Is He Dead? Read online

  Melissa sat down at the kitchen table and Tom walked up behind her and kicked the dining room chair out from under her. Melissa fell on to the floor and cried out,

  “What the hell was that for?” Tom looked down at her on the floor and said, “Don’t you ever raise your voice at me in front of these young’uns! Now, you call somebody to come dry this damn floor up,” Tom said as he walked back across the carpet.

  Thirteen

  It was December, 1976. It was going to be the family’s third Christmas since Tom and Melissa were married. Amanda and Robert were both very excited. Amanda had recently celebrated her 10th birthday and Robert’s 8th birthday was fast approaching. Both were sitting on the floor in the living room looking through the Sears catalog. Amanda was using a green felt tip pen to mark all the toys they wanted for Christmas. First on her list was Miss Piggy, second was Barbie with extra-long blonde hair with matching ear rings and necklace. She put two circles around the Bionic woman action figure. When Robert saw a toy he liked, he would point to it and Amanda would circle his choices for him. What he really wanted wasn’t in the catalog. Robert wanted a mini bike.

  “All I want is a mini bike, nothing else,” Robert said to his sister.

  “I want the one down at the hardware store,” he said, “The red one.”

  Tom walked into the living room,

  “Mom and me are going to the club tonight,” he said.

  Robert responded, “I want to go! I want to go!”

  Tom told him he had to stay home with his sister. Robert started crying and demanded to go. Tom yelled over Robert’s crying,

  “Shut up Robert, you’re not going!”

  Melissa came out of the bathroom wearing a white knee-length dress and high heels. She was wearing coffee-colored lipstick with just a touch of blush on her cheeks.

  “How do I look?” she asked, as she twirled around in a big circle.

  “You look good enough to eat, baby,” Tom replied. “Let’s go, lock the door behind us Amanda, and don’t stay up past 10 o’clock, you hear?”

  Tom and Melissa stayed at the club until it closed and both sat and drank beyond their limits.

  “Okay, folks we’re closed. I am sorry but we gotta lock up,” the bartender shouted.

  Tom and Melissa walked outside, both of them stumbling.

  “You want me to drive, Tom?” Melissa blurted out.

  “I’ll drive, ” Tom mumbled.

  He pulled on the door and as it opened he fell back on to the ground.

  “Damn, I’m drunk,” he said, laughing.

  They had about four miles to drive home. The only thing between the bar and their trailer was a service station. Tom drove past the service station going a little over eighty miles an hour.

  “Shit, we’re out of gas,” Tom yelled.

  He recklessly turned the steering wheel without slowing down the car. The tires screamed and smoke billowed from the wheel wells as Melissa slammed up against the passenger door and window. “Damn it, Tom! What the hell you doing? You trying to kill me or something?” she hollered.

  “We’re out of gas,” he replied.

  “The Delta station is closed,” Melissa said, as they pulled up to the gas pumps.

  Tom honked his horn over and over. Melissa was begging him to stop.

  “Come on Tom, let’s go. We can get gas tomorrow honey,” she pleaded.

  Tom rolled down his window, “I know you’re in there Paul, get out here. I need some damn gasoline!” he yelled.

  Paul was the owner of the gas station. The lights came on and a voice came back. “I’m closed Tom! Come back tomorrow!”

  Tom’s face turned red as beet, as it usually did when he was angry. He took an old chrome-plated 38-caliber revolver from underneath the seat. Melissa screamed, “No, Tom, don’t do this. Tom, please.”

  “You’re closed, huh? I’ll show you closed!” Tom said as he stepped out of the car, falling back on the door still feeling the effects of his margaritas. He pointed the gun at the front door of the station and yelled, “You got one minute to turn on this damn pump!” Tom was holding the gun with the barrel facing the ground. He tripped and fell and as his right hand hit the ground the gun went off. It sounded like a cannon going off. Melissa screamed out for him to stop. Tom stood up and pointed the gun at the front window of the station and ripped off five more rounds into the store. Glass windows were shattering with every explosion from the gun’s barrel.

