Chapter 12 - My slap
The prosecutor reviewed my slap separately.
Helena had not threatened Leo physically at the moment I struck her.
I had removed the cloth.
Leo stood behind me.
Two guards present.
My force was retaliation.
Video from garage captured it.
No excuse.
Helena’s cheek reddened.
No fracture.
No dental injury.
She went to urgent care for soreness.
Medical bill:
$780.
My lawyer negotiated a misdemeanor disposition through a diversion program.
Requirements:
Anger-management counseling.
Forty hours community service.
No unlawful contact with Helena.
Payment of documented medical cost.
Dismissal after successful completion if permitted under local procedure.
I accepted.
One reporter later wrote:
“Reputed mob figure receives slap on wrist for slapping fiancée.”
Predictable.
Could my reputation have influenced leniency?
The prosecutor’s office said comparable first-offense minor assaults often received diversion.
Helena’s counsel did not object to the disposition.
Still, I understood how it looked.
I did not issue a statement.
Then Leo asked:
“Did you get in trouble because you hit Helena?”
“Yes.”
“But she was mean to me.”
“Yes.”
“So why?”
“Because you were already safe when I hit her.”
He considered.
“If she was hitting me?”
“Then I can protect you.”
“With hitting?”
“If necessary to stop someone from hurting you.”
“Then when she stopped, you stop?”
There.
Six.
“Yes.”
He nodded.
Then:
“Did you have to go to kid class?”
“Adult class.”
He laughed.
Good.
My reputation had taught people I solved things with fear.
My son needed to see me submit to rules too.
Then the wing tattoo.
Leo had noticed it his whole life.
To him it was:
Dad’s bird.
Nothing more.
He asked why Helena got scared.
I did not explain organized-crime history.
I said:
“She had heard stories about people I knew when I was younger.”
“Bad people?”
“Some.”
“Were you bad?”
That question deserved more than public-relations language.
“I did things I’m not proud of.”
“Like slap Helena?”
“Different things.”
“Worse?”
I paused.
“Yes.”
He looked at me.
“Are you still bad?”
Children should not carry adult absolution.
“I try to make better choices now.”
May you like
He accepted that.
For the moment.
