Report 4: The Williams Family, Interview 1: Lillian Williams

            A couple of connecting flights led me to the third case of my study at a townhouse in Manhattan.

            Lillian Williams is a forty-four-year-old public relations worker for eighteen businesses in the city as well as a couple more high-profile clients.  She was previously married to a man named Ron Williams, and after they divorced thirteen years ago, she moved to the Manhattan residence with her sixteen-year-old daughter Ruby, which she now also maintains with her seventeen-year-old stepdaughter Trish Reed.  Trish is the daughter of Wayne Reed, a former accountant, who passed away after a five-year battle with leukemia just three years ago.  He was previously married to Tanya Reed, Trish’s mother, who passed away a decade ago in a four-car pile-up that claimed two other lives as well, before he married Lillian eight years ago.

            Starting just under two years back, Trish became connected with an escalating series of shopliftings at stores in her neighborhood.  Eventually these thefts led to larger scale offenses, such as personal property damage and defacing of city structures with graffiti, and culminated in her prosecution when she was caught in the act of trying to catch a shed on fire ten months ago.  As it turned out, her stepmother had enough political influence to help persuade the courts to consider putting Trish into the shrunken house arrest program, which began for her six months ago.  According to my research on the case, Trish is allowed to have her size changed by either her stepmother or stepsister in a range of one to ten inches in height, and can leave the house twice a week under supervision.

            The residence itself was located in a moderately upscale neighborhood with access to its four-story structure through a walkway between two other homes.  Upon my arrival, I was greeted by Lillian, who informed me that she had a surprise meeting pop up on the other side of town that was happening in an hour, and that she was perfectly willing to reschedule our interview if that wasn’t enough time.  I told her we would keep the appointment as it was and simply make efficient use of time.

            Today, having learned from the unforeseen complications of mixed company in my previous interviews, I’ve resolved to acquire private interviews with the other members of the household by any means I can.  This may be able to help ensure honesty in a situation where certain participants may not feel comfortable or even totally safe being forthcoming with their opinions.  It was a wrinkle I had not anticipated on the scale I believe I have witnessed thus far in the study, and is one I won’t allow to hurt the integrity of the project again.

            Lillian led me to a living room larger than I was expecting to see in a Manhattan townhouse and bid me to sit in a leather armchair.  She was dressed in a crisp pinstripe business suit and promptly settled into what I would gather to be a normal habit of glancing at her watch every few minutes.

TC: Thank you for agreeing to this interview, Mrs. Williams.

Lillian: You’re welcome.  Mr. Taylor, isn’t it?

            Lillian’s eye contact broke momentarily for her to crane her neck toward the kitchen parlor across the room, where her maid Dorothy was dusting the countertops.

Lillian: Dorothy!  Could we get a couple of coffees, please? (to me) How do you take yours?

TC: One sugar, please.

Lillian: Dorothy, one sugar for Mr. Taylor here, and the usual black for me.  (to me) I’m sorry we don’t have more time today.  I didn’t know about the meeting until two hours ago, and it’s one I can’t miss.

TC: No trouble at all.   I was hoping, though, that it would still be possible to interview both Ruby and Trish, even if you’re not present for it.

Lillian: Of course.  Dorothy will still be in the house if you need anything, and I’ve had a discussion with Ruby about the interview.  She’s still willing to do it here as well.

TC: And Trish?

Lillian: (laughs) She’ll do it too.  I know she will.

TC: All right.  Well, I want to maximize use of your time, so are you ready to begin?

Lillian: Anytime.

TC: How has your experience been in having Trish under the Shrink Act’s house arrest program?

Lillian: Well, to be honest, it’s just all been very overwhelming.  Trish’s behaviors were becoming a real nightmare.  I was beyond the end of my rope.  She was becoming something I was afraid to be living under the same roof as, and I’m unashamed to share that with you.  Finally having a way to keep her under control has made my life so much easier.  For a while, I was anticipating all of this ending very poorly for everyone, but thanks to the program, my daughter and I have the chance to try and salvage what’s left of her.

TC: Describe your living situation since Trish went under the Shrink Act house arrest program.

Lillian: My daughter and I understand that Trish was given a merciful decision by the courts, as she’ll be turning eighteen very soon and would’ve been facing time in prison if the case went much longer, and we’ve resolved to take full advantage of this unique chance to reform her in the safety of our home.  She gets food, water, and shelter, but in return for that generosity must pay her debt to society, and to us.  We know the law, and intend to see that that girl learns the egregious criminal error of her ways.

TC: You mean Trish?

Lillian: Yes.

TC: All right.  What ways do you take full advantage of the chance, as you say?

Lillian: I won’t sugarcoat it, not for you and not for any of the review board I have to report to for Trish’s progress.  She’s here to come to an understanding about her rapidly degrading potential as a citizen and if possible save what’s left of it, and I will not hold back just because she’s my dear husband’s daughter, God rest his soul.  In fact, I believe he would’ve wanted nothing less than this.

            Lillian’s voice became slightly choked up at the mention of Wayne, but she covered it up just as quickly.

