Her Special Day

Her Special Day
It was only 6:00 am, but Carrie was very excited about the special day ahead. She had taken a bath before the children woke up, took extra time to make sure her hair was combed perfectly, and was wearing her prettiest dress. She entered the kitchen at 6:30, just in time to see 2 year old Justin come out of the bedroom. His blonde hair was wild, like he had sweated in his sleep. “You want some cereal baby?” she asked him softly.
He didn’t answer, but headed towards the kitchen table, and tried to climb onto the chair. Carrie gently nudged his small bottom up, feeling his diaper was extra full. She thought about changing him but remembered there were only 3 diapers left. It was 2 days until payday, there would not be any more diapers until then. It would have to wait awhile longer.
When 6 year old Sarah walked into the kitchen, she instinctively reached up and took another bowl from the cupboard, and filled it. Taking the milk carton out of the fridge Carrie realized there was hardly any milk. She walked over to the sink, turned on the tap, and added some water. Carrie knew the kids wouldn’t mind, they probably wouldn’t even notice, they had done it so many times before. She had to get moving, the baby had to be dressed, and Sarah had to get ready for school. It was hard work getting two kids ready when you were home all alone.
Then the car pulled in the driveway. He was home; probably still drunk from the night before. Her heart started to beat rapidly. Why couldn’t he have stayed out just a bit longer? She could have had the kids ready and been gone. Maybe if she just ignored him he would pass out, and leave her alone.
She knew he was really drunk by the sound of the door hitting the wall as he opened it too wide. He didn’t even bother to close it behind him, banging into the wall as he came down the hallway, swearing the entire time. He wasn’t talking to anyone in particular, not to her or the kids at least, she was thankful for that. He didn’t seem to notice them in the kitchen as he passed by the doorway, and headed into the living room. He stumbled over a large fire truck and fell head first onto the couch.
“Who the fuck left that there? You fucking little brats. Wish you’d learn to pick shit up after yourselves. I should just come and kick your fucking asses,” He slurred loudly. Then he was silent. Carrie motioned to the children by putting her finger up to her lips, for them to be quiet. Even at their young ages they knew what she meant. They both ate their cereal in silence.
She waited at the table until the kids had finished their cereal, then they walked very softly down the hallway, into their bedroom, where she took some clothes out of a broken down old dresser and handed them to Sarah. The socks were mismatched, and the pink corduroy pants were frayed at the bottom, but Sarah didn’t seem to notice. She then went over to a large laundry hamper. The clothes had not been folded but Carrie dug through the pile and pulled out a pair of small jean overalls and a red t-shirt. The shirt was stained, and she wasn’t sure if it was clean or dirty, but it would work. She just wanted to get the kids out of the house before he woke up. She would take Sarah to school and walk Justin to a family friend’s home across the street. Both kids were soon dressed and ready to go.
She motioned for them to wait there and she went into the bathroom to check her hair. It looked really nice, she had used the iron so her blonde curls fell softly on the sides of her face, her cheeks were a nice soft pink, as if the color was reflecting off her dress, and her blue eyes seemed to have an extra sparkle in them, it almost looked like twinkling stars when she looked in the mirror. It was her special day and she was so excited, she was sure there was even going to be some pictures taken. There were not many good things in her life, but today would be different, today her hard work would pay off, and she would be so proud of herself.
She went back to get the kids. It was time to leave, thank God. His snores were loud, he was a smoker and she could hear his chest rattling. Sarah was sitting on her unmade bed, the baby was no where to be found. She panicked, “Where is Justin?” she asked Sarah, feeling her heart pound in her chest. She could feel the panic.
“I don’t know, he was just here a minute ago,” Sarah answered, keeping her head down.
Then Carrie heard it, the loud piercing scream from the living room.
“What the hell you think your doin, ya little bastard?”
Carrie ran to the living room to find baby Justin lying on the floor, about 5 feet from the couch. He had a bright red mark that covered his entire cheek, and he was screaming at the top of his lungs. She knew what had happened. Justin had woken him up and he had backhanded him. She ran over and kneeled down next to the baby, talking very softly, she took his small hand and lifted him onto his feet.
“Why don’t you look pretty today; where you going you little slut? Come here and give me some lovin,” he said as he reached out and pulled her to him. She could smell the whiskey on his breath, or his shirt, she wasn’t sure. He threw her on the couch and lifted up her dress. She squirmed and tried to get out from underneath him, but he was too strong. She knew from past experiences that the more she fought the more it hurt, but it was her instinct to fight him off with everything she had. She pushed on his chest and tried to wiggle down his body so she could roll off the couch but he grabbed her hair and held her down.
He reached up and ripped her panties off and forced her legs apart. She froze, closed her eyes, and waited. The pain came. It felt like someone was rotating a knife inside her. It felt like her stomach was being pounded by a fist over and over. Tears rolled down her face, but she didn’t open her eyes. Her teeth were clenched, her body was ridged, and her fists were clenched so tight she could feel her fingernails digging into the palm of her hand. He was jamming himself into her, almost crushing her with his hips. She wanted to scream but she knew the kids would get scared, and besides, the baby was still crying so loud on the floor next to her she knew no one would hear. Finally he stopped, stood up, and pulled up his pants. He looked at her and laughed. She thought it was over.
She pulled herself up and was just going to roll herself off the couch when she felt the sharp sting. He had slapped her just as she had lifted her head. His hand landed right on her mouth. She felt the blood running down her chin immediately and she could feel a loose tooth. He laughed again, and walked away.
Carrie got up and went into the bathroom. Blood had dripped on her pretty dress, and her curls were all messed up. Her lip was badly cut on the corner, causing it to swell up, and when she touched her front left tooth it almost fell out. She really didn’t look pretty now, and she had wanted so badly to look beautiful for her pictures.
She put a cold wet cloth on her lips, tried to wipe the blood stains off her dress, and then she brushed her hair back the best she could, before she went and put on a clean pair of panties. The baby had quit crying and was sitting on the bed next to Sarah, who just looked at her with blank eyes and didn’t say a word. “Let’s go,” she said, taking the baby’s hand and sliding him off the bed.
Sarah followed as she walked out of the room. They went down the hallway and out the front door.
Carrie felt the tears well up in her eyes as she thought about her special day. It was her grade four graduation ceremony. Carrie is only eight years old. She had just been raped by her father. Again!