By Dorothy
She called the woman "toxic" behind her back.
He preferred "poisonous" to describe the person who cried one moment like a lost child then attacked, snakelike, with verbal venom the next.
"Slut!" the woman spewed.
"Addict!" she'd say.
"Baby killer!"
He heard the spit through the phone, practically felt the bile and swallowed it whole before it dared reach his family.
Both used her first name - three syllables spoken in cold impatience - because neither could bear to call her mother.
She called the woman "toxic" behind her back.
He preferred "poisonous" to describe the person who cried one moment like a lost child then attacked, snakelike, with verbal venom the next.
"Slut!" the woman spewed.
"Addict!" she'd say.
"Baby killer!"
He heard the spit through the phone, practically felt the bile and swallowed it whole before it dared reach his family.
Both used her first name - three syllables spoken in cold impatience - because neither could bear to call her mother.
So true that family can be the most hurtful to us. Very powerful.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for linking up for Trifecta: Week Three. Your response is powerful. I very much like the idea of the man answering the phone and protecting his family from this wrath. I hope you'll join us back for week four.
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