TC: Please, go on.

Lillian: Well, I’d been doing a lot of research on people already using the PMRD to discipline their children for years.  I myself have never owned one, but it seemed like the right move for this situation, and I learned an awful lot about what was effective and what wasn’t.  I sat down with my daughter for a long talk about it, and we came to a few decisions about formally breaking Trish of her thuggish habits.  Essentially, we take turns closely supervising Trish in whatever ways we see fit to demonstrate precisely the kind of life that her actions will be rewarded with if they aren’t curtailed immediately.

TC: Out of curiosity, did your research happen to involve study of Judy Stevens?

Lillian: (laughs) I guess you’ve done your research too.  Yes, you could say she was something of an inspiration, but there are plenty more, as I’m sure you know, that offered interesting methodology for correcting adolescent misdemeanors.  Using those people as templates, we’ve arranged a fairly straightforward schedule for its recovery.

TC: You mean her recovery.

Lillian: Pardon?

TC: You said its recovery.  I assume you were referring to Trish?

Lillian: Oh, yes.  Sorry, did I say “its” on accident?  Slip of the tongue.  Her recovery.  (laughs) I suppose this is why I’m not a professor of linguistics.

            At this point, Dorothy silently entered the room and set down our coffee mugs on marble tables next to each chair.

Lillian: Thank you, Dorothy.

TC: Thank you very much.  (to Lillian) Could you detail for me that schedule you were talking about?

Lillian: Gladly.  How much detail are you looking for?

TC: As much as you’ll provide.

Lillian: (laughs) All right, if you insist.  I can do that.  Generally Trish’s morning will be spent just giving a little finger and wrist massage to the both of us at breakfast.  Depending on her behavior, I’ll make her ten inches, and she helps clean up the dirty dishes.  If she’s been testy, though, I’ll put her on duty scrubbing the floor at three inches and just tell Dorothy to stay out of the room.  I come home from work at noon, then, and check on her progress with her chores.  If she’s finished up a job I’ve given her, I’ll just give her some time inside my shoes while I work on reports, instead of getting more creative.  After that, I have to go back to work, so I’ll put her to dusting in some of the tougher-to-reach places in the house.  She gets to leave the house twice a week, though, so if I’m in the mood, I’ll bring her with me back to work and just keep wearing her straight through until closing time.  I also try to take her out of there sometimes we can have little chats about her behavior, but those don’t usually last very long, and usually by her own doing.  When I get home, I’m exhausted from the day, and plus, Trish can be quite a handful, so I give my daughter her turn for the rest of the evening.

TC: I see.  Fascinating system.  And how does your daughter Ruby use her time with Trish?

Lillian: Very effectively, though I’ll be honest here, at first, she didn’t particularly want to engage much in the actual punishment part.

TC: Why’s that?

Lillian: I suppose it’s come from her distaste for having to deal with her stepsister after all she’s done.  Frankly, I can’t much blame her for that sentiment.  Still, we’ve got a job to do, and Ruby’s not always been in exactly the right spirit for it.  She even lied to me once, telling me she was wearing Trish in her shoe all evening, and then what do I hear from Dorothy?  That she just had her sitting out on her desk.  Learning nothing.

TC: I see.  But it’s not like that anymore?

Lillian: I put a stop to that quickly.  You’ll find I’m not one for bending of the truth, and as Ruby is also a dependent in my house, she can be shrunken if need be, and there certainly was a need there.

TC: I see.  So you shrunk Ruby down as well?

Lillian: Yes.  Only briefly, to remind her of her duty to society, and to teach her a lesson. She doesn’t have to like dealing with Trish, but she still owes it to me and everyone else to give it her best shot at fixing her.  It really hurt me to have to do that, but it was necessary, and it hasn’t been needed again.

TC: So she takes to the schedule more now, I gather?

Lillian: Well, I have to tell you!  She’s made it so I feel like I have to back off a little bit, just so we don’t totally wear Trish out before she’s had a chance to learn anything. (laughs)

TC: Really.  Could you elaborate?

Lillian: Of course.  I get a certain kick out of letting Trish ride around in my hair or putting her in the toes of my shoes, sure, but Ruby has taken it to a whole different level.  I’ve really been very impressed at her new dedication to reforming her stepsister.  She likes turning her times with her into games for them both, usually some variation on tag.  It helps get Trish some exercise and still manages to get the lesson across, I feel, because it’s certainly made her more docile around me.

TC: Interesting.

Lillian: Ruby really is her mother’s daughter, and then some. (laughs)  She actually doesn’t like to let me participate too, I guess she feels like it’s got to be one on one, but she lets me watch sometimes, and it’s a real riot.

TC: I see.

Lillian: I’m sure she’d love to give a demonstration later for us.

TC: That really won’t be necessary.

Lillian: It’s no trouble.

TC: So would you say the program has been a benefit to Trish?

Lillian: Infinitely.  Like I said, she’s becoming more docile around me, and she’s just generally learning her place.  She’s even told me as much when I asked her.  She’s definitely learning from things.  I guess after Ruby got it out of her head that she could accomplish anything letting her serve her time by just sitting there, she’s figured out how the world works, and not a moment too soon.

