Harbor Me

Every other month, Haley and her uncle drive to the prison in Malone, New York, where her father is. One Saturday in October, he refuses to come down to the visiting room, and Haley and her uncle are forced to go straight back to Brooklyn. Haley is upset, but her uncle assures her that her father is just afraid from having been in prison for so long. Her uncle has a long talk with her about how people all have flaws. He talks to Haley about how much her father loves her, about the night she was born, and about how her father wanted to be the best father possible. Her uncle shares, “I told him he didn’t have to be the best. That nobody could be the best” (28). He also talks about Haley’s mother, who has passed away, and mentions that Haley looks like her mother. Haley begins to feel better after the talk and asks her uncle to buy her a voice recorder to use at school.

Haley’s uncle gives her a voice recorder. She plans to use it to record stories and will figure out what to do with them.