ABUSE

“'Mediocrity' doesn't mean average intelligence, it means an average intelligence that resents and envies its betters”

 - Ayn Rand

At the end of Russell's Saturday night shift he was thinking about the last two nights.

Another fucking Saturday night on the road in Los Alamos.  What a fucking day and another to come.  Friday night Russell caught some 8 year old breaking tree limbs off at Urban Park.  He sounded his sirens , got out of the squad car, and ran after the escaping kids catching them by the back of their scrawny necks.  He overheard the conehead kids say, "The pig is gaining on us."  He was so pissed he scooped those pencil dick nerds up by their necks and shook them.  

"You boys are in some trouble now.  Defacing public property.  Where do you live?"

"You're the one in big trouble, pig.  My dad is going to roast your ass."  said the taller fatter kid.

"We'll see kid.  If I have to ask you again, I'm taking you to detention and calling your parents from there."

The little skinny kid says shaking, "I live at 36 Loma Del Escolar on Baranca Mesa.  Billy lives just a couple houses down from me."

When I brought those kids to their houses the parents were pissed at me.  Billy's father turned out to be a judge.   When he opened the door and saw me standing there with his son, he looked straight at my badge and said, "Officer, what is this about.  I'll need your name and your duty officer.  My name is Judge Roy Johnston."

 I told him I caught his son breaking limbs off a tree at Urban park.  He looked at me like I was some kind of idiot and said, "Isn't it possible it appeared that way and that the limbs had merely broken under the boys weight."

I said, "No sir, there were multiple limbs lying on the ground."

"Son, I don't appreciate you frightening my child like this.  Your superiors will be speaking with you in the morning.  Good day."  and he closed the door on me.

Sure enough, when I got back from shift I was asked to stay until the captain arrived.  He called me in his office and let me have it.  "Don't I have any more brains than an imbecile?  You had better shape up or you won't last another month on this force."  He screamed at me for a half hour and then gave me a double shift on Saturday night and Sunday day.

Fucking cone heads.  Now it's 5:00 pm on a Sunday afternoon and my team lost the first softball game in a single elimination tournament because I wasn't there.  Russell pulled into his parking spot outside their apartment on 44th street.  He could see Ruth looking out the kitchen window while he pulled up.  God damn it! there was going to be another argument.  He needed a drink and had already phoned Ralph and told him he was coming over to the Golf Club Bar.  He wouldn't have stopped at all if he had a change clothes with him.  

Ruth was so excited.  Tom and Margaret had invited them to dinner.   She walked over to door excited to greet Russell at the door and tell him the news.  Russell came through the door and was pissed when he saw the look of excitement on her face.  He hated to see her happy these days.  It was all her fault that they lived in Los Alamos anyway.  "What the fuck are you so happy about?"

Ruth didn't let him phase her and said in excitement, "Tom and Margaret invited us to dinner."

"There's no fucking way.  Did you forget about my missing the softball tournament today?  What do you think those guys are doing?  They are drinking at the club celebrating their fucking loss because I couldn't be there."

"Oh, please Russell.  I've been looking forward to this all day.  We never go out anymore.  You can go drinking right after dinner."

"Shut the fuck up."  Russell went upstairs and changed into jeans, a white t shirt, a cowboy belt, and a cowboy hat.  

Ruth stood at the door crying, hoping there might be a way to get him to go to dinner with her.  She said, "Please, Russell."

"Get the fuck away from the door!"  He pushed both his arms out just like he would if stopping a rusher from coming through the offensive line.  Ruth flew into the door hitting her head hard and slumped into a heap on the floor.  Russell pushed her out of the way with his foot, opened the door and left her lying there, crying on the floor.

Jack, rarely home, was in his room by his mother's request getting ready to go to dinner.  When he heard his dad get home and how he was talking to his mom he had shut the door to his room.  When his dad had stomped down the stairs he had slipped out to watch him leave.  He watched as his dad slammed his mother against the door, tears streaming from his eyes unable to speak.  He ran down the stairs and held his mother's head in his lap as she cried.   Her head was bleeding.    She kept saying, "I'm sorry Jack."

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Copyright © 1993 - 2010 Philip Regenie, All Rights Reserved