TC: How about the effect of the program specifically with regards to her relationship with you?

Lillian: Ah.  Well, look, I can’t quite say the girl and I have been particularly close.  She never really liked me, I recognize that much, nor do I hold it against her, but it just was so hard to manage after Wayne passed.  She did care about him, I suppose, despite having an awfully backwards way of showing it sometimes with some of the activities she chose to engage in.  But she’s slowly learning to recognize that I’m the one making sure she stays fed and has a roof, so it’s in her best interest to at least show me a little decent human respect.  And I’d say that’s a positive.

TC: It does sound like one.  And what about after her sentence is over?  Do you feel the program’s been effective in preparing Trish for independent life again?

Lillian: Can’t say I can see for sure yet, as it’s all really up to her.  All I can do is my best to teach her a thing or two about what’s right and wrong, and she’s got to make the final choice.  I’m liking what I’m seeing from her lately, though, which is more than I could’ve said for the last few years.

TC: I am curious about your opinion of one thing.  It is a sensitive matter, but I feel it’s relevant.

Lillian: Yes?

TC: Her behavior.  Would you describe it as consistent with the time before the passing of your husband?

Lillian: Well, yes.  I mean, to an extent, yes.  Yes, I suppose.  She got caught smoking a couple times and once with a liquor bottle from a party she went to. Plus, she’s always been a back-talker to me.  Like I said, she’s never liked me.

TC: Interesting.  And you’d say that’s been consistent with her criminal behavior after his death?

Lillian: Not entirely, then, I suppose, when you put it like that.  It was definitely much, much worse after Wayne’s passing.  Really I see it as her just lacking a male influence.  When Wayne was still around, he could help keep her in check.  I would guess she might see his loss as a sort of liberation.

            There was a slight pause here, though it was on my part, as I was quickly attempting to deduce if Lillian’s prediction was actually sincere.  It did indeed appear to be.

TC: Really.

Lillian: Yes, as disgusted as it makes me to say it.  That’s really the only explanation I can see for it.  She didn’t even go to his funeral!  Can you believe that?  Instead she was off doing God knows what on the pier, probably damaging someone’s property.  And then she had the nerve to whip up some tears around the house after that, I imagine just to put on a show of it.

TC: I see.

Lillian: It just never ends with her.  That’s why I do the things I do, and that’s why it’s important that my daughter do the same.  Consistency is key, because when Trish doesn’t have it, it’s clearly not good for anyone.  You understand that, right?

TC: I do, yes.

Lillian: Good.

            At this moment, out of the corner of my eye in a doorway behind Lillian’s armchair I saw who I could only assume to be Ruby about to enter the room, smoothing out a yellow sundress as she walked.

Lillian: Ruby, honey?  Can you come in?  Mr. Taylor’s here to do the interviews with us.

TC: Hi, Ruby.  Good to meet you.

            Ruby entered the room, but regarded me with a facial expression of unconcealed distrust before turning to her mother.

Ruby: That’s happening right now?

Lillian: Yes, honey.  And actually, I was hoping you could do me a favor.

Ruby: Okay.

Lillian: I told Mr. Taylor we’d give him a little demonstration of that corrective measure you came up with for Trish.  You know.  The game?

            Ruby had been standing casually next to her mother’s chair up to this point, but she visibly stiffened up at the request.

Ruby: Really?  Right now?

Lillian: Yes. I have to leave in a few minutes, so we probably should get going.

Ruby: Are you sure, Mom?  I’ve got her doing other work right now, and I just…

Lillian: (cutting in) Please go get her now, honey.

Ruby: Um.  Okay.  She’s in the kitchen.  I’ll be back.

            Here, Ruby turned and walked very slowly back out of the room the way she’d come.

Lillian: See how dedicated she is to reforming her?  She’s already got her on some other kind of work in there.  Ruby’s learned well from the system too about the kinds of choices necessary for the greater good.

TC: I’m sure.  But again, if you’re in a hurry, I don’t want to take up any more of your valuable time than necessary with demonstrations.

Lillian: Nonsense, it’ll just take a minute.  Ruby?

            Ruby reentered the room here, her hands cupped together at stomach level.  In the center of them was Trish, who I estimated to be around four inches tall at the time.

Ruby: Here she is.

Lillian: Good.  Now, just give us a little show.

Ruby: Mom?  Are you sure?

            Lillian’s facial expression changed subtly at this remark.  Her smile remained but her tone became more rigid from what I assumed to be impatience.

Lillian: Yes.  Honey.  Please do it now.

Ruby: Right.  Sorry, Mom, okay.  Here’s what we do.

            Ruby took a seat on an ottoman near her mother’s chair and in full view of mine, then lowered her cupped hands toward the carpet, parting them about six inches in front of her bare feet.  Trish clambered out of her stepsister’s hands and took a few steps forward, lowering herself closer to the ground in a stance that I could only accurately describe as cowering.

Lillian: (to me) Are you watching?  This is going to be good.