A Doll of Hope

Chapter 22

Late that night, Christie got home from work. She walked into the living room to find it empty. She let out a sigh.

“I guess he's staying out late again.” After gathering up all the empty beer cans and emptying the ash tray, Christie got out the vacuum and quickly swept around the chair. Not surprising, there were a bunch of crumbs on the floor.

“If this keeps up, I'm gonna have to save money for new carpet.” She joked with herself. As soon as she put the vacuum away, she heard the sound of the door opening. Looking out at the hallway, her dad was wobbling his way into the room.

“Welcome home, Dad.” Her dad let out a groan as he ran his hand along the wall trying not to fall.

“Dad, what's wrong? Are you---” Before she could finish, she got a look at his face. He had a black eye and a big bruise on his face.

“Oh my gosh! Dad! What happened to your face?!” She said as she rushed up to him.

“Nothing. Just some idiot thought he could get the best of me.” He struggled to say as he wiped the blood off his cheek. Christie formed a surprised look on her face. Then she let out a sigh.

“Dad, don't tell me you got into another fight? Was it over a woman again?” Her dad let out an angry groan.

“None of your business. As if you'd know anything about that kind of thing.” Christie sighed as she helped her dad into his chair.

“I'm not an idiot, Dad. I know full well how you can get when it comes to women and beer.” She said sadly as she walked into the bathroom and pulled out the first aid kit. Taking out some cotton wads, she gently pressed on his cheek to wipe all the blood away.

“Really, Dad, you need to stop doing these things. You're going to get yourself hurt really bad if you keep this up.” Her dad gave her an angry look as he slapped her hand away.

“Who are you to tell me what I can and can't do?! I've been around a lot longer than you and I know full well how to look out for myself! Unlike your mother, I'm not a coward who gives up so easily!” Christie's face brightened. Her dad just looked at the floor with an angry look.

“That woman, she wasn't good for anything. She was just a no good weakling who couldn't do anything. All she cared about was herself. She didn't even try to make things work the way they should have.” Christie formed an angry look on her face as she stood up.

“How dare you talk that way about her! You know as well as I do how untrue that is!” Her dad scowled at her.

“Oh is that right? How would you know anything? You were just a kid.” Christie growled.

“You really do think I'm an idiot, don't you?! Well I'm not! I remember very clearly how things went down so fast!” Her dad formed a surprised look on his face. Christie formed a sad look.

“I remember everything. I remember how Mom lost her job and became very discouraged. She was afraid she wouldn't be able to take care of her family the way she was suppose to. Even so, she tried her best to be the best mom and wife she could be for us. Even though she wasn't able to get a new job, she always made sure we had food on our plates and clothes on our backs. She sacrificed a lot for us to make sure we could go on living our lives.” Christie flashed her dad an angry look.

“But you didn't care about any of that did you?! All you cared about was the fact that you couldn't have everything you wanted!” Her dad gasped.

“You think I didn't understand everything because I was a child. Well, you're right. There were some things I didn't fully understand. But what I did understand, was that you treated her more like a slave than a wife!” Her dad's eyes widened.