The Testimony of Taliesin Jones (15 page)

H
e
t
ries
to pi
cture
hi
s
m
other an
d
is
s
ho
cked
t
h
at
he can't
r
emember
wh
at s
he loo
ks li
ke -h
is
ow
n m
oth
e
r
and
h
e
c
a
n
'
t
p
icture h
er!
It
's
l
ike a
film
w
here
a
m
an
h
its
h
is
h
ead o
n
a r
oc
k
a
nd
k
nocks h
imself
out
.
Wh
en
h
e wa
kes h
e can re
member
very
s
pecific d
etails, s
uch
as
th
e
n
ame
o
f hi
s mo
ther's
p
er
fum
e a
nd
th
e
way she curled h
er S's
; b
ut
h
e can'
t r
emember w
hat
s
he l
ooked
lik
e
.
T
aliesin
pull
s t
he
sc
arf f
rom
th
e e
nd p
eg a
nd
presses
i
t to hi
s n
ose.
From it h
e crea
tes
a co
mposite
of
h
er,
t
h
e
wa
y
that
a
bl
ood hound
m
ight
p
ick
u
p
th
e tra
il
of
a
n
esca
pee fr
om
the
sce
nt
of
a torn
clot
h
.
T
he
scarf
s s
o
ftn
ess is coo
l
a
nd i
ts sce
nt pr
ojects
her ima
ge i
nto
hi
s
mind
:
h
er
l
ong elega
nt n
o
s
e
th
at o
n other faces m
ight
b
e
t
oo
b
i
g
;
h
er
br
own a
nd
s
low-blinking
ey
es;
a
lo
w
f
orehead
a
nd
s
lightly
ro
unded,
a
lways p
owdered
c
heeks. In thi
s
m
ind's-eye
port
rait
s
he h
as
th
e sca
rf
o
n,
co
vering her hair
,
th
en
sh
e
pull
s
th
e sca
rf
a
way
a
nd h
er
h
air
s
pills out with a ful
some
b
ounce. T
he h
air
i
sn't
quit
e
h
ow
h
e re
members it
.
Sh
e
h
as c
hanged h
er
s
tyle
.
H
er
h
air
h
as
b
een c
ut
i
n
a
w
ay
that
ma
kes h
er
l
ook
you
nger
;
c
ut b
y so
me one who
thinks
s
he look
s
bett
er
th
at w
ay. An
d s
he think
s
s
h
e
l
ooks
b
etter
that w
ay
.
Sh
e i
s
say
ing
so
n
ow,
lik
e t
he
wo
man
i
n the
s
hampoo ad
vertisement: '
I
feel
li
ke a
n
ew
wo
man.
'
B
ehind
h
er
th
ere
is
sea a
nd ro
ws
of co
lourful h
ous
e
s
linin
g
th
e
s
hore
.

W
est
H
aven
:
that's where
s
he w
ent
t
o ge
t h
er
h
air
d
one.

Twice a y
ear s
he w
ent
th
ere
to shop and get her hair cut by 'Toni'
:
Toni Ph
illips,
th
e
hairdre
sser.
It was h
er
'on
e
extr
avagance' s
he
sa
id, h
er
'bi
g
treat
'.
And wh
en s
he return
ed s
he w
as
r
adiant a
nd
a
l
ittle
flush
ed. '
The air th
ere
i
s
marvell
ous,'
sh
e'd ex
plain.

Th
en o
ne d
ay
,
a yea
r
ago, s
he
s
tayed th
ere o
vernight
a
nd th
e ca
rriage cl
ock s
topped throu
gh
lack of winding
.
Wh
en s
he
c
ame b
ack,
h
is fa
ther told h
er
that he didn
't
lik
e
th
e
w
ay
h
er
h
air
h
ad
b
een c
ut
.
'
Toni likes it thi
s
way
,'
sh
e
said
.
Th
ey
th
en
had
a
n
a
rgument in whi
ch s
he did all th
e
t
alking.
Sh
e
told hi
s fa
ther th
at
l
ife o
n the f
arm
w
as
b
oring
and th
at s
he w
as go
ing t
o
l
ive i
n W
est
Hav
en
with Toni. Sh
e
kept sayin
g
th
at s
he w
anted a
littl
e
mor
e c
olour in h
er
life
a
nd that
s
he didn
't
l
ike
b
eing
t
aken
f
or g
ranted. She re
ally
h
ated
bein
g
t
aken
f
or gra
nted.
S
he
sa
id thi
s as i
f
s
omeone had
s
uddenly p
ointed
it
o
ut
to
h
er.
Hi
s
fath
er sai
d nothin
g.
H
e
ju
st s
tared
a
t h
er
a
s
if
o
n th
e verge o
f l
aughter
and t
ears,
hi
s
eye
s
wide
a
t th
e s
ight
o
f h
er.
Wh
en
he eventu
ally
spok
e
he ju
st as
ked,
'
How
c
ould
yo
u
g
o
a
nd l
ive
with a man who
s
pells Tony w
ith
an
"
i"
a
t th
e e
nd?'

Th
at eve
ning
Ta
liesin's moth
er sa
t down w
ith
him and Jon
athan
and t
old
th
em
th
at s
he
s
till lo
ved
them
, a
nd th
at s
he
s
till l
oved
th
eir fa
ther t
oo
,
but that
s
he couldn
't
tol
erate
li
ving wi
th him
a
ny m
ore. S
he
sai
d th
at i
t
wo
uld be bad for
eve
ryon
e
if
s
he
s
tayed
a
t h
ome
bein
g
unhappy
.
She
a
dded th
at
th
ey
w
ould
b
e
b
etter of
f
o
n the farm with their
father and goin
g
t
o
th
e s
ame
sc
hool. It wa
s
important not to interrupt th
eir s
chooling.

H
er go
ing
was so
l
ow-key
it
se
emed normal. The
e
vent h
ad a co
mic cl
arity, a ca
lmness that bore no relation to wh
at
w
as ac
tually h
appening.
No on
e
kn
ew
what to
s
ay. F
amilies
don
't ge
t
a c
hance t
o
r
ehearse
for the
se
thin
gs.
Ther
e
ar
e
no rule
s
f
or
ho
w
th
ey s
hould
co
nduct themselves. At
th
e
tim
e, i
t wa
s
ju
st a
nother di
fficult
da
y.