Chapter 11
All the lights were on at our house and Harold’s when Beth pulled up into our driveway. It was close to two in the morning. I could see Ma standing at the doorway in her nightgown wringing her hands, her lips pursed and her eyes dark with fear. I couldn’t see Joe but I knew he was there and I knew I was in trouble. Big time.
Fear clung to my throat like a leach. Harold spoke what was already racing through my mind.
“Oh God! We’re in trouble,” he cried. “My mom’s probably had a heart attack or something.”
“Give it a rest Korkala. Help me get Danny into the house before Joe comes out screaming and wakes up the entire neighborhood. You know how he gets when he’s mad.” I was scared. It was a little late to be worrying about making Joe mad. He’d be furious and out of control which was a bad combination in my father. I was feeling guilty too because it was me who suggested we stay at the beach. It was my fault that we were walking into our worst nightmare.
Inside, Mrs. K. was sitting on the couch crying her eyes out. As soon as she saw Harold she leaped into his arms and began speaking in Finnish, which was something she never did around our family, so I knew that things were far worse than I had feared. From what I could make out, it was something about how worried she was that she wouldn’t see him alive again and how frightened she was that something terrible had happened to all of us. You didn’t need to speak Finnish to figure that one out. Ma kept nodding her head as if she understood every word that was coming out of Mrs. K.’s mouth. By this time she had taken Danny from me and was cradling her in her arms like she was a baby and the funny thing was Dan looked like one too. I suddenly realized how small my sister was for her age. Had Danny stopped growing? All these crazy thoughts started racing through my head as Mrs. K. kept going on and on. Where was Joe Senior? Why was he so quiet? A fear like I have never known flooded through my body just like those big waves at Sibley and that’s when I felt this searing pain at the back of my neck. Everything happened real fast after that. Joe had me by the hair and was dragging me up the stairs. Ma started to scream. Mrs. K. was wailing in the background. There was noise and confusion everywhere as I begged Joe not to hurt me; pleaded with him, told him how sorry I was for keeping Danny out so late, for scaring Ma and Mrs. K., for messing up.
“It’ll never happen again,” I promised as he took off his belt. “No Joe. Don’t. Please. Please. Please. Don’t.” Whack. Slap. Whack. Slap. The unholy sound of leather piercing my flesh. He never said a word, not one, as he lashed out in a rage so silent and terrifying I thought one of us was going to die that night. If not for Beth and Harold, maybe I would have, just maybe Joe was that mad, that crazy. Out of nowhere Harold appeared and grabbed Joe pinning one arm behind his back while Beth put herself between my father and me. She glared at him, her eyes black with fury and said more with one look than any words ever could. The room fell completely silent as Joe dropped his belt and left. I could hear the back door slam and the sound of Joe’s car speeding off down the street.
Beth took me to her house to sleep that night. Ma agreed, “It was best.” She made me a cup of Chamomile tea to settle my nerves and stop the uncontrollable trembling. I crawled into her oversized antique brass bed that was big enough to sleep an entire family and a dog. She gave me a white cotton nightgown to put on that reminded me of the big handkerchiefs Joe always kept stuffed in his pocket to blow his nose. It was cool and soothing next to my bruised and burning skin. Wearily, she crawled into bed next to me, wearing an identical gown. We sipped our tea in the peaceful darkness of her room, her bed an island, a refuge for me, a safe place far away from my father’s anger. When we finished the tea Beth held me until I fell asleep. As I drifted off, further and further from the pain, I wondered how the best and worst day could happen all at once. When did things get so mixed up?