  Paul screamed out, “Are you crazy, I’m calling the cops Tom! Damn it, I got kids in here!” he yelled.

  “Turn on the damn gas pumps, Paul,” Tom replied.

  “All right, all right!” Paul replied angrily. “What pump you want on?”

  “Ethel,” Tom replied.

  Fourteen

  It was just turning day break and there was a loud banging on the front door of the trailer.

  “What the hell!” Tom yelled. “Who is it?” Tom yelled again. There was still no answer but the banging on the door continued.

  “Damn it!” Tom yelled as he put on his pants. As he walked to the door he screamed, “Somebody is getting an ass whooping right now!”

  When he opened the door three police officers were standing there. Tom tried to slam the door on them, but one of officers grabbed his arm and pulled him outside. Tom resisted by swinging his fist at the officers and cursing them. He hit one of the policemen in the face. A third policeman tackled him knocking him to the ground. They pinned him facedown in the dirt and managed to handcuff him. The officers had to drag Tom to the patrol car. One officer opened the door and the other two attempted to put him in the back seat. Tom refused to get in. He put his legs out and began thrusting his knees and feet.

  Melissa ran outside clad only in her house coat screaming and crying. She was so upset that mucus was running from her nose and mixing with the tears on her face.

  “That’s police abuse!” she screamed. “They beat my husband!” Melissa cried. She grabbed an officer, attempting to free his grip on Tom. The officer pushed her back and she launched a barrage of profanities and vulgar comments at him.

  “Ma’am, if you don’t stand back, you’re going to jail too!” The officer screamed. Tom kicked one of the officers in the stomach as they tried to place him into the back seat. The policeman removed his night stick and slugged Tom on the back of the head. Tom dropped and actually went limp long enough for them to hog tie him. The senior officer read Tom his rights and then informed him that he was being arrested for discharging a firearm into the Delta gas station.

  “You’re crazy!” Tom said, as he continued cursing and screaming obscenities at the officers. Tom was booked into the county jail on a felony charge. Later on that afternoon he was released on bail.

  Nobody knew exactly why, but the charges against Tom were suddenly dropped. It’s not certain, but it is rumored that Tom Jenkins made a visit to Paul at the gas station and somehow convinced him to change his mind about prosecution.

  After hearing the charges were dropped, Tom was talking to Melissa in their bedroom, “There ain’t no cop or anybody else going to keep me in jail. I got too much power in this county!” Amanda and Robert were listening through the door and tiptoed away to their bedroom.

  “I told you,” Robert said to Amanda.

  “We can’t never tell nobody.”

  “You’re right, Robert,” Amanda whispered.

  “We can’t never trust the police or anybody else,” she said.

  Fifteen

  After partying one Friday evening, Tom and Melissa came home drunk. Melissa opened the door to the trailer, and then Tom slammed it shut . The sudden noise woke up Amanda. Tom pulled Melissa close to him and said,

  “Let’s screw. Right here right now”, he said. Tom unbuttoned Melissa’s dress and dropped it on to the floor. He unhooked her bra and threw it on to the sofa. His hands ran down her back until he reached her panties. He pulled down and lowered her panties to her knees and stopped. He pulled
off his own shirt and stepped out of his pants. He was ready for action. Melissa got on to her knees and began performing oral sex. Tom pushed her on to the floor and mounted her. Melissa yelped out loud and they laughed it off. Tom stopped and poured them both a glass of Jack Daniels. In minutes, they were back on the floor making love like there was no tomorrow. Unbeknownst to either of them, Amanda had been standing in the hallway watching them. Tom caught a glimpse of her standing in the shadow. He stopped and yelled, “Damn it. Come here Amanda. You wanna watch, get the fuck over here!” Amanda hesitated, but Tom demanded she come into the living room. Amanda walked in and Tom made her sit next to her mother on the floor.

  “Now, you just sit there,” he said.

  “This ain’t right Tom,” Melissa said.

  “She needs to learn not to spy on people,” Tom told Melissa. He spread Melissa’s legs and re-mounted her.

