Is He Dead? Read online

  Ruth dropped by later that afternoon.

  “Take a look at this!” she said, as she lifted Robert’s shirt.

  “Oh my God,” Ruth cried out. “I don’t understand how Melissa can let that man do this to these kids. I’m going to talk to her and Tom for that matter,” Ruth declared, as she walked out the front door.

  “Thanks, thanks for calling me, Maria,” Ruth called out as she left.

  Nine

  “It’s been six weeks since we’ve been to Momma’s house,” Melissa said. “Why can’t we just go over there for just a little while?”

  “Let them come over here if they want to see you so bad,” Tom replied.

  “OK, fine,” Melissa said as she picked up the phone to call her mother.

  A few hours later there was a “knock, knock” on the screen door.

  “Melissa, yoo-hoo,” Ruth called to her. Ruth and her husband Chuck then entered the front door. Ruth was Melissa’s mother. She was getting old, but she still had some spunk in her. Her thin legs were covered in varicose veins and she hadn’t shaved under her arms in years. At one time, she had reddish-brown hair, but now it was mostly grey and thinning.

  “Tom, I was over at Mary Walker’s house today. God Almighty, son! What are you doing to these children?” she yelled. “They both got welts and scars on their backs! Tom, you need to stop being so rough on these young’uns,” Ruth yelled.

  Tom screamed back, “You mind your own business! How I discipline these young’uns is my damn business, you stupid bitch!”

  Ruth’s voice grew stronger as she yelled back,

  “Don’t you cuss at me like that, Tom Jenkins, it just ain’t right,” Ruth grabbed her husband’s hand and said, “Let’s go Chuck. Let’s get outta here right now.”

  Melissa’s dad was still getting around pretty good but not like he used to. His head was balding and what hair he had left was gray. He had lost quite a bit of weight with his age, but for the most part he was healthy.

  “Ya’ll ain’t going nowhere. Sit down”, Tom ordered.

  Tom walked up behind Chuck and pushed him. Chuck lost his balance, slamming face first onto the floor. His fall was somewhat broken by an old boot being used to prop open the door. His nose hit first and as he collided with the heel of the boot, blood spurted everywhere.

  “You damn bastard, Tom Jenkins. He’s an old man. Why the hell do you have to do the shit you do. Why don’t you pick on somebody your own size?” Ruth screamed.

  “Awe shit, Ruth. I didn’t mean to hurt him.”

  “You’re just a damn coward!” Ruth screamed.

  Tom turned beet-red when she said that. He grabbed Ruth by her wrist and as she tried to pull away, Tom just squeezed harder.

  “Who in the hell are you calling a damn coward?” Tom yelled.

  Chuck reached up and grabbed Tom’s leg and Tom just slung him loose. Tom squeezed Ruth’s wrist harder and twisted. Ruth was straining to break free and Tom released his grip. Ruth fell over the coffee table. Every word out of her mouth at that point was a curse word.

  “You damn child abuser!” she screamed.

  Immediately the room became silent. Ruth braced herself on the coffee table trying to stand up. She had one hand on the floor and one on the table when Tom walked over to her and stomped on her arm. Everybody in the room could hear it when it happened. It sounded like a tree branch breaking. He broke her wrist, snapped it clean in two. The bone was now protruding through her skin. She yelped like an old coon dog.

  “You son of a bitch!”

  “Screw you, screw both of you. Get the hell out of my house,” Tom said as he opened a bottle of beer.

  At the hospital the doctor had to perform a three hour surgery on Ruth’s wrist to straighten it. Chuck’s lip required two stitches.

  “I just can’t figure him out,” Chuck said, as he helped Ruth into the car.

  “He’s dangerous, Ruth. He’s going to kill somebody, he is. You just watch and see, Ruth”.

  “He scares me, honey. He scares me real bad,” Chuck whispered.

  “I’m real worried for those two kids,” Ruth said.

  The next morning, Tom drove over to Mrs. Walker’s house. He got out of his truck and slammed the door. Mrs. Walker heard him drive in and walked out on her porch.

  “Morning,” she said as Tom walked up to her porch.

  Tom replied, “Fuck your good morning!”

