Character Sketch - Delerium Tremens

Daisy Tennant wasn't a mistake; children never are. It just happened that her parents, Mitch and Jill, did. Jill was a sophomore in high school, and Mitch was ready to go off to a D-II school on a football scholarship, when Jill confronted him. She pleaded, begged, implored him to stay with her, or to at least show some support. Mitch, ever the thoughtful individual, did his best not to roll his eyes before walking out on her and starting his new life alone.

Initially, Jill planned to bring the baby to term, then give it up for adoption (old religious habits die hard). Then, she held the child in her hands, small, wrinkled, two weeks premature, and was hooked. The desire to take care of a completely dependent being overrode her desire to be her own person. This desire lasted about six weeks, at which point abortion is completely illegal.

Her mother kicked the both of them out, but Jill managed to stay with her uncle, meanwhile getting a job at a local restaurant (The Pit, a fine barbecue establishment, now with the Pit Plate Special for $8.95). Given that her uncle was a worthless layabout, and a drunk, it was only a matter of time before Jill started to turn to the bottle, just as Daisy would turn towards the nipple.

The turning point was the year she would have graduated from high school and gone to some fine liberal arts college on a partial scholarship, when Mitch returned to Franklin, Tennessee. He came with a girl on his arm, to The Pit. His eyes on the blonde the entire time, Mitch didn't even recognize Jill, and Jill did her best to not say anything, as she waited on her tables, and tried to keep out of his way. She went to the back, looked in the mirror, and saw how she'd aged five, ten years.

As Daisy grew, so did the abuse. Her mom drank more and more as the looks and youth that one day would have taken her so far were stolen from her, given to this squalling youth that wouldn't shut up, no matter how many times she hit her. The uncle had passed from a failed liver a long time ago, perhaps the only source of stability that would have made her life a little better; she didn't even know about grandma, and grandma didn't care to acknowledge her family a few miles away.

Daisy's first drink happened at twelve, after a particularly brutal beating. It felt like mom had broken a rib. She had trouble breathing, but feared even more calling the authorities and getting taken away from her mom. There were a lot of Jack Daniels bottles with a fair amount of swig left. Daisy just picked one up and drank, then another, and another. She woke up in the morning, still in tremendous pain, but the key was that she could dull the pain enough to sleep, and wake up in the morning.

The beating continued, as Jill saw more and more of her father in that face. Both mother and daughter continued to drink. School had fallen by the wayside long ago, as had what few friends she'd fought to make. Now it was them, the TV, and the bottle. Then, Jill lost her job for cursing at and punching a patron that left her a small tip. The alcohol dried up soon thereafter, but the beatings didn't. Unable to deal with the stress of being a sixteen-year old, going through withdrawal, and these being "the best years of her life," Jill started shaking. Soon, the entire house shook, and it brought the entire thing down upon the two of them. When they found her, Daisy had been shivering, curled up, but alive. Jill fell atop the child she still loved, somewhere deep within, but couldn't express that feeling in a loving manner. Soon after, they brought Daisy to the Group.

Daisy has shoulder-length raven-black hair, same as her father; she used to have much longer hair, until she vomited and rolled into it a couple of months ago. It's growing back out. She's skinny from worry, skinny enough to see the abnormal protrusion on her rib cage where the rib never healed, if she would ever let anyone get close enough to take a look. Daisy is above average height for a woman, but slouches her shoulders constantly, awaiting the next blow she can't predict. She smiles around cats, and is in love with them, just as strays love her. Daisy's face is fairly gaunt, beautiful when she smiles, ugly when she's dour. Note this does nothing for her self-esteem.