Everything went black for a second.
“Mia?” Derek’s voice, closer now. “Ma, what’s going on?”
“Nothing!” June called back. She dropped her voice and smiled at me. “Stand up straight. You give Derek a heart attack and nobody in this house gets any peace.”
I leaned back against the fridge. Chili water crawled up the back of my throat.
Derek came to the kitchen doorway. He saw me, and his face went white. “What happened to you?”
“She—” My voice came out in pieces. “—force-fed me.”
“What?” He stepped forward and grabbed my arm. “Ma, what’s going on?”
“Your wife’s out of her head with fever.” June’s voice drifted in from the living room. “I made her some medicine. She wouldn’t take it. Knocked it over, spilled it all over my hands.”
“It’s not medicine. She force-fed me.” I grabbed Derek’s wrist. “Chili water. Scalding.”
Derek froze.
He turned to look at June.
