw drop in shock, not to let my eyes roll in disgust. And when she told me about the peanuts, I let myself slip a bit.
"Grumpy?" I said. "She said peanuts make you grumpy?"
But even then I was showing an admirable amount of restraint. Because you know what I really wanted to say to her? What I really wanted to say to her was this:
"Iris, your mom is a fucking lunatic."
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