Oh, Daddy, why did you have to get drunk that night and sleep with Mommy? You should have married that beautiful girl Grandpa always talks about and given me a better mother than this one who has despised me all my life and doesn't love me. Will she ever wake up? I hope she does and comes to live with us. I love Daddy. As I think and think, tears stream down my face, and I eventually fall into a deep sleep, still crying.

The ringing of the house phone wakes me up. It's right next to the couch where I've fallen asleep, so I pick it up.

"Hello," I...