Chapter 6 - Good Order
Tiffany called her business Good Order Studio. I thought it meant closet makeovers and spotless kitchen photographs. Its website told a different story.
"Good habits begin at home," read the slogan above a picture of our entryway. In the picture, a small figure in a striped apron polished the baseboards. You couldn't see Maya's face. I knew the loose braid falling over her shoulder.
The site advertised private workshops at six hundred dollars a session. Rae promoted the events. Monica sold subscriptions to a private video library. Tiffany called the demonstrations "real-family routines."
A folder of invoices showed eleven bookings at our house since summer. Each had occurred when I was on the road. I recognized the dates. I'd been in airports, putting little heart emojis under photos of dinners I hadn't attended.
"Could this all be innocent?" my mother asked when I showed her.
"A kid learning chores isn't the problem," I said. "A kid who's afraid to eat until she's finished is."
Ruth watched the sample clip without speaking. Onscreen, Tiffany's voice instructed an unseen child to start a floor over because the camera had caught a streak. Maya's hand came back into frame and scrubbed harder.
At the bottom of the page was a downloadable brochure. One line caught my eye: All routines approved by both parents.
Tiffany had made that promise to strangers. She had never asked me.
I printed the page and saved dated copies before touching anything else. Then I received a text from Monica, one of the women at our table.
May you like
I thought she was helping. I didn't know Maya couldn't say no. You need to see the schedule for Saturday.
Saturday was two days away.
