The Son They Lost Twice

Summary

The summer I was six, Mom cooked dinner with foraged wild mushrooms she’d bought at the weekend farmers market. She hadn't sautéed them long enough in the skillet to break down the natural toxins.

When Chase started violently throwing up his dinner, Mom scooped him out of his high chair and sprinted out the door for the emergency room. Dad hoisted my seizing older sister Bridget onto his back, bolting right behind them into the driveway.

Only me—because I stayed sitting quietly at the kitchen table, my little plastic fork still held in my fist, they assumed I was fine.