Chapter 14 - Why I Was Afraid for Dad
Ethan had never physically attacked my father.
But he talked about him constantly.
“Your father thinks he can command everyone.”
“He doesn’t respect me.”
“He’s waiting for me to fail.”
After Dad questioned a bruise once, Ethan said:
“If Colonel Daddy comes here trying to threaten me, he’ll learn retirement made him soft.”
I told Dad only part of that.
Ethan also owned firearms.
Legally.
He kept them secured most of the time.
During one argument, he opened the safe while ranting about my father.
He never pointed a gun.
Never made an explicit:
I will shoot him
threat.
But the combination frightened me.
So I stopped telling Dad anything.
That was what I meant on Easter.
“I was terrified he'd go after you too.”
May you like
Fear does not require a threat to be phrased like a movie villain.
Sometimes ambiguity is enough to control behavior.
