Her Father, the Alcoholic

by Katherine M. Bradford

When Monica was young, she was naive to all of the problems that her family was faced with; for hers was still a world filled with happy children, ancient, magical spirits who lived to give her endless treats and gifts, and the unconditional love of everyone around her. But as the years passed and she came to understand what life was actually like with an alcoholic parent, that world became twisted and dark. One night, her father came home after several hours at the bar, ranting and raving again about how he'd been screwed out of yet another promotion by one of his lousy co-workers. Her mother could see the flames of unfettered hate that were burning in his eyes, and that rage frightened her more than he ever had before. Right around the time he began smashing the furniture to pieces with his bare fists, she scooped Monica into her arms and then ran for the bedroom closet, where they stayed hidden for many hours to avoid becoming the targets of her husband's temper. By the next morning, Monica's mother had decided that she'd had enough of his destructive behavior and demanded that he check himself into a rehab clinic immediately, or she would take their child, move out of their home, and file for a divorce.

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Katherine M. Bradford is the author of Bones Among the Leaves, which you can purchase on Amazon.