Did you miss Part I or Part II?
As soon as dinner was over, Dad would go out with his friends. I wished he would take me with him, but at least my dad had friends to play with. Mom would clean up, got to her room, and leave me to entertain myself until I went to bed. My father always seemed to come home just as I was lying down. I always wished that he wasn’t home, or that I was already asleep. I hated it when he came home.
The slam of the car door followed by the house door, then his footsteps in the hall, moving closer and growing louder, echoing the beating of my heart. He stopped outside my door.
“Hey, boy!â€
His voice was loud, gruff, and it scared me. I pretended I was asleep.
“I’m talking to you!â€
Now? Why not at the table when I actually wanted to talk?
“I know you’re awake,†he said, pushing the door open. “Now sit up when I’m talking to you!â€
I could smell the beer even though he was still in the hall. He was drunk and mad, and I almost sat up. But if I could just convince him I was asleep, maybe he’d got to bed.
I lay as still as I could, my back to my dad, and I heard him step into the room. The sound of the belt whipping through the loops on his pants almost called my bluff, but I knew the beating would be worse if he knew I was lying about being asleep, and so I didn’t move.
Tomorrow: Lost time – Part IV
