Ripple In Time - Chapter 8 Hendrick Von Steiner

My mother, Abigail, is the first to arrive. She emerges at the top of the stairs, dressed in a flowing nightgown. Even in the dim light of foyer, I suddenly remember her beauty. She has long, blond hair that extends to her waist, and pale blue eyes, the color of the sea. She notices me standing at the doorway and begins to walk down the stairs to meet me. As she does so, her thin fingers trail gently across the oak banister, giving an elegance to her movements.

Behind her, I see my father arrive. He’s dressed in a half buttoned shirt and naked the waist down. Unlike my mother, he doesn’t move for the stairs. Instead, he leans down against the upper railing and looks down his nose at me, a half-glazed expression on his face.

For a second, my vision flickers, and I see my father as the young man he must have been, some decades ago. He looks good, handsome even, with his rugged features, dark brown hair and dark chocolate eyes. I can see why my mother might have fallen for him, all those years ago. But time has changed him, more so than just age. At the present moment, his face is leathery and hard, hidden behind a poorly shaved beard and long, unkempt hair. He’s big in all the wrong places and small in all the rest. He’s merely a shadow of his former self.

A touch on my arm draws my focus away. I look to see that it’s my mother. She smiles kindly at me, then kneels down and wraps me in an embrace. Her frame feels thin around my body, so light that a gentle breeze might blow her away. Her bosom presses against my chest, and I feel my heartbeat quicken. “Mother-”

Before I can say another word, she interrupts me. “Clyde, are you going out to play again this morning? Remember what mommy told you, okay? You need to be careful when you’re out there. The world is a big place, and you never know what might happen.”

I feel a lump starting to form in my throat, and I swallow hard. It’s not just that she doesn’t question the change in my hair or my clothes. It’s not even that she’s unaware of the time of day. What really stings me is that she doesn’t even remember my name. I don’t correct her though. I just nodded my head. “I will, mommy.”

“Good. That’s a good boy, Clyde.”

As she strokes my hair, I look into her eyes, noticing how listless they appear. Her eyes are half-open and dull, and though I’m staring right at her, it feels like she’s looking past me, or through me, to someplace far, far away. I know that look. I’ve seen it time and again in the alt-past. She’s on something; she’s taking some kind of drug. A sedative most likely, and by her appearance, a powerful one at that. There’s not much I can do about it though, and so I just hold her tight, pretend that everything is fine.

I try to make the moment last as long as possible, but eventually, my mother pulls away. Instinctively, I reach out a hand and grab onto the hem of her nightgown. I try to get her to stay, if for just a second longer. But she shrugs me off violently and pulls her nightgown towards herself. Then without a word, she heads up the stairs and disappears into her bedroom, and I have little doubt that she has already forgotten all about me.

All the while, my father remains still on the second floor, watching the events unfold with a bemused smile. When he sees my mother retreat into her bedroom, he makes his move, coming down the stairs to greet me. As he approaches, he gives me a jovial wave and smiles, revealing rows of yellow teeth. “Hello there, Klaus. Just where have you been all day?”

I remain silent, and when it becomes apparent to him that I have no plans to respond, I see the smile disappear from my father’s expression. Without warning, he lunges at me and with one powerful blow, strikes me in the cheek. “Show some respect, you little cunt!”

I fly backwards from the force, hitting the wall before slumping down to the ground. My face is on fire, and I can taste blood in my mouth. I think I lost a tooth as well. But even still, through the pain, I lift up my head. I stare at him coldly.

He must have been surprised by my response, because he hesitates and takes a step back, away from me. Instinctively, he can sense that something is amiss. But then, the alcohol kicks in. He dons a cruel grin and walks towards me, his footsteps heavy as he approaches. “You little sack of shit. You think you can look at me like that? Like all the others? You all think you’re so high and mighty. Well, let me tell you something.”

He leans down and grabs my face. His large hands are enough to cover my mouth and cheeks, and he give them a squeeze, causing searing pain to shoot through me body as he agitates the place where he had struck me. I bite my tongue to avoid screaming out, and my father moves in closer, enough that our noses are touching. Then he begins yelling. I can smell his breath. It reeks of booze. “I’m a fucking von Steiner, you little fucker! My ancestors founded this fucking country! Without me, you’d still be living in a fucking cave, with maggots coming out of your whore mouth! You get that through your tiny brain of yours!”

I stare at the man, my father, with his bulging veins, his beet red face, his snarled mouth covered in saliva like some wild animal. I’ll say it again. This man is my father. “Are you done?”

The sound of my voice startles him. It’s the first words I’ve spoken to him since our “reunion”. His eyes narrow dangerously, and he gives my cheeks another squeeze, sending another bolt of pain through my body. “What did you just say?”

“I said, ‘Are you quite done?’”

My father takes a step back and lets out a howling laugh. Then he looks down at me, with wild, unforgiving eyes. “You cheeky little cunt. I don’t know where you got the idea from that you can speak to me like that, but I hope you also learned that words have consequences.” I see my father flex his hands menacingly. But then he suddenly stops, and a psychotic smile forms on his face. “I just had an idea. Your mother, well she’s quite done for the day. But I still have all this pent up energy, you see. So what’s say you, Klaus? How about you and daddy play for a while?”