Tyrone's Betrayal by Gloria Velásquez

Author:Gloria Velásquez
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Arte Público Press
Published: 2006-03-13T05:00:00+00:00

Momma is talking on the telephone when I get home. “He just walked in,” she says, handing me the receiver. “Son, it’s your dad. He wants to talk with you.”

Uncontrollable anger surges through my body, and I cuss under my breath. Glaring fiercely at Momma, I hurry past her to the stairway. Upstairs in my room, I slam the door shut and go straight to my bed, turning the stereo on as loudly as possible in order to drown out my thoughts. I’m still fuming at the thought of hearing Dad’s hypocritical voice, when there are several taps on the door and Momma slowly walks inside.

“Your dad wants to come home.”

Noticing the softness in Momma’s voice, I ask, “You told him no, didn’t you?”

Momma takes a deep breath and lowers her eyes, and I can’t help but grunt in displeasure.

Momma is quickly at my side, sinking her tired body onto the edge of the bed. Now there are tears in her eyes. “Your dad, he’s a good man.”

“Then why’d he leave us like that?”

Momma is speechless for a few moments. She wipes away a stray tear streaming down her face.

“Momma, please don’t cry,” I attempt to console her, touching her stooped shoulder. “I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

Momma’s teary eyes search me out. “It’s not your fault. But I want you to listen carefully to what I’m about to say. I want to tell you about your dad, how hard it was for him growing up without a father.”

“Does that give him the right to leave?” I cry accusingly.

Shaking her head, Momma says, “You know your dad grew up in South Central. There were six of them. His father left when he was only four, so his Momma was the one that had to keep the family together. They were so poor. Sometimes they went without eating. Your dad said his momma wouldn’t let them eat until she gave them a laxative because they hadn’t eaten for so long, she was afraid they’d be constipated. Your dad grew up on the streets. It’s by the grace of God that he survived.”

“So what? You grew up poor, too, but you never left us,” I answer adamantly.

Momma pauses, taking a long deep breath before she continues. “I’m not trying to make excuses for your dad, but there’s something that happens with poverty and racism. It eats away at a Black man’s soul, at his pride. Sometimes it’s easier for men to leave because they feel they don’t have nothing tying them down. They follow the same pattern their father followed. Your dad told me he never heard anyone in his family talk about their fathers. He never even knew where his father was or why he left.”

“So that excuses him? Because his father did it, he can do it, too?”

“No, of course not, and that’s why your dad wants to come home. He told me he’s been going to AA and that he left because he knew he needed to get straight.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.