What Night Brings

On the day before Easter, Marci and Corin dye eggs. Marci writes curse words on one, which she hides in her bedroom. On Easter, Marci’s parents buy new clothes for both girls. Marci doesn’t like the feminine clothes she receives.

After Mass, the girls eat candy and hunt eggs while Eddie drinks. Corin eats the egg yolks and leaves the whites on the table. Eddie refuses to let her waste any food. When Corin tries to give the egg to Marci, he smacks it from her hand, and it lands on the floor.

Eddie insists that Corin finish eating the dirty egg white. She refuses, and Eddie’s “belt came across her mouth so fast I don’t think any of us saw it coming” (85). He tries to force the egg into Corin’s mouth. Suddenly, his rage subsides. He picks Corin up and tries to explain his anger, telling her repeatedly that he loves her. Corin is traumatized: “When her eyes looked at him, they reminded me of my cousin Danny’s […] like they weren’t really seeing” (87). Eddie forces Corin to hug him.