cnu-At my fortieth birthday party, my sister swung a baseball bat into…

him, but my father caught my elbow.

“Anita,” he said, low and warning. “Don’t make this worse.”

I looked at his hand on my arm until he let go.

“Worse than my child not being able to breathe?”

He said nothing.

That was the last thing I heard before I got into the car.

The ride to the hospital was nine minutes. I know because I counted every red light, every continue reading …