Chapter 5 - The glass
My father, Robert Ward, was seventy-two.
Retired founder of Ward Building Supply.
Former high-school football coach.
A man who had spent fifty years believing volume and authority were interchangeable.
He grabbed a thick drinking glass from the table.
Daniel said:
“Dad.”
Robert ignored him.
He shouted something I did not fully hear.
Then threw the glass.
Not at the floor.
At me.
I had Rosie in my arms.
Instinct took over.
I turned.
Put my body between her and him.
The glass struck the wall beside my head.
Shattered.
Rosie screamed.
Birthday decorations trembled from people jumping backward.
I opened the front door and carried her outside.
I did not go back.
The police were not there yet.
The investigation had not started.
No one knew what the bruises meant.
May you like
And nobody noticed Daniel’s phone still sitting against a centerpiece on the dining table.
Camera running.
