Marta takes the knife, and I watch with the other breath-holding alphas, as Violet chatters animatedly. Marta does that pointless trick of stabbing the spaces between Violet’s fingers at a rapid, hard-to-follow pace, as though she’s a traveling freak show. Violet just carries on talking, as Marta focuses all her attention on not hitting Violet’s hand. Violet leisurely relaxes, still chatting like she’s making idle conversation, or filling her mother in on some less tense things. Marta rolls her eyes, never missing a beat with the blade, and stops abruptly when Violet stops talking.
