Envenomations

Photo credits here.

She watched as her mother took his hand again. 

She had begun counting the days between her taking his hand as he cooed,"There is no one else but you, Baby. I never mean to hurt you. . .it's just my drinkin', but I promise I'll do better. Jerry is picking me up tonight for that AA meetin' at the church. . ." and the "G-d this house is a mess, I work so G-d hard and for what? This lousy excuse of a home? What kind of helpmate are you, you lazy cow?" 

Down to 1 week.

Then the uptick in yelling eventually ended in him cursing her mom, "You are the reason I drink, you know that? I slave at work all day long and just want to come home and relax, but then, all you do is complain: 'we need groceries,' 'I thought you'd be home earlier,' 'why isn't the rent paid?' Woman, I do my part. Why in the hell do you not do yours," and inevitably he hit her.

At first her mom tried to get out of the war zone, but he just chased her - further enraged by her impudence; seeing her flight as a sign of opposition. She eventually just sat there crying, trying to appease him, "Honey, I'm so sorry. I know you work so hard. I know your job is stressful. I'll be better, I promise," and then another blow usually to her chest. She yelped, unable to breathe and sometimes passed out.

This level took another week.

Her step-father would leave her mother splayed on the ground. Jess then moved from her hiding space between the couch and the wall and ran to her mom.

Jess learned from a TV doctor show how to be sure people were still alive. She would find a mirror and place it under her mother's nose. When the mirror fogged, Jess released her breath. 

She had only called 911 once - the first time her mom lost consciousness, but her mother made her swear she would never do it again. "I could lose you, Jessie," she chided the child, "Child Protective Services would take you from me in a second, and we don't want that, right?"

Jess shook her head.

"I'll be fine, Jessie. Tom is just going through a rough patch - as soon as his work is less stressful, we'll be snugger than 3 peas in a pod. Just wait and see." 

This was 5 years ago. Nothing had changed.

She begged her mother to leave him - especially after her mother regained consciousness and alcohol had finally blacked out Tom.

She'd look at Jess and shake her head, "You just don't understand, my sweet girl. I can't leave. We can't leave." 

- March 20, 2025. An article I read said 90% of the envenomations in my area are from copperhead and cottonmouth snake bites. I would beg to differ.