  He opened her screen door and let himself in. “What in the world do you think you’re doing, Tom Jenkins?” Mrs. Walker shouted,

  Tom stood directly in front of her and said, “Let me tell you one thing. Keep your nose out of my business! You got something to say about how I raise those kids, you be woman enough to call me, you hear? Next time you run your mouth, lady, I’ll put those bruises on your ass, you understand me?” he yelled.

  Mrs. Walker stood right in front of Tom and said, “There’s too many police in this town for you to think you can get away with something like that, Tom Jenkins!”

  “Well, you just fucking try me, okay? Maybe I’ll put a hurting on that crippled ass husband of yours!”

  Mrs. Walker’s husband had severe epilepsy.

  “You better just leave my house right now before I call the police!” Mrs. Walker screamed.

  Tom stepped out of the porch and slammed the screen door. Just before closing his truck door, Mrs. Walker yelled,

  “Tom, you touch my husband and I’ll kill you myself!”

  Tom looked up at her, shook his head and closed his door.

  Ten

  Late one evening, Tom settled down in his brown faded Lazy Boy recliner. He looked over at Melissa.

  “Put Amanda and Robert to bed,” he said.

  Melissa grabbed Robert by his little hand and said, “Come on, little one. It’s time to hit the sack.”

  Wearing his Incredible Hulk pajamas, he pulled away but quickly lost in the tug of war with his mom.

  “You won’t like me when I’m mad,” he said, as he flexed his little muscles acting like the Incredible Hulk. Amanda was sitting on the living room floor brushing the hair on one of her Barbie dolls. She was wearing a light pink ankle-length nightgown with little Barbie Doll prints all over it. Amanda stood up and walked to the bathroom. She took out her toothbrush from the medicine cabinet and brushed and flossed her teeth.

  Amanda and Robert shared the same bed. Robert jumped onto the bed and started bouncing. Amanda grabbed him by the arm and pulled him down onto his knees.

  “Are you crazy? Don’t do that Robert, you’ll get a beating,” she said.

  “I’m the Incredible Hulk, nobody can hurt me,” giggled Robert.

  Amanda put her finger to his lips and said, “Shh ……”

  They both got onto their knees next to the bed as Amanda said their prayers. Minutes later they were both sound asleep.

  The trailer they lived in was kind of small but it served its purpose. Everyone had a place to sleep and eat. The walls were decorated with black velvet paintings. Tom’s favorite painting was a nude female on black velvet. He had an Elvis painting behind the sofa. Melissa had the walls cluttered with shelves and all sorts of knick-knacks. The walls were light-colored wood paneling, the norm for trailers and mobile homes at that time.

  Melissa was reading the National Enquirer on the sofa and drinking a 16-oz Royal Crown Cola, not daring to say a word about what just happened to her mother. She was terrified of Tom and didn’t want to receive the same treatment. She lay there reading until she dozed off.

  Tom looked over at her and saw she was sleeping.

  “Hey, you asleep?” he asked.

  She heard him but decided not to answer. Tom walked into the bathroom dropping his pine sap stained clothing on the floor. Lifting up his right arm he pulled away a large sticky glob of pine tar from his skin.

  “Damn, that hurt,” he muttered.

  He turned on the shower making it as hot as he could stand it and stepped into the bath tub. Shortly
after closing the shower curtain he heard a knock at the door. It was Amanda,

  “I need to pee pee,” she said.

  “Come on in, Amanda. I got the curtain pulled-to,” he said quietly.

  As soon as Amanda came in she lifted up her nightgown and pulled down her panties to her ankles. Tom drew back the curtain and looked on as she sat on the toilet. He could feel himself getting excited and took a bar of soap and lathered his body. He began stroking himself as he looked on. Amanda reached for the toilet paper and Tom spread the curtain a little more so he could see her.

