Chapter 6

October 30, 1983

Community Center Iron Man tournament.

I’d taken the girls home and talked to their fathers. Both agreed to come with their daughters to keep them safe. Then I went and met Pap-pap at the Community Center, and we signed the waiver for me to fight. The owner of the Gym had tried to talk us both out of it. “Those four will make mincemeat out of you, kid. Are you sure about this?”

“I appreciate your concern, but I can’t run from this. I’ve beaten a couple of them before. I’ll take my chances in the ring with them. Better than having to watch my back constantly.”

The guy just shook his head, and I gave him the name of the two men in my corner and then I asked to buy sixteen tickets for my friends and family. Once I had those in hand, I asked Pap-Pap to come with me to give tickets to mom and my sisters. I hoped that with him there, Robert would be reasonable. Of course, that was too much to ask for, wasn’t it?

We stopped at the house and Robert met us outside. “Get off my property, boy. You aren’t welcome here.”

I laughed. “This isn’t your property, old man; this is mom’s property and as the mortgage holder I would think you’d try not to piss me off.”

Robert frowned. “What the hell are you talking about? You can’t hold the mortgage on this house, being a minor.

“You’re right, I personally can’t hold the mortgage, but the company I’m CEO of can. As my COO and CFO are both of age and my court appointed legal guardian can sign papers on my behalf. If you don’t know who mom pays the mortgage payment to, maybe you should stop sucking up to the mayor and his raping son and pay attention to things here at home. Or you could just wait. I’m sure they’ll arrest you again soon, and then it won’t matter.

He came barreling at me to pound me like he used to, but this time I became the wind and moved. When he sailed past me, I became the rock and shoved, sending him to the ground. “I warned you last time that you wouldn’t touch me again. Now let’s go talk to mom and the girls and then I’ll get out of your hair.”

I didn’t wait for him to pick himself up or to retaliate. I just went into the house. Mary-Jane and May came running and mom’s eyes got huge. I walked up and hugged my sisters and then Mom and whispered in her ear. “As long as he’s living here, you have to pay your mortgage. We discussed this. If he isn’t here, I’ll pay for it, but he threw me out and disowned me. I’m not paying for him to live here. I thought you’d kicked him out when you found out what he was trying to do to those girls, the five raped and what he himself had done to May and Mary-Janes friends.”

Then I stepped back and handed MJ and May their tickets and told them that Tabby, Patty would be there with their fathers and Rhylls with her uncle to help watch over them, plus my boss on the paper. I told mom I had a ticket for her too and even turned as Robert came in and spoke. “I have one for you, too. If you want to come and watch me and four football heroes fight in the ring tonight.”

I held out the ticket to him, and he smiled in a not nice way as he took it. “Oh, I wouldn’t miss it. Seeing those four put you in your place sounds like fun.”

I shrugged. “That’s not a given, but I ask you to ensure the women sitting with you are safe from the drunk rednecks who will be there.”

He waved away my concern, and I knew he wouldn’t be any help. “Well, I have other tickets to give out, so we’ll be going.”

I looked at Mom, who hadn’t said and word, and then turned and walked out. Since she’d hit me for telling her the truth about him, our relationship had been strained. I didn’t know if it could survive him being home. Some things I discovered resisted all my attempts to change them. Though it was years later, after Pap-pap died in my first go around. I seemed to be destined to not have a loving parent child relationship with either of my parents. One because Robert was just too much of a dick, the other because mom kept choosing the nasty prick over everyone.