Chapter 6 #2
“Been there, brother. It can be tough.”
“Yeah, it can. It’s like he expects me to fuck up.” It broke my heart to hear the anguish in my son’s voice as he told Widow, “I’m just so tired of it. I don’t even wanna try anymore. It’s like...what’s the point? He’s gonna be on my ass no matter what I do.”
“The point is you’ve got a life to live.” Widow was being so patient and understanding. Again, something unexpected from a man like him. It truly goes to show you can’t judge a book by its cover. “You give up now and it’s not gonna be much of one.”
“I guess you’re right.” Corry leaned forward and watched as Widow picked up a water bottle and sprayed the tire with water. “But it’s hard. I really hate him. I hate him so much.”
“You’re holding on to a lot there, bud.”
“Yeah, well...wouldn’t you hate someone who kept threatening to kill your mom?”
“What?”
“Yeah. Dad was pissed that Mom left him. He accused her of all kinds of crap like cheating and being a money whore, but he was the reason she left. He was always yelling and bitchin’, and sometimes things got way out of hand.
It was bullshit. Then, when she finally left, he blamed her and threatened to kill her.
” Clearly moved by what he was hearing, Widow stopped working on the tire and just listened as Corry said, “I was with her the last time he threatened her. He was pissed about something and blew up on her. Grabbed her, slammed her against the side of the car, and said he still hadn’t decided when he was gonna kill her. ”
“Damn.”
“Yeah, it was pretty bad. I don’t think she would’ve even pressed charges if I hadn’t pushed her to do it, but she did and we ended up going to court.
When they got divorced the judge gave Dad six months of anger management.
He thought that would make things better, but it didn’t... He’s still an asshole.”
“I hate it, but some folks just never change.”
“Yeah, he didn’t change at all. He still does whatever he can to hurt her.”
My heart ached as I listened to Corry divulge one of our darkest secrets.
Neither of us spoke about that particular day.
I thought he’d put it behind him, but clearly, he hadn’t.
Widow looked over to Corry with a clenched jaw, making it clear to me he was angered by what he’d heard.
I couldn’t blame him. I got angry any time I thought about the things Marc had done.
After several moments, Widow asked, “He ever do any shit like that to you or your brother?”
“He was always yelling about something, but he only punched me once.” I could hear the anguish in my son’s voice as he said, “Mom left him as soon as she heard what had happened.”
“Smart lady.”
“Would’ve been smarter to leave him sooner.” Corry shook his head, “I don’t get why she ever married him in the first place.”
“I’m sure she had her reasons.”
“Yeah, stupid ones.” Widow didn’t respond, but I could tell by his smirk, he was amused by Corry’s rebuttal.
I couldn’t believe how sweet Widow was being to Corry.
It was like the two had known each other for a lifetime.
Widow’s smile quickly faded when Corry replied, “Mom could’ve done way better than him. ”
“Maybe, but then she wouldn’t have you. And something tells me she kinda likes having you around.”
“I don’t know. I can be kind of a jerk sometimes.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard, but don’t feel too bad about it.
All teenage boys are assholes. You’re still trying to figure things out,” Widow explained.
“You’re gonna win some and lose some. You’re gonna make mistakes.
It’s up to you to learn something from those mistakes.
That’s what becoming a man is all about. ”
Widow’s words couldn’t have been more perfect.
He’d been able to put things into perspective not only for Corry but for me as well, and it meant more to me than he could ever know.
Widow took the tire from the back of his truck and carried it over to my car.
He showed Corry where to place the jack, then showed him how to use it.
When they started to remove the lug nuts, I decided it was time for me to come out of hiding, and I went over to join them.
As soon as Corry spotted me, he stood and asked, “Did you know you can use soapy water to find a hole in a tire?”
“No. I’ve never heard of that.”
“It’s so cool. You just spray soapy water on the tire, and when you see bubbles, you know you’ve found the leak. Isn’t that awesome?”
“Yeah, that’s very awesome.”
“I know how to use the jack now and can take off and put on the lug nuts.” There was no missing the pride in my son’s eyes as he told me, “So, the next time you have a flat, I can fix it!”
“That’s great, but let’s hope there’s not a next time.”
I looked down at Widow and watched as he finished off the last lug nut, then lowered the jack. Once he had everything set, he picked up the spare and carried it over to my trunk. As he slipped it into place, he looked over to me and said, “Really need to get a better spare.”
