heir father was away at work most of the time and when he came home he wanted supper and he read the newspaper at supper and after supper he went to bed. He didn't bother talking much to them, but around his bent head Connie's mother kept picking at her until Connie wished her mother was dead and she herself was dead and it was all over. "She makes me want to throw up sometimes
I think it's interesting how Oates sets up there to be more tension than in the True Crime piece regarding Alleen and her family situation. I don't have my True Crime book on me at the moment, but I don't remember there being any mention of Alleen's father, and I think it was implied that he wasn't around. Also, I remember Alleen's mother not liking Schmid, but I don't remember Alleen wishing her mother "was dead."