The very first time we saw him, I didn’t trust him. He was thick and tough, scars visible around his neck and face. I knew in my gut that this guy was up to no good. I’m not sure when I softened toward him, admitting it wasn’t my gut warning me as much as my fear rising up.
Sneaky fear, masquerading as intuition…
In truth, though he’s big and burly, Tom has the sweetest heart. His eyes are deep and soulful, and he’s really a big softie once you see past his rough exterior.
Then he had a short fling with the neighborhood lady. (I say “lady” because it feels a bit uncouth to call her the neighborhood trollop. I’m a proud womanist and so sometimes I just don’t quite know how to phrase things, but this “lady” gets around. Constantly knocked up, seldom knowing who exactly the father is. She neglects the kids she has, literally ZERO interest in being a mother.) So yeah, when the two of them started hanging out we tried to warn him. He liked her though–maybe his tender heart saw something in her that the rest of us couldn’t see. (Maybe I’m just bitter because I adopted one of her daughters after she decided she couldn’t be bothered to be her mom…)
No one was shocked when she became pregnant, nor when the two of them broke up. Unlike any of her other baby daddies though, Tom stuck around. After their son was born, Tom took a strong interest in caring for him, and we helped out when we could. It’s a good thing because, well… his mom was still herself. We watched her turn completely violent on him because he reached for a piece of her snack once. It was chilling. Never in my life have I shouted “WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!?!? THIS IS YOUR SON!” so many times my throat went raw.
Once Tom was sure we would be there for his kid, he took a great job out of town. He’s home some weekends and every holiday. It’s something truly precious to see the two of them together. When Tom’s around they are inseparable. His son is shaping up to be just like the best parts of his daddy, so kind and loving. He’s very sweet with his sister (the one who we adopted. the mom has lost all of her other children. One hundred percent why this boy has had some semblance of stability is because of his daddy.
Whenever he’s back in town we all shout “TOM!” as though he were Norm (Cheers) and it brings us such joy to see him. It’s always sad, come Sunday evening when it’s time for him to go…
Rainy Day in May... 