  “Now you watch this,” he said to Amanda as he began thrusting himself into Melissa. Tom couldn’t take his eyes off of Amanda. Melissa began moaning. In some insane way she was beginning to enjoy this as Amanda looked on. “Come here!” Tom said to Amanda.

  “Take off your nightgown and panties,” he said.

  “No!” Amanda replied, but Tom demanded she comply. She slowly removed her nightgown and exposed her tiny breast.

  “Lay on your back, baby,” Tom whispered. Amanda lay down on her back. Her entire body was shaking almost to the point of convulsions. Tom straddled her and lifted her up at the waist and removed her Blonde Barbie Doll panties. Tom pried open Amanda’s legs and said, “Relax Amanda. Relax your legs. This ain’t going to hurt or nothing.”

  “That hurts!” Amanda yelled.

  Melissa, still intoxicated, finished up her Jack Daniels and muttered with a slight drunken slur, “Just relax honey, he isn’t going to hurt ya.”

  Tom looked up and said, “It’s too dry!”

  He grabbed Melissa by her hair and told her to perform oral sex on Amanda. Tom watched from inches away. Melissa did just as she was told. She performed oral sex on her own daughter. Tom pushed Melissa off of Amanda. He positioned his body so he was lying on top of Amanda, but not putting any weight on her. Melissa guided Tom into Amanda. Amanda yelled out in pain.

  “Relax honey. Just relax your muscles,” Melissa whispered.

  Tom stopped after Melissa complained that Amanda was bleeding.

  He told Amanda to go back to bed. Amanda was embarrassed, ashamed, and in pain but she was happy he reacted in the fashion that he did, instead of hitting or beating her for spying on them.

  Sixteen

  Christmas came and went and Robert was upset that Santa Claus forgot about his mini bike, but the things that Santa did bring were okay. What he liked the most was his Crossman single shot BB gun. It was early spring and Robert was hunting in the woods next to his house. He was stalking a squirrel who was now perched between two large limbs on an old pecan tree. The squirrel was eating on a walnut, poised for a perfect shot. Robert rested his elbow on a tree stump and took careful aim.

  “Okay, I need to breathe normally and squeeze the trigger,” Robert thought to himself. The BB was released with a gush of compressed air and the squirrel fell from the limb. He was kicking and convulsing when Robert walked up to him. Robert raised the BB gun above his head and with the butt of his rifle, he delivered a skull crushing blow to the squirrel’s head. The squirrel’s head was flattened into the ground. Robert picked it up by the tail and walked away feeling very proud of his first kill.

  “Look what I got me!” Robert said as he walked into the house.

  “One shot and he was dead,” Robert shouted.

  “What are you going to do with it?” Amanda asked him.

  “Cook it,” Robert replied laughing. “But first I have to skin it.”

  In the back yard behind the trailer, Robert took out his pocket knife and made a crude cut along the squirrel’s belly.

  “Oh my God!”

  Robert’s stomach churned as the squirrel’s little heart became exposed. It was still pumping. Robert could feel his stomach twisting inside and out, so he leaned over an old stainless steel sink and let it go. He threw up until he had nothing left in his stomach. He couldn’t even look at the squirrel again. He went inside and found a used shopping bag underneath the kitchen sink. As he crept back up on the squirrel he closed his eyes and covered him up with the brown paper sack.

  “I am sorry little squirrel for killing you,” he said, as his eyes began to swell.

  “I need a box,” he thought. He scooped the squirrel up with the paper sack and lifted it up.

  “Amanda, I need a box!” he yelled as he walked into their trailer home. Amanda went into her mom’s closet and emptied a shoe box.

  “Put him in here,” she said.

  “You do it,” Robert replied.

  Standing over a small hole that Robert and Amanda had just dug, Robert placed the box into the ground. Amanda shoveled dirt on top.

  “Dear God, please take care of this squirrel and tell him when he gets to heaven that I am very sorry for shooting him with my BB gun,”

  Robert prayed.

  “I won’t ever do it again, I promise,” he concluded. “Amen.”

  Seventeen

  Late one evening Amanda and Robert were running up and down the hallway sliding on their socks.

