Dear Queenie,
My dad is in prison and I don’t know when he will be coming home. I don’t know what to tell people when they ask me about him, like where is he or what does he do for a living.
Queenie, what should I say when people ask these kinds of questions?—Embarrassed
Dear Embarrassed,
Whatever you decide to do, do not lie about your father. This is a small island and sooner or later the person will find out the truth. Then they will know that you lied and you will have two things to be embarrassed about: your father’s imprisonment and your own lies.
You don’t have to answer people’s questions if you don’t want to, but if you don’t, they will probably become even more curious. The best thing to do is to tell the truth as briefly as possible. For example, you could say, “My father did something bad and had to go to jail for it. I am sure he will do better when he comes home.”
If you don’t want to say even that much, or if the person is so rude as to ask more questions, just say, “I’d rather not talk about it.”
