Rootbound

by Tarah DeWitt

“When you were born, Tait, and when it came to you girls … it was like Vivien found what she was put on this earth to do. She was so enamored with you guys, amazed. We both were. But we stopped paying any mind to each other, except to hurt each other by what the other did or didn’t do. It’s really not a unique story, I know.” He takes a deep breath and looks at me nervously, like he’s approaching the part that he knows he’ll lose me on. “Our marriage died the death of a thousand little cuts over time. I had to carry on this family legacy that I wasn’t ready for, that I knew she resented me for—but it was what I knew, and what I wanted, I just didn’t have the balls to tell her. I was a selfish bastard, because I was so busy being wrapped up in myself that I didn’t make sure I prioritized you.” He takes a deep breath again. “I think as parents, we think of our kids as a kind of extension of ourselves, and don’t realize that they are their own human people … at least not right away. I think your mother and I had become too wrapped up in our bitterness toward each other to see you guys there in front of us. But Viv desperately wanted a family that stayed together, and when we failed, she felt like she failed. I hated the idea of making anything any harder for her, and yet I was so angry at her at the time. I know this sounds like a cop out, but I felt like I was giving her what she deserved when she asked for it, the chance to be the best mom she could be to you … because, whe...