  “Watch me!” Robert said as he ran down the hallway. He slid into the coffee table knocking over a framed photograph of his mother. Tom was sitting in the living room and yelled, “That’s enough, don’t play in the house!”

  Robert walked slowly back to the end of the hallway and took off running towards the living room for one last slide. This time he tripped over a torn piece of linoleum and fell right into a knick knack table. Several shot glasses Melissa had collected fell to the floor and broke.

  “Damn it!” Tom yelled out. Robert ran into his bedroom and slid underneath the bed. Tom followed him into the bedroom, reached under the bed and pulled Robert out by his arm.

  “You stupid little shit!” Tom yelled as he dragged him back into the living room.

  “Look what you did now, Robert. I told you to stop it, didn’t I?”

  “Go get the broom!” Robert was already crying hysterically.

  “Shut up!” Tom yelled. Robert just wailed louder. His mom was at work and he feared the worst.

  “I tell you what. Put the broom up, you little sissy. Use your hands,” he said. Robert slowly began to pick up all the large broken pieces, leaving small slivers of glass on the floor.

  “I can’t get these without a broom,” Robert whimpered. “Use your hand!” Tom said.

  “I can’t!” Robert screamed out. Tom grabbed Robert’s hands and used them as if they were broom. Robert screamed in pain as a sliver of glass entered into his palm.

  “Does that hurt?” Tom yelled.

  “If you did what you're told, this wouldn’t happen!” Tom yelled. Tom pushed his hand again on the floor without removing the sliver. Blood was oozing from the wound. Robert screamed out as another piece of glass cut into his thumb. Tom grabbed Robert by his face and said, “Next time I tell you something, you’d better do it!” Amanda ran into the closet and hid, covering herself up with dirty clothes. Every time Robert screamed she shuddered, trying to muffle the sounds of her brother’s pain as she covered her ears with a pillow.

  “What did you learn, Robert? Now, go wash your damn hands,” Tom said. Robert ran into the bathroom and turned on the hot water. He pulled a piece of glass out of his thumb and cried out in pain.

  Melissa came in from work right at 5:30 p.m. Robert was still in the bathroom crying, and Amanda was sleeping under the dirty clothes.

  “What happened to you?” Melissa asked Robert.

  “Nothing, Mom, I just got a piece of glass in my hand,” he said. Melissa took his hand and put it under the light.

  “There is still a piece in there,” she said. Melissa told Robert to sit still. She took a s
ewing needle from her sewing kit and poured alcohol on it. She took Robert’s hand and used the needle to dig out the piece of broken glass. She removed the glass and poured some alcohol on the tiny wound.

  Melissa asked, “How did you do this?” Robert knew if he told his mother and she brought it up to Tom that Tom would just beat his mother, so he replied, “Mom, I accidentally broke one of your shot glasses and I got that glass splinter in my hand trying to clean it up.

  Eighteen

  Amanda was twelve years old and in sixth grade. She was attending Elementary School. She had just received her report card and she was scared to death to go home.

  “Robert, I can’t show Tom this report card, what do you think I should do?”

  “I don’t know; maybe change the F to a D or something.”

  ” I can’t do that, Tom is too smart. Then he would really beat me,” Amanda said.

  When Amanda and Robert arrived home Melissa was already there.

  “Mom, I got a problem, a serious problem,” said Amanda

  “What’s that, honey? What’s wrong with you?” Melissa asked.

  “Mom, I got an F in spelling on my report card. What am I going to do? Dad will kill me!”

  “Tom’s not going to kill you, honey,” said Melissa. “He might whip you good, but you’ll live.”

  “Robert, I think I am going to run away and get as far away from here as I can,” said Amanda.

  “Where are you thinking of going?”

  “I don’t know but it’s not right how he beats me and you. It’s just not right.”

  Tom came home late that night after having an argument with Gene Cawthorn downtown. Tom opened the trailer door and he didn’t say anything to anyone. He was wearing a small ball-type cap that he used to cover his hair from pine tar. He had tar and sap all over his left arm. Melissa hollered, “Hey, honey, I’m in the bathroom.” She was sitting on the toilet when Tom barged into the bathroom.