Marcus concluded that it had begun as such incidents often did. An off-the-cuff remark received a sarcastic reply, which prompted an even more sarcastic response before the war of words escalated. At some point, violence entered the fray, with his mother suffering a split lip and a black eye.
Susan had tolerated her husband's behaviour for many years, making excuses and trying to hide the bruises and marks that he left on her face and body when he lost his temper and used his fists.
"Thank God her children were out," she thought to herself; at least they had not had to witness this latest assault.
With his anger expended for the moment, Thomas stormed off. He left his wife to wipe the blood from her face and retrieve a small pack of frozen peas from the freezer, which she tenderly placed against the swelling around her eye. He would probably return later, after he had cooled down, begging her to forgive him and promising it would never happen again.
He would promise it on each occasion, and yet it continued to take place. She dreamed of leaving him -- of escaping to somewhere safe with her son and daughter -- but knew he would come looking. Anyway, she had no money, no job, and nowhere to go. She was afraid that he would go too far one day and kill her, but how did she escape her impending fate?
Marcus was the first to arrive home. He examined his mother's injuries and held her tightly as the tears began to flow. How many times had he done this, giving her comfort after one of his father's outbursts?
Once, it had been an isolated occurrence. Lately, however, it seemed to be growing in frequency as he noticed his mother becoming a human punchbag when his father lost his temper.
He had previously begged her to leave his father, but she had always given him the same reply. "Where will I go and what will I do, Marcus? I'm trapped with no escape."
When Molly, his sister, arrived home, she launched into a tirade against Thomas, calling him all the names under the sun. Just like her brother, she was protective of their mom, and while Marcus simmered inside, she voiced her anger at their father's actions.
Both knew what the argument meant. Normally, after their evening meal, they would be out with friends, but with this latest incident, neither of them wanted to leave her alone. Their father might return in an apologetic mood, but, unfortunately, if he had found his way into one of the many local hostelries, he could return in a state and spoiling for another fight.
Susan wasn't scared for herself; she was afraid for her children. When they were young, Thomas had been somewhat of a disciplinarian, but he only resorted to an occasional slap when they were naughty, rarely intentionally inflicting pain. His mood swings were getting worse though, and she was beginning to fear for their safety if they got in his way.
It was nearly ten o'clock that evening when he returned, and they could hear him grumbling and muttering to himself as he came up the garden path and opened the front door. As they feared, he was intoxicated and determined to settle the previous disagreement with his wife.
"Where is she? Where is the bitch?"
While Molly comforted their mother, Marcus put himself between them and his advancing father.
"Get out of my fucking way, boy," Thomas thundered, continuing to approach until he came up against his son's outstretched arm.
"You have done enough damage, dad; leave her alone!"
The alcohol did Thomas no favours; he still saw Marcus as a child. With drink inside him plus being overweight and going to seed, his son standing in his path was like a red rag to a bull. He took a swing, a haymaker, and missed.
His mouth hurt; he could taste blood, and he was sitting on his backside, his head spinning.
Marcus stood over him. "Get up, and I'll put you down again; that's the last time you ever hit her."
Thomas struggled to his feet. He wasn't taking that, especially in his own home, and suddenly lunged forward, arms outstretched, trying to get a grip on his son. Unfortunately, Marcus wasn't there any longer; he had stepped back and sideways, and instead, Thomas met a fist that hit him full-on in the face, breaking his nose, and putting him back on his arse.
"Keep getting up, and I'll keep putting you down. Not very pleasant, is it? It's easy to hit mom when she doesn't fight back."
The fight had gone out of him, but "he would bide his time," Thomas thought. However, he was not expecting what followed as his son spoke.
"You can spend the night in the car, and then tomorrow, pack your bags. We don't want you here anymore. Isn't that correct, mom?"
Susan felt a sudden dig in her ribs. Molly looked at her and mouthed the answer. "Ye... Yes...... that's right," she stammered.
Thomas was going to put up an argument, but with the front of his shirt already bloodied and both his nose and mouth hurting, perhaps tonight was not the ideal occasion to have another set-to with Marcus.
"Molly, get him a couple of blankets. We don't want him to freeze to death, do we?"
She would have been quite happy to see her father freeze or burn in hell. He was a bully, the worst kind, one who resorted to beating his wife when arguments got out of hand.
Marcus handed over the car keys and ushered him towards the front door. Once his dad was outside, he clicked on the deadlock and then put a key in the lock of the back door so that he could not gain entry that way.
"Can you miss a day of college tomorrow?" he asked his sister.
When she nodded her head, he continued. "I'll see if I can get some time off work, and I'll also pick up some new locks. Keep the deadlock on and a key in the back door while I'm out tomorrow, and then I'll change the locks when I get home."
Grabbing his mobile, he took several pictures of his mother's bruised face; if necessary, it was evidence of his father's abuse.
"I know you won't, but if he tries anything, I'm going to call the police, and don't worry, I'll support us for the moment. Everything will be okay, mom."
The following day, while working on the housing development, he managed to cadge new door locks off one of the joiners. Marcus changed them that evening when he got home, simply swapping like for like before distributing the new keys.
"I've got next week off just in case, but with new locks, dad won't be able to get inside. If he tries, call the police. If you are scared to phone them, call me, and I'll call the law."
Marcus didn't expect his father to surrender that easily, but he and his sister could not spend every day at home, just in case.
As it was, fate lent a hand. After a session in the pub a week later, Thomas totalled his car as well as himself. The police called to inform the family, took one look at Susan, and listened to Marcus's explanation before adding their condolences and leaving. None of the family members could claim to be sad. Thomas had not been the best husband or father. At least his life insurance paid for the funeral and the mortgage, with a little bit left over for his wife.
Marcus was true to his word; his wages each month went towards the bills and any other costs the family incurred. Much to her delight, Susan found herself a job, something her husband had always denied her. It was nothing out of the ordinary, but it helped with their finances and got her out of the house each day.