“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.”