Man With Spots

1

"You little son-of-a-bitch!" said Richard under his breath as he shut the door to his step son's bedroom. It was 2:10 am.

Jimmy sat on the bed, shaking with fear after having another one of his vivid nightmares. It was a dream that came to him nearly every time he closed his eyes. He could see a leather belt with a heavy brass buckle coming down on him over and over again. He tried to cover himself with the comforter on his bed, as if that would shield him from the blows, but Richard pulled it violently from him and tossed it to the floor. Jimmy knew he wasn't dreaming now, but Richard scared him more than the leather belt. He knew Richard was capable of worse.

"I have to get up for work tomorrow, you little bastard. You wouldn't know what that means – having to get up for work," Richard said through gritted teeth and clenched jaw, so as not to awaken Jimmy's mother, Kim. He was only an inch from Jimmy's face as he uttered those words. Richard's eyes were wide open and alive with contempt for the smaller-than-average boy before him. In some sick way, Richard despised any attention being taken from him. The way Kim would coddle Jimmy was less affection Richard was getting. Jimmy was quivering in fear at his hateful words. He didn't know what to say that wouldn't put Richard over the edge.

Jimmy had nightmares often. In his dreams he would re-live the horrible times he experienced with his real father, Donald, and how he would beat him with a belt for trivial things. Jimmy remembered having his arm broken one time, shielding himself from his father's punches, only because he didn't turn his television off one night. Donald didn't care much about waking up Kim. Donald really didn't care much about anything except drinking whiskey and sleeping around. It was when he came staggering in the front door, his clothes disheveled and the strong odor of whiskey on his breath, that Jimmy and his mother feared what he might do. Kim experienced the abuse herself. She knew of Donald's womanizing, and when she brought it up, he would lash out at her both verbally and physically. Jimmy could hear him yell at his mother and hated him for it. She tolerated it, because she didn't see a way out. Kim was worried that she wouldn't be able to make it on her own, especially with a 9-year-old son. Her job at Murphy's Irish Pub as a waitress and bartender didn't bring in much money. Even with Donald's meager income as a house painter – they struggled. So how could she possibly do it on her own? Donald worked for cash under the table, so there wasn't going to be any child support, and she knew it. She was all too aware Donald beat Jimmy but found ways to justify it her mind. The prescription pain killers she was eating like candy helped hide the pain and reality of a life gone wrong. Kim was raised in a house where her own father beat her mother, much in the same fashion, over too much drinking and running around with loose women.

Her prayers were answered a year ago when Donald ran into the husband of a woman he had been having an affair with, at one of the bars he frequented. The two got into a heated argument in the bar, and Donald left and went home to get a shotgun. Upon returning to the bar, he found the man in the parking lot talking with some friends. Without a word, Donald shot the man in the chest and killed him instantly in front of at least a dozen witnesses. The police were there in moments, and Donald didn't even put up a struggle. He was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to 40-years-to-life in state prison. The last time Kim saw him was at his sentencing. As he was taken away, she felt like a tremendous burden was taken off her shoulders, but the fear she had of being alone with Jimmy crept back in soon after.

Only a few short months later, Kim began dating Richard, who drove a truck for a restaurant supply company based in Chicago. He made better money than Donald and didn't drink nearly as much. He also seemed to like Jimmy, as the two appeared to hit it off right from the beginning, and nearly six months to the day of Donald's sentencing hearing – they were married.