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Maria turned around to find Robbie already under the covers. He had them pulled up to just under his nose. She crawled under the blankets as well after turning off the light and closing the door. Closing the door, heh! As if THAT would keep out the boogieman, the boogieman named Dale. While she insisted there was no Santa Clause in school, her friends insisted there was no boogieman. They didn’t know anything! Most children might be afraid of the dark, but not Maria. She felt a strange sense of security and comfort in the dark. What you don't see doesn't usually hurt you, it's what you do see that does. She cradled her brother for awhile until she felt his rigid body relax. Then Maria slipped back into sleep herself.
“Irene!” She bolted awake again. A form at the end of her bed once more came into focus as the dim light from the hallway lit up her room slightly. It was her mother fumbling with the end of the phone chord. It was a delicate operation when all you had was a safety pin, nail clippers, and shaky fingers to fix the connection back up.
“Irene!!” Dale’s voice bellowed more forcefully and a little more coherent than the last time from the living room. Dale had just woken up after passing out on the couch. Maria looked at Robbie; he was still sleeping. Good! He was better off. “Hello? Hello!” Irene Flummox pleaded with the static. “Hello!!” she forcefully whispered again. “I need help. He’s at it again. Please help me!!” Her hopeful plea was whispered to the distant broken voice on the other end.
“Irene!!!” came the thundering demand from the other room “Oh God! Please hurry!” Maria’s mother looked up to see him standing in the doorway. Her voice trembled, as she quickly rambled the address to the officer, not that they didn’t know the address. They had been there before, but they couldn’t understand why Mrs. Flummox just didn’t press charges or leave. Didn’t they understand what it was like; didn’t they understand Dale? He said he’d kill them if they told anyone and especially if Irene pressed charges; they couldn't leave because he vowed to find them if they ever left. Dale jumped on the bed and tried to snatch the phone out of her mothers’ hand. She was silent as he reached for and yanked the chord out of the wall one last time. Maria thought there was no fixing it this time as he ripped it like frayed licorice strings in his drunken rage. Irene w defeated Irene dejectedly and slowly placed the phone back in its’ cradle and prepared for the beating that was sure to come.
He lunged forward muttering incoherent obscenities. Instinctively, his twisted and bony knuckles reached out to clench a fistful of Irene's silky long black hair from the top of her forehead. He stormed out of the room dragging Irene behind him and leaving clouds of fear lingering with Maria and Robbie. Maria took Robbie in her arms and held him tight as they heard thunder roll (or was it their mother), lightning strike (or was that their stepfather), and the all too familiar scuffle that ensued. Maria closed her eyes and could picture it all as if she were watching a movie, not that she wanted to, but it wasn't a choice. When you heard things like that, visuals just pop into your mind and there is NO blocking them out. She heard and thus envisioned the dining room table being overturned. Then she could have sworn she heard a glass pot of steaming coffee burst against the wall. Her mother screaming a moment later only confirmed her suspicions, Dale had thrown it at or near her mother. She heard more wrestling then a tumbling sound much like when a bowler gets a strike. She wondered where Lonnie had thrown her mother this time.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Funny how the rest of this didn’t unnerve Maria, but something unexpected like a knock at the door could scare her to death. She quickly glanced at Robbie; he was either still sleeping or pretending to be. Maria hoped he was not faking it. She slipped out from under the covers and crept to the end of the hallway to see who had knocked. Imagine the relief she felt when she saw police standing in the doorway! They were escorting Lonnie out of the door explaining he couldn’t come back until the morning. To clarify his apparent confusion as to exactly WHEN morning started, the officer explained, “Sir, that means when you see the sun, up in the sky.”
They led him out of the house. Mrs. Flummox, holding her torn shirt together, closed and double locked the door behind them. Maria went to look out the window, toward the entrance to the apartments. Robbie was already there, that faker! She giggled due to an unfamiliar sense of assuaged glee, and then Maria watched them lead Lonnie away. He was stumbling and drunkenly objecting all the way. He kept alternating his role-playing game with the officers trying to figure out which act they liked best and which was most likely to get him off the hook this time. As it turned out, they didn’t want an act at all.
He did try to return an hour later, but Mrs. Flummox had fixed the phone chord again and wasted no time calling the police. In minutes the cops were there and as Maria pasted herself against the window, she was just in time to see them come out of the apartment complex leading Dale away once more. She and Robbie then watched as one of the officers slowly turned on his heels 360 degrees while looking at the sky. In a sarcastic and animated manner the officer stated, “I don’t see no sun out yet, Mister!” It was so funny; it was just what the family needed to break the tension in the night. Again, he was led away; again it was quiet and time to go back to sleep as there was school the next day. A child’s work is never done. Tomorrow was another day to go on living, another day to go on breathing, and yet another day to tread the trenches of an abused life.
(To Be Continued...)
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I will try to get the next parts out in a timely manner. I had no idea writing something autobiographical could be so painful. *smile* Thanks for reading and I would love your feedback, good or bad. Just let me know WHY you do or don't like it. That's what helps the most.
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