At this point in the program, the school needs to see synthesis, the counselor says. They need to know that if she gets Harriet back, she’ll know exactly what to do in every situation.
Furious, Frida asks about her prognosis for return. She’s improved. She hasn’t been back to talk circle. Emmanuelle’s bruise has healed. Emmanuelle has been playing nicely with other children. Surely, her chances are now fair. Or even fair to good.
“The assessment is ongoing.” The counselor refuses to answer Frida’s questions about exactly how well she needs to perform to change her prognosis. Instead, the counselor wants to discuss temptation.
“Many of you have had problems with men in the past.”
Frida worries that the counselor will bring up Tucker by name, but the counselor speaks generally about relating to the fathers in a nonsexual manner. When Tucker isn’t mentioned, Frida decides to bluff.
“I haven’t felt tempted. And I didn’t have relationship problems. I was married. My daughter would have grown up in a stable two-parent household if my ex-husband hadn’t…” She stops, composes herself. “I’m sorry. Please excuse me. Gust is an excellent father. I know he is. I’m trying to say I’d never jeopardize my case for some man. They’re not exactly eligible bachelors.”
* * *
Swing sets and jungle gyms have been erected on the Pierce lawn. The parents practice slide protocol. Swing protocol. Playground conversation. How to supervise children while chatting with adults.
Everyone’s uniform has salt stains from perspiration. No hats or sunglasses are provided. Despite the trees, there’s not enough shade. The sunscreen they’re given is insufficient for the amount of time they’re spending outside. Some parents succumb to heat stroke, others to dehydration and dizziness. During meals, they chug water. They can no longer drink any during class. One of the four-year-old girl dolls got her hands on some bottled water and malfunctioned.
The possibility of seeing Tucker distracts Frida from her thirst, as well as from her parenting. The instructors catch every mistake. She doesn’t move fast enough when Emmanuelle runs in front of the swings. She pushes Emmanuelle too high. She isn’t spotting attentively enough when Emmanuelle climbs the jungle gym. She’s chatting too much with Tucker, preventing other mothers from working with him.
Tucker tells terrible, long-winded jokes, dares to make fun of the instructors and the program. Emmanuelle likes going for rides on his shoulders. Frida spirals into the great beyond of November. She imagines introducing him to Harriet, introducing him to her parents, but not saying where they met.
“You need to find a man who loves you more than you love him,” her mother once told her.
Gust wanted her to start dating again. Will has moved on. He’d want her to be happy. He’d like Tucker. There’s a softness in both of them. A generosity. She always noticed this when she saw Will with his broken birds.
The counselor wants to know what happened. Last week Frida was doing fine. Now, her word counts have declined, as have her attachment levels. What happened to no eligible bachelors?
“He’s only a friend,” Frida says.
* * *
Someone found a dead section of the fence. One couple romped in the woods. Another broke into an empty cottage on the north side of campus. Another found a blind spot behind the art gallery. Another laid down next to the duck pond. The mud on their uniforms gave them away.
The explorers return with information for the rest: which cameras seem to be broken, which sections of campus seem to have no cameras at all, which women in pink lab coats and which guards are always checking their phones, the classes most likely to be visited by Ms. Gibson or Ms. Knight. Constant location changes make it hard to keep track of everyone. A mother and father are caught in the field house. Another couple is caught in the bushes. Another underneath a bus in the parking lot. The mothers lose phone privileges and are sent to talk circle. The fathers are assigned additional exercise on the weekends.
The next lessons are about consent. Ms. Khoury demonstrates with Colin’s doll.
“Can I kiss you here?” she asks, pointing to the doll’s cheek. The other doll must wait for Colin’s doll to say yes. If the doll says no, then no kissing, hugging, or hand-holding.
They’ve returned to the pediatric wing. There are larger area rugs but no toys. The dolls have been programmed for body curiosity. The boy dolls unbutton their uniforms and grab their penises. The girl dolls rub against chairs. The dolls pet each other’s blue knobs tenderly.