Page 44 of The Distiller's Darling

Naomi closed her eyes and sought patience. “You knew I wasn’t dead. What’s going on?”

Her mother leaned toward her. “It’s an intervention, Naomi.”

Naomi felt her jaw drop. “A what?”

“An intervention. Jacob and Tanya are on their way, too. We felt the whole family should be here.”

Naomi’s shoulders hunched involuntarily. This felt far too much like the talk her family had given her during her sophomore year of high school, when she’d turned down a summer internship with a cousin’s medical practice, electing instead to attend an art camp at Berkeley. She’d had a hard time standing up to them then. Only the promise that she’d apply to the universities of their choice the following year had smoothed it over. And her mandatory attendance at several hospital charity events, as if her parents needed to show the world that their daughter was still meek, proper, and obedient even if she did have a bohemian streak.

Was that what this was about?She straightened. “What kind of intervention, exactly? And for that matter, shouldn’t you have waited for everyone else? Are you getting started early?”

“Well, I figured I’d get a jump start, since you and I are so close.”

Naomi blinked. “Uh ...”

Her mother leaned back in her seat, then straightened with a twist of her lips. “Really, Naomi, you couldn’t have gotten a firmer filling on these cushions?”

Naomi grinned. “I bought it second hand.” She waited for the reaction. In three, two, one ...

Like clockwork, her mother practically leaped out of the chair. “Naomi Anne Klein! You let me sit on used upholstery?” She looked around wildly. “God knows what kind of vermin you let into your house! Have I taught you nothing? Oh, how are there no hard surfaces in here?” Her eyes searched the room frantically, and finding none, she folded her arms in front of her and visibly pretended that she wasn’t itching all over. “I’ll just stand.”

“Worth it,” Naomi whispered to herself, then raised her voice. “Relax, Mother, I bought it from a woman who never even used it. It sat in her living room covered in plastic until I took it off her hands. And I had it professionally sanitized.” Her mother had, in fact, taught her that little tip. Secondhand furniture is fine, but never upholstered. She’d itched a little bit herself the first few times she’d sat on it, but after paying for it to be cleaned three more times, she’d finally felt comfortable with it in her house. She probably could have bought something brand new for the cost of all that cleaning but conquering her mother’s voice in her head had been worth the price.

“Well, I’m not sitting on it.” Her mother’s chin firmed. “I’ll just stand until your father gets here.”

“I thought you said he was napping.”

“Yes, Jacob and Tanya are picking him up when they arrive and coming straight here. We’re all very worried about you.”

“Worried? Why?”

“Naomi, you haven’t answered your phone for weeks!”

“It’s been, like, four days. Tops.”

“I was sure I was going to read about your grisly murder in the newspaper.”

“Ugh. First of all, who reads the newspaper? Do you at least have a digital subscription? Second of all, I’m not dead. I’m busy, Mom. There is a difference, you know.”

Her mother sniffed. “Busy with what? What on earth could you possibly be doing out here in the country?”

Naomi threw up her hands. “Again! Two. Hours. Away. And I’m working, Mom! Remember? I have a successful art career?”

Her mother rolled her eyes. “I’m sure you do.”

“Do you want to see the checks?” Naomi heard her own voice rising to a shriek. How did her mother always do this to her? “I have a mortgage!”

“Of course you do, dear. And a cell phone bill. Which I assume you pay with those checks. Which means that you could have answered your phone, but you didn’t. Hence, why we’re here.” Her mother spread her hands, as if all had been resolved, then smiled patiently at Naomi. “I’m sure your father and brother will be here soon, and we can really get down to business.”

Was it wrong to flee your own home? Naomi’s phone buzzed in her pocket, one short vibration indicating a new text. She pulled it out and glanced at it.

Iain: Is everything okay? Do I need to come over there? What happened?

Her mother shifted slightly. “While we wait, I’m going to use your facilities.” She glanced around. “Feel free to tidy up while I’m gone.” She sashayed out of the room as if she owned the place, a signature Judith Klein move.

Naomi unlocked her phone and typed furiously.

Naomi: The reckoning has come. My mother is here. Save yourself. STAY AWAY.

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