A Boy and a Gun

She came home from her job
Not a great job, but a job
Her husband has been unemployed for 3 years
Says he’s looking for the right job to make a name for himself
They don’t have enough money to feed themselves and their 8 year old son
They live in a one room apartment that has a horrible smell coming from the ceiling and the side wall near the closet
They all share the same bed
Mom sleeps in the middle since the boys father has been known to touch him inappropriately
There were numerous verbal & physical fights in the apartment
It was usually the husband building up some rage over nothing
The father would beat the fuck out of the boy if he didn’t listen
He knew though not to hit him in the face or the school would be on him like white on rice
Could’ve of been the boy not cleaning the kitchen table after he ate breakfast, or not picking up his toys, or not brushing his teeth, or watching to much tv, or not allowing daddy to touch him inappropriately, etc…
For the little money they had, the father owned a gun
He kept the pistol in the nightstand on the side of his bed
One Thursday night, his wife came home from work
She had to work a double shift, coming home around 10pm
As she walked into the living room
She saw her son up watching tv
When she turned her head slightly to the right, there was her husband lying flat on his back with a single bullet in his head
He was dead
She went to get a beer out of the refrigerator, sat down with her son and said to him, “I guess daddy deserved this right?”
The boy goes, “Yeah, he wouldn’t allow me to watch my favorite show on tv tonight because I wouldn’t eat my dinner!”