Excerpt from “That Melvin Bray” by Margaret McBride: Chapter 17 – The Good Bad Deed “A house of horrors—that’s what it was. Lu’s room was the last room down the hall from the top of the stairs. Lee could hear Daddy as he barged in and out of each room, slammin’ doors, pushin’ stuff around, and gettin’ closer and closer to her by the second as he yelled and cursed her name. When he finally made it to Lu’s room, he checked out the closet, turned to walk out, and then turned back around and walked toward the bed. Lying under the bed, her little body pressed against the back wall, Lee could see each step he took as he made his way over to the bed and then stopped abruptly. “ He didn’t say a word. He just bent down on all fours and pulled up the bed skirt, and the next thing Lee saw was Daddy’s crazed, wild-eyed, drunken glare. At that point she knew she was probably, at the very least, pretty close to death, but the little lion intended to put up a good fight. What a frightful, mad frenzy must have taken place from that moment on. Daddy, who was six foot two and crazy-drunk, then went from his all-fours position to a lying-flat position. In an angry rage, he deliberately turned his body around so that he could fully stretch his legs out under the bed, and he began kicking Lee with all his brute strength. He kicked and kicked and kicked, and Lee screamed and screamed and screamed. Yeah, that was our daddy—he was the man.” I’m sure she used every cuss word she and Barry Snyder both knew and then some. Then, sure enough, that miracle moment happened. Aunt Lucy arrived with one of Mother’s big iron skillets in her hands and whacked Daddy so hard of the head that he didn’t wake up for two days—seriously. Yeah, Aunt Lucy sure knocked the fire out of him! With the strength of Sampson, she pulled Lee’s monster outta the way and then pulled Lee out from under the bed. She knew immediately that Lee was seriously injured.” That Melvin Bray is available on-line at: Amazon BarnesandNoble Abbott Press
Posted on: Fri, 09 Jan 2015 20:06:14 +0000