“I’ll get one soon.”
“Um-hmm.”
“I will.” I smiled as I told him, “I really have been swamped this week, but I’ll get around to it.”
“Okay.” He slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out a card. His dark eyes locked on mine as he offered it to me. “Here’s my number in case you run into any trouble with it.”
I took the card in my hand and glanced down at it for a moment.
I knew Sydney would think it was a sign he wanted me to call him, but since he’d gotten to the house, he’d barely even spoken to me.
I figured he was just being nice, so I simply smiled and said, “Thanks, Widow. I really appreciate it.”
“No problem.” He closed the trunk, then turned to face Corry. “Thanks for giving me a hand, man.”
“Anytime..”
I wanted to rush over to Widow, hug him, and tell him how much I appreciated him not only fixing my tire but for also being so good to Corry. Sadly, I didn’t get the chance. Widow gave Corry a quick nod, then quickly turned and started towards his truck. “You two try and stay out of trouble.”
“We’ll do our best.”
Corry and I watched as he got in his truck and pulled out of the driveway. As he started down the road, Corry looked up at me and said, “Widow’s so cool.”
“You think so?”
“Yeah, I wish Dad was more like him.”
Without giving me a chance to respond, he turned and raced inside.
Too stunned to move, I simply stood there, thinking about the conversation I’d overheard between him and Widow.
It was brief, but it had clearly made quite an impression on Corry.
And if I was being completely honest, their brief exchange had made quite an impression on me as well.
I was still standing there going over everything in my head when Corry stuck his head out of the door and shouted, “Hey, Mom! Sean called and said practice was cut short. He needs you to come get him.”
“Okay. I’m coming.”
I rushed inside and grabbed my purse, then raced to the school to pick up Sean.
When we got back home, I rushed to get dinner ready, and as soon as we ate, I took a hot bath and called it a night.
As I lay there in the dark, I found myself thinking about Widow and the conversation he’d had with Corry.
It wasn’t until that moment that I realized how calm Widow had been.
He didn’t freak out or act horrified by what he’d heard.
Instead, he seemed completely understanding, which made me wonder if Widow had been through a similar experience with someone in his own life.
It was a question I figured I’d never get the answer to because I had no plans to ever see Widow again, but I drifted off to sleep with him still on my mind.
When I got home from work the following day, there was a tire propped up against my garage. I got out of my car to check it out and was surprised to find a note attached.
Your new spare. Replace with the one in your trunk.
Widow
I couldn’t believe it. Once again, this complete stranger was looking out for me.
I wasn’t sure how to react. While I found it endearing that he’d taken the time to do this for us, I couldn’t figure out why he’d done it.
Regardless, I had to thank him for going out of his way to get me the new spare.
I went inside and took his card out of my purse.
I studied it a moment, then sent him a text:
Me:
Thank you for the spare. You really didn’t have to do that.
Widow:
Didn’t figure you’d get around to it.
Me:
It might’ve taken me a bit.
Widow:
By bit, you mean a couple of weeks?
Me:
More than likely.
Widow:
Figured so.
Me:
Do you make it a habit to go around helping damsels in distress?
Widow:
Not if I can help it.
Me:
Well, now I feel special.
Widow:
You should.
I was smiling from ear to ear as I sat there messaging him back and forth. I couldn’t remember a time when I’d felt so giddy. Mainly because I didn’t do ‘giddy’. I was always too preoccupied with everything else to get the opportunity to feel anything anymore. I continued to smile as I typed:
Me:
Well, I won’t keep you. Just wanted to say thank you.
Widow:
No need. Nothing to it.
Me:
Have a good one!
Widow:
Right back at ya.
After reading through our messages about a hundred times, I finally put my phone away and started making dinner.
Over the next few days, it seemed like I was running a mile a minute.
I’d barely had a chance to catch my breath, and it had taken its toll.
Sydney hadn’t missed the fact that I’d had a long week and decided to surprise me with a little happy for the weekend.
She stood in the doorway of my office with a bottle of wine in her hand and a smile. “I got ya something.”
“I see that.”
“I thought you could make yourself a hot bath and have a few glasses of wine tonight.” She walked over and placed the bottle on my desk. “Maybe watch one of those chick-flicks you like so much.”
“You like them, too.”