  Amanda stood up and pulled up her nightgown to her neck holding it to her chest with her chin. She removed a wad of toilet paper from the roll and cleaned herself. When she finished, she tossed the paper into a trash can on her way out. She pulled up her panties and quietly shut the door, leaving Tom to his shower. Tom stepped out on to the floor and grabbed a towel to dry his hands. His reached down into the trash and removed the tissue from the container. He placed it under his nostrils and took a slow, deep breath to inhale the aroma from Amanda’s used toilet paper. He was stroking himself as he inhaled the paper. In only seconds he climaxed, just thinking about having sex with his 8-year-old stepdaughter. He stepped back into the shower and finished washing.

  Amanda had seen him watching her but didn’t give much thought. After his shower he wrapped a towel around his waist, walked into the living room and woke up Melissa.

  “Let’s go to bed, I’m tired.” He said

  Eleven

  Melissa was fixing a pot of grits, bacon and eggs for breakfast. The house was full of the delicious odor of cooked bacon. Amanda and Robert ran into the kitchen and sat down at the table. Melissa asked,

  “How ya’ll sleep last night? “

  “Oh, perty good,” replied Robert.

  Amanda said she was hungry so Melissa fixed both their plates and poured them a glass of cold milk.

  Tom walked into the kitchen dressed for work. His clothes smelled like pine trees and his old boots, well, that was a different story. Melissa asked Tom what he wanted for breakfast.

  “Hell, I don’t know. Just fix me up something.”

  Tom sat down and Melissa put grits and two eggs cooked over-easy on his plate.

  “You know, I really have grown to love these two kids. I don’t think it’s right that I’m raising them for that worthless piece-of-shit father of theirs who ain’t doing nutt’n’.”

  “I love them you know,” Tom said, as he slurped down some hot, black coffee.

  A sense of peace ran down Melissa’s spine. She thought that had to be the nicest thing she had ever heard him say. Tom used his fork to cut into an egg bursting the yolk.

  “Damn it, Melissa how many times do I have to tell you I don’t like my eggs running all over my God damned plate? You want to give me salmonella?” Tom yelled as he slung the plate into the wall. Eggs and grits splattered all over the floor.

  The egg yokes slowly crept down the wall. He pushed the table as he stood up, knocking Robert from his chair. Robert screamed, “Amanda!”

  Amanda jumped up from the table and ran to her bedroom. Melissa was on the floor helping Robert up when she muttered,

  “Don’t ever hurt my young’uns again, Tom Jenkins”.

  “What did you just say?” Tom yelled.

  He grabbed Melissa by the hair and lifted her to her feet. He took his free hand and slapped her in the face. As he struck her, her lip exploded, splattering blood on his shirt. Her teeth looked like she had coated them with red lipstick. Melissa swung a fist at Tom but missed. He grabbed her around the neck and began choking her. As she gasped for air, her face and lips turned blue. She lost consciousness and slipped out of Tom’s hands on to the floor. Tom walked out, slamming the door behind him. Both Amanda and Robert huddled over their mom, crying as she lay on the floor grasping for breath and weeping hysterically.

  Twelve

  It was Friday afternoon and both kids were excited that it was Friday and the bus was late dropping Robert and Amanda off. It was Labor Day weekend and they had no school for two days. They got off the bus and walked over to a gas station in front of the trailer park. Amanda had two dollars and bought two RC Colas and two Moon Pies. They ate and drank as they walked home.

  “Why is Mom’s car here?” Robert asked.

  “I don’t know, maybe she’s home early today,” Amanda replied.

  The trailer door was unlocked. Amanda and Robert walked in and both yelled out, “Mom!” at the same time.

  Robert walked into the kitchen and saw a note on the dining room table.

  The note read,

  Dear Robert and Amanda,

  Me and Dad have gone to the mountains for the night. I will call you and give the phone number when we get there. Dad made sandwiches and put them in the refrigerator. Stay in the house, we will be back tomorrow afternoon

  Mom and Dad.

  P.S. Amanda, you are in charge

  “Oh shit!” Amanda said as she read the letter. “They’re not home and they ain’t coming home tonight. We are by ourselves.”

  Amanda opened the refrigerator looking for the food.

  “There ain’t no sandwiches in here!” she yelled.

  She opened the pantry and saw there was no bread or peanut butter.

  “Damn, we ain’t got no bread and no peanut butter either!” Amanda said.

  “I think we got to cook something.”

