Sensitive was what they called her when they wanted to sound kind while dismissing her.
Drama queen was what they called her when they stopped pretending.
The first time I heard my mother use that phrase about my daughter, Ellie was nine years old and crying in the back seat after Ashley’s younger son had shoved her into the edge of a dock hard enough to bruise her thigh. My mother laughed lightly and said, “Good grief, Rachel, she’s such a little drama queen. She’ll be fine.”
Ellie heard it.
Children always hear the things adults most hope they won’t.
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