- 6.
In less than an hour, Mom brought Mr.
Peabody back.
She even gave him Dad’s old clothes and
combed his hair.
He looked almost presentable.
But seeing his face, I remembered every
moment of abuse.
My stomach turned.
Mr. Peabody looked me up and down, like he
was buying something.
I pretended to be calm and smiled at him.
body Mom told you everything
“Mr. Peabody, Mom told you everything,
right? No objections?”
He grinned. “Yes, she did! No objections!”
“Then let’s pick a date. Find a good day.”
“That’s right! That’s my good daughter!” Mom
said happily.
Just wait. You won’t be smiling soon.
Soon, Uncle Joe, Grandpa, and Grandma
arrived.
They walked in and saw Mom and Mr.
Peabody looking at a calendar, talking closely.
“Martha!”
<
Mom’s eyes widened. “Joe! Mom! Dad! What
are you all doing here?”
Uncle Joe didn’t answer. He walked up and
slapped her across the face.
Chapter 2
The force of the slap sent my mom flying.
She landed hard on the ground.
Mr. Peabody freaked out and scrambled
away, afraid he was next. “What’s going on
here? What’s with the slapping?” he
stammered.
When he said “family“, he meant my mom.
Uncle Joe, thinking he was referring to him
and his parents, lost it.
“Family? You are not family! You’re the town
pervert, and everyone knows it! I can’t believe
Martha has the nerve to even look at you, let
alone want to marry you.”
Mr. Peabody looked stunned.
“Who said I was marrying her? I’m marrying
her daughter, Ellie!”
He glared at my mom, his eyes bloodshot.
“You lied to me! You promised I was marrying
your daughter! You took twenty grand from
me! If you don’t give me your daughter, I’ll kill
you!”
What?!
Twenty grand?
<
No wonder she was so desperate to marry me
off last time. She got paid!
Mom turned white. Her voice trembled as she
tried to explain. “That’s not how it is! Ellie
volunteered! She said she wanted to marry
you!”
“Ellie, tell them! Tell them you volunteered!”
She begged.
I gasped, pretending to be shocked.
“Mom, what are you saying? I’m only
eighteen! How could I marry him? You said
you felt sorry for him, with no family, and you
wanted to take care of him. How can you
change your mind now?”
Mikey jumped in. “Yeah, Mom, Dad’s been
<
gone for so long, and we’re older now. We
understand you have needs. That’s why we
invited the family, so we could talk about
this.”
My mom stuttered, speechless. I pushed on.
“Are you saying it wasn’t you getting married,
but me? Mom, that’s illegal!”
