It was normal, he was normal, his mum was normal, so was his pa for a little while. That slowly changed when his pa found out that the bottom of a bottle was a better place to get to than his sons bedroom to say goodnight to him every night.
This was the day of the dog attack when a german Shepard bit into Tommy's left side and pierced his lung, he won't approach a dog until more than 20 years later in life. He still has the scar to this day
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1997, Melbourne, Australia, February 18th
Thomas Racenfer's Journal
"Went out to park today, chased cats. Hannah was there, we played tag. shes my best friend. shes really fun. she has a big dog that played today to. My pa just came home, he smells bad. that is ok though, he always does."
The boy dropped his journal back in the drawer he kept it in and quickly slid it shut. He knew his dad would make fun of him if he found that so he decided it would just be Mum and his secret book. Running to the kitchen he embraced his father in a joyful hug, his fathers' response was never quite as joyful but he hugged back all the same with a wide smile on his face. Soon Tommy was lifted into those strong arms and hugged tightly, a cry of glee came from the boy.
"Hey kid" Joseph exclaimed, slowly letting his 7-year-old son back down on the ground. The child was still jumping up and down with excitement that finally, at 10 pm, his father had come home from work. His mum stepped into the room and quickly grabbed Tommy's hand, leading him away from his father and back into his room. But Tommy didn't want to go back to his room, his father had come home for the day why would he need to go to bed. In a hushed whisper, he learned the answer to the question swirling around his mind.
"Honey it's time for bed, your pa's had a long day and it's late, go lay in bed I'll be there to sing to you soon" his mother ushered her son back into his room with a brow furrowed in concern. She swiftly turned back to Joseph, but Tommy could only hear hushed whispers by now. He sadly slid into bed and waited till his mother came back, he would never disobey his mum. That just wasn't him.
It only took a few minutes until their voices got loud enough for Thomas to hear them all the way in his room.
"Debra the kid deserves to see his father after his long day of work" the slightly angry voice made Tommy curl up into a fetal position under the blankets. He knew that tone of voice all too well, the first time he had heard it was months ago. But it became more and more often that he heard it in the past few months. More and more often that the thin walls of their home couldn't protect the child from his family's problems.
"He does Joseph but he can't see you coming home drunk every night, don't you remember what happened to Charlie's kids after they saw him drunk every night. They ran Joseph, they've been missing for weeks!" the urgency in his mother's voice was all too common as well. At least for this time of night.
"I'm not drunk! I can walk, Charlie is a total drunk that won't ever be me dear" his voice quieted down near the end of his sentence, his hands placed on his wife's cheeks. "I promise you, my love, that won't happen to me". Every night he said that, and yet every night he returned the same way. Smelling of cheap beer and late once again.
Tommy could hear his mother sigh and murmur a few words to his mother before her footsteps could be heard down the hallway and towards his room. Quickly turning to face the door, he sat up and smiled widely. Not yet knowing the seriousness of what he just heard. His mother's smile was forced when she came in, yet it looked just the same as any smile to the young boy. He fell asleep that night to his mother's soft voice echoing around his room, as well as the sound of his father opening the fridge and cracking open another beer, but he thought nothing of it.
