Walk Out the Door by Pearl Wolfe

Author:Pearl Wolfe [Wolfe, Pearl]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

×

The Wyatt Trial was his father at his best. But not all of Matt’s memories of his dad were as positive. As young as three years old, Matt could recall overhearing the night-time fights when his father returned home from work. Matt was in his room, after his mom had finished reading his three nightly stories. He loved the routine of always being tucked in for the night so affectionately. He felt so safe in his mother’s warmth in contrast to his father’s unpredictability.

Matt could also recall the yelling and crying when he was in elementary school. At first, his mom would scream back when his father taunted her. She was often angry when Quinn came home late from work. He had no time for dinner with his family or a chance to play with his young son before bed. Joanne accused Quinn of lying about working late when he came home drunk and teetering. She wondered if he was out with that new lawyer at his firm, Alicia Anderson, who often called him at home.

Matt painfully watched his mom absorb constant shouting and threats. She seemed to take it in stride. This made no sense to Matt. And things got worse. They became so severe that his mother would curl up on the couch and go deep into a world he couldn’t reach. Increasingly there were bruises or cuts. He’d offer to get her ice or bandages and she wouldn’t answer. He had no idea what to do. It scared him. He sat down next to her, watching and waiting until she eventually came back to life.

Later, in middle school, Matt overheard his mother talking to Aunt Eleanor. She confided that Quinn was beginning to direct some of his anger towards Matt since he had become more outspoken at home and challenged his father’s violence. Quinn’s belittling and profanities became more and more frequent.

By the time Matt was 14, he felt his father’s physical wrath directly. Shoves, punches, slaps and kicks replaced name-calling and put-downs. Quinn disapproved of nearly everything Matt did. He hated how he dressed, his choice of friends, and his grades. While he told Matt that he was proud when he made the debate team, he was bitingly critical of Matt’s performance the few times he attended his debates. Matt lived in constant dread of a certain look from his Dad, a sudden rise from the dinner table or simply the sound of his father’s car coming up the driveway.

Matt couldn’t predict what might trigger his father’s physical or emotional abuse. It was crazy-making. Part way through high school, it all came to a head. Matt and his mom began to openly discuss the terrifying life they shared.

Early one evening when Joanne got home from work, she found Matt studying at the kitchen table, munching on chips and salsa with melted Wisconsin cheddar cheese, his favorite snack. “Hi, honey. Have a good day at school?”

“All good.” Matt’s brief synopsis of his day at school was normal.

“How was dinner at the Hewitts’ last night? You got home after I’d fallen asleep.

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.