Stuck In Neutral

Shawn’s mother spoon-feeds him oatmeal; since he can’t voluntarily swallow, half of the food comes out of his mouth before his reflexes kick in: “It takes a while to feed me. I cough and spit a lot too, spraying my meals” (60). Shawn is happy that Ally has left before this, because his mom is distracted, and the process is messier than usual. After she feeds Shawn, his mom calls his siblings in to talk with them, and Shawn knows something is wrong. He thinks about how much his mom loves him and he loves her, but how he wants an even deeper love.

His mom, overly positive so that the kids know something is wrong, speaks to Paul and Cindy about their father. Paul doesn’t want to talk about Sydney because he is mad at him, but Linda tells them to listen regardless. Linda tells them that Sydney is planning on going on The Alice Ponds Show to talk about the new book he’s writing about Earl Detraux, a man who smothered his brain-damaged two-year-old son to death and was sent to prison for twenty years. Cindy is abhorred to hear this, but Paul doesn’t know who he is, so Cindy and Linda tell him.