  She opened the freezer and had a choice of frozen chicken breast or hamburger meat. Amanda asked Robert which he preferred. Robert said hamburgers.

  “We ain’t got no bread or buns,” Amanda told him.

  Robert told her that he had some money in his piggy bank and that their Mom had money in her night table drawer. The two of them searched through the house and managed to locate two dollars and thirty six cents.

  “Okay, you go to the store and I will thaw out the hamburger mea,” Amanda said.

  Amanda took out 5 lbs of hamburger meat and put it in the sink. She turned on the water and put the meat underneath it. Robert was yelling for her to go with him. Amanda yelled back,

  “All right!”

  The two of them left the trailer and took off running towards the store.

  Amanda left the water running on the hamburger meat, but she didn’t remove the stopper from the drain. The sink overflowed and the water ran down the cabinet on to the floor. As the kitchen floor flooded, the water began seeping first onto the living room carpet, and then underneath the front door on to the metal stairs leading up to the trailer.

  Amanda and Robert arrived at the store and realized the buns only cost 79¢. They checked out and decided to play pinball with the remaining change.

  “We don’t need to hurry. It’s going to take a while for the hamburger to thaw,” Amanda said.

  Amanda handed Robert three quarters and took three for herself. They played pinball for twenty or thirty minutes and then left the store.

  “It’s not bad being alone,” Robert stated.

  They walked to the trailer playing catch with the hamburger buns.

  It was dark when they arrived at the trailer. “What’s that noise?” Amanda asked as they approached the front door.

  “Oh shit! Oh my God!” Amanda screamed.

  Robert yelled, “What the?”

  They saw the water pouring out from under the front door. Robert opened the door and water gushed out on to his shoes. Amanda ran in and turned the water off.

  “We’re dead, we’re fucking dead!” Amanda screamed.

  The kitchen floor was covered with water and a paper bag filled with garbage had broken apart and garbage was strewn all over the kitchen floor.

  Robert ran towards the back of the house to get towels from the bathroom and quickly discovered the carpet was soaking wet.

  “Amanda, the carpet is soaked too. It’s real wet. What are we going to do?” he asked.

  Amanda told Robert to get the mop and all the towels. “We ha
ve to get this cleaned up before Mom and Tom get home tomorrow!” she said.

  They worked on cleaning up the water and garbage until 11:00 p.m. and managed to dry the kitchen floor, but weren’t so lucky with the carpet.

  “We are still dead, you know! As soon as Dad walks on the carpet he will know!” Amanda screamed.

  “Shit, let’s eat,” said Robert.

  Amanda took the hamburger meat and made four patties. She threw the rest in the garbage. Robert put a large frying pan on the gas stove and turned it on.

  “You want to use butter or lard?” Robert asked Amanda. “Use butter,” Amanda replied.

  At 12:00 a.m. they sat at the kitchen table and filled their bellies with hamburgers.

  “That was just about the best hamburger I ever had,” Robert told Amanda.

  “It was good, wasn’t it?” Amanda replied.

  They washed up the frying pan and dishes and went into the living room to watch television. They put towels on the floor under their feet and fell asleep watching a re-run of Kung Fu.

  They woke up at 11:00 a.m. when Melissa walked in the front door. Melissa told them good morning and commented on how clean the kitchen was.

  “Mom you didn’t leave us any sandwiches - we had to cook,” Amanda said.

  Tom came in and walked through the living room and immediately noticed the wet carpet.

  “What the hell is this?” he asked. Amanda told him that the sink had overflowed and the water went everywhere.

  He turned and said, “Melissa, I told you they would screw it up. You can’t trust these two idiots with anything.”

  Melissa looked at Tom and said, “Why didn’t you fix their sandwiches yesterday?”

  Tom laughed and said, “There wasn’t enough bread to make sandwiches for us and them too.”

  Melissa yelled very loudly at him, “How could you do that?”

  Tom didn’t say a word. He walked back in the bedroom and changed clothes. When he came back into the living room he was wearing socks and lost his temper when his feet got wet.

  “You know, neither one of you are going to amount to a damn thing when you grow up. You’re too damn stupid,” he said in an irritated voice.