When I returned to California, I learned that my brother Devin, his wife, Didi and their baby, Sarah, had moved into the house I had been living in with my mother in San Jose. Meanwhile, my mother was staying at my father's house in San Leandro during his time abroad. No one had told me about any of this. I resented my mother for not telling me. Throughout my entire stay in Duluth, my mother did not communicate with me at all.
Upon my arrival at the house in San Leandro, I discovered my cat “Doobie,” waiting for me. I was still unaware of why we were staying in San Leandro, as no one had told me yet that Devin and Didi were now living in our house. This came as a complete shock to me. Our belongings had been placed in storage, and I felt enraged, sad, and depressed all at the same time. My mother gave me something she had embroidered and asked if I missed her. I said, "No." Then she said, "Well, I missed you."
I went into the kitchen and started crying. Jimmy came in and asked me what was wrong. I had no answer for him. He then went and told my mother, "Sally is crying and I don't know why." My mother came into the kitchen and asked me, "What's wrong now?" I responded with, "Nothing," and went to my bedroom to listen to Gino Vannelli's album, “Storm at Sunup,” that I’d purchased with babysitting money. I was planning on giving away my possessions as I was getting ready to listen because I was feeling suicidal.
The next thing I knew, my mother was off to Los Gatos to stay with her sister because my father was returning home from England. I was dreading that moment he'd walk in the door.
During my stay there, once while my father was taking a bath, he left the bathroom door open. He called my name and asked me to bring him the phone, which had a really long cord. I barely entered the bathroom and set the phone on the floor. He said he couldn't reach it and wanted me to bring it to him in the bathtub. I stepped into the bathroom a couple of feet and set the phone on the floor again. He said once more that he couldn't reach it. I told him he had to try, then walked out of the bathroom, swinging the door shut behind me.
Other times, my father would unexpectedly walk in on me while I was getting dressed, so I started going into the bathroom and locking the door to change my clothes. It was the only way I had any privacy.
