A Taxonomy of Love - The Deleted Scenes

Deleted Scene #2

This next scene was the original backstory for Spencer's mom. Ultimately, we cut it because it seemed like too much of a heavy emotional weight on top of the other family dynamics I was trying to explore, and it just left too many questions, but I thought I'd share it here:

Chapter 7

Once upon a time, a little boy had a perfect day. There were puffy white clouds overhead, the kind the sky only made in July, and the grass beside the creek was the perfect crayon-y shade of green, and a turtle smaller than a baseball sat sunning itself on a rock. The boy and his brother each held a corner of a picnic blanket. Their mother held the other two. And they whipped it overhead like a game of parachute until the red and white checks blocked out the sun.

They ate oatmeal cream pies and strawberries and PopTarts, and when they couldn't eat anymore, they waded into the creek. The other kids' moms would watch from a blanket, but she didn't. She'd catch tadpoles with them just to watch them wiggle in a tiny swimming pool made of her cupped hands before letting them go. Then, she sat down on the bank and waved her pink toenails at the sun until her feet were dry. The boy climbed up beside her and leaned his head against her and sighed like a happy puppy. And she hugged him, holding extra tight with her nose in his hair until she started to cry a little.

"Why are you crying?" he asked.

"Because I love you too much," she said.

Afterwards, she took them home and sat them in front of The Lion King and told them their dad would be home from work any minute. Then she drove away and she didn't come back.