A Neat Mess

16.Serpent's Game

"You fucking did what?!" Ben's voice was low but filled with fury.

"Shhh, you'll wake her up again," Sam whispered, instantly regretting telling Ben the truth. "I only gave her a quarter of an adult dose. It won't hurt her."

Ben's anger simmered beneath his quieter tone. "Is this how you handle things now? How many times have you done this before?"

"None, zero. I had no choice. She attacked Lucille with a weapon, Ben. This is serious—Jenna is violent. She's angry about something, and we need to figure out what it is."

"Oh my god, are we really having this conversation again? Maybe if her mother paid more attention to her instead of just trying to knock her out for some quiet time, we wouldn't be in this mess. What's next, how about committing her already?"

"It isn't even a sleeping pill, just something to calm her down so we could figure out what's going on when she's in a better state. We're lucky Lucille, for some reason, still loves Jenna and isn't suing us. But if she decides to leave, we'll have a hard time finding a new sitter."

Sam swallowed Ben's insults, hoping to change the subject and end the argument, she said, "By the way, the whole drama this afternoon was because your special mug was broken."

Ben, now distracted by the TV remote, replied nonchalantly, "What favourite mug?"

There was a brief pause before it sank in for both of them. They exchanged a glance, realising the same thing: no one in the household had a special dinnerware.

Ben stood up abruptly. "I'm going to check on her."

He quietly made his way upstairs, careful not to wake Jenna, but he was startled to find Jenna sitting on the floor in the dark. The only light came from a small LED candle, one of those flameless ones. She was playing with something he couldn't quite see.

"Sweetheart, why are you sitting in the dark?" Ben asked gently.

Jenna whispered in a spooky tone, "Because it's dark in the jungle, and we don't want to disturb the snakes."

Ben waited a few seconds for his eyes to adjust to the dim light. He saw what was on the floor and decided to play along. Sitting down beside her, he asked, "What's Barbie doing naked in the jungle this late at night? Is she lost?" 

"Nope! She's here for the snakes," Jenna whispered, continuing the game.

"Oh, I see. She's a snake hunter, what happened to her clothes?"

"No, Daddy, snakes are very smart and quick, and they have very strong poison. They can hear and feel people through their skin; they'll hunt her first."

"When you said she's here for the snakes..." Ben trailed off, trying to make sense of an eight-year-old's logic.

"For a human sac-ri-fice!" Jenna pronounced the word deliberately, as if she was proud of mastering it.

Ben glanced around, hoping to find a Ken doll who could swoop in and save Barbie at the last second. But there was no prince—just a giant stuffed snake and a bunch of gummy snakes scattered on the floor.

Downstairs, Sam realised Ben was taking longer than expected, so she made her way up to see what was going on. Oblivious to the reality of the situation, she felt a surge of happiness. First, because the pill hadn't knocked Jenna out, as Ben had feared, and second, because Jenna was playing, which to Sam seemed like normal little-girl behaviour.

What she couldn't understand was the astonished look on Ben's face.

"Okay, sweetheart, it's time for bed now," they had tried this phrase countless times before, only to end up with bargaining, arguments, and tears—often not even Jenna's—which had led them to give up saying it long ago. That night, Sam thought it might not be a bad idea to try again. None of them could believe their eyes when Jenna put the naked Barbie away and crawled into bed.

Ben kissed Jenna on the forehead, closed the door behind him, and waved Sam over. 

"We need to get professional help, Sam," Ben whispered.