Lilies and Lies by Mary Manners

strands danced across his cheek as he pulled back, breathless. “Are you sure now, Maddie?”
    “I’m…” She pressed a finger to her lips. “Gunnar…”
    “Let’s sit down, talk this out.”
    A wrought iron bench faced the river and, at his bidding, Maddie settled into it. He joined her, and for a few minutes they simply sat together watching moonlight shimmer across the water like a wedding veil. Maddie’s hand felt good as she twined her fingers with his, and Gunnar was loath to spoil the moment by spilling his past. But he cared about her too much not to; the kiss they’d just shared spoke volumes to that.
    He lifted his fingers to her chin, drew her gaze from the water to him. Slowly, choosing his words carefully, he spoke.
    “I was a different person back then, Maddie…like a snake needing to shed its skin. I was stuck in a tight place, angry and reckless with a sense of hopelessness that was buried deep inside me. Years of living in turmoil, of not knowing from day to day…sometimes hour to hour and even moment to moment, if the world would just come crashing down around me, around Morgan. We walked on eggshells, at once hoping our stepfather—Carl—wouldn’t make it home at night but knowing if he didn’t, we might very well end up on the street. Mom hadn’t worked since soon after they married—he kept her on a short leash and there was nothing we could do about it. I tried to pitch in with the bills, but my job helping out at the local mechanic’s shop didn’t pay much. The constant worry made me numb inside, restless as a caged animal.
    “One night my…Carl came home so loaded I’m not sure how he managed to find his way across town. He laid into Mom just because he could, and this time she fought back. It was ugly…both of them slinging accusations at each other, screaming. I couldn’t stand it…couldn’t listen to him call her names, hurt her, any longer, and watch her finally break down and cry as his anger escalated. He was so much bigger than her and no matter what, a man should never…”
    Gunnar shook his head, his right fist clenching in response to the memory. Temper, raw and hot, boiled to the surface. ”I stepped between them, tried to protect Mom, and the next thing I knew Carl took a swing at me . I grabbed his shirt, shoved him so he stumbled across the room. The window facing the street shattered and suddenly a rush of snow poured through the broken glass. The cold made everything inside—and everyone—seem to move in slow motion. When the haze cleared, I saw the old man sprawled across the window pane, moaning. Whether from the booze or from hitting his head, well, my guess is it was a combination of both. Relief and rage merged inside me, and I reached for the phone to call the police. Maybe this time, they’d haul him off for good. Surely after this, Mom would never let him back in the house, no matter how much he threatened…or promised to change. Maybe it would finally end right here—right now.”
    Gunnar could hardly bear to think of what came next.
    “I was punching in the numbers when Mom grabbed the phone from my hand and threw it out the window…right through the shattered glass so it landed in the snow. ‘What have you done, Gunnar?’ She ran to Carl with this look of utter horror on her face. Her lip was bleeding and her eye was puffy and shadowed from his blows. Yet, she threw her arms around him, trying to wake him as she started to sob. It was beyond belief, watching her tug him from the window ledge, bleeding and broken herself, to stretch him along the snow-covered carpet. The look she tossed my way when he continued to just lay there was like none I’ve ever seen…so accusing. I couldn’t…I just couldn’t make sense of it. Why wouldn’t she just let him go?”
    “She must have had her reasons, Gunnar.” Maddie’s gentle voice brought a measure of calm to the emotions ripping through him. “Maybe she was scared, too…scared of being