Page 5 of Fever Dream

Although, it wasn’t just on account of the mess.

His mother had driven in to bring an outfit she’d sewn for the baby and found the house filled with smoke and me asleep on the sofa.

“Dear God, Grace,” she chided, shaking me awake.“What have you done?”

“I—I—” I mumbled, carefully sitting up.I was still a bit tender from childbirth, especially if I moved too quickly.“I must have dozed off.”

“You left the oven on.”

Phillip began to cry.She gathered the baby in her arms and rocked him from side to side.“Something’s burning.”

I wiped the sleep from my eyes.“It’s just the coconut cake.”

“Good God,” she said, checking Phillip over.When she was finished, she shook her head, looking down at me with disbelief.“What are you trying to do?Kill your whole family?”