Because boys need to know
How to defend themselves
And Charlie was a bit
On the small side
So I thought he should know
How to throw a punch
He was staying with me and my husband
On the farm one summer
When he was a kid
And while my husband was busy
Teaching him how to swim
I taught him how to box
I guess I could have asked my husband to teach him
But between you and me
I handled most of my husband's fights in school
Without him knowing about it
Some bully or something
Would pick on him
And he'd say he was going to beat 'em up
But I could tell he wasn't going to do any damage
With those little baby fists of his
So I told him to give it a day
And see if he didn't get an apology
From whatever jerk was bothering him
Then I'd go to the jerk's house after school
And wallop them something fierce
And convince them that they needed to say they were sorry
And my husband just went along thinking
The world was a lovely place
I had a fun time
Teaching Charlie
How to box that summer
The gloves were bigger than his head
And most of the time
He'd swing
And end up punching himself
But he kept going
And I admired that
His brother didn't have to try
At much of anything
His brother just had things sort of come to him
He was that sort of boy
It's hard being a brother to somebody
Like that
My sister was like that
And that's why I had to learn to fight
Because I knew right off the bat
That things weren't going to be easy for me
Now when Charlie's brother
Got together with Charlie's wife
Nobody in the family knew what to do
Because you're talking family versus family
But what it really was
Was everybody wanting to side with Charlie's brother
Because he was the golden boy
And why shouldn't he have everything he wants?
I was the only one
To drive up there
Against my husband's wishes
Show up at Charlie's brother's front door
And lay him out in his front hallway
Like a cheap rug
Then I looked down at him and said--
'I have never laid a hand on you or any other child in my family in my lifetime, but what you did was unforgivable, and poor Charlie's too damn upset to do anything about it, but I'm sure not. And if I see that floozy of his anytime soon she's going to get a lot worse than what I just gave you, so I'd warn her if I were you.'
Then I left
And went home
And, not surprisingly
I did not receive a wedding invitation
When Charlie's brother married that woman
And that was just fine with me
Now when his second wife left him
That was a little bit trickier
Because I understood her reasoning
Charlie was drinking too much
And she had her daughter to think about
And I could accept that
But once Charlie dried out
That sister of hers was still butting her nose in
Where it didn't belong
Trying to keep Charlie away from his daughter
And that's when I hopped in my car
For another road trip
When I showed up at Charlie's sister-in-law's house
I knew I wasn't dealing with anything short
Of a bitch with a bowl cut
And that was fine by me
Because I do enjoy a challenge
Every now and again
I knocked on her front door
And when she answered
I asked if she remembered me
From the wedding
And when she said she did
I said, Well good, then we don't need anymore introductions
And I told her that what was going on between Charlie
And his wife and his daughter
Were none of her damn business
And I can see protecting family
And that means I have to protect mine too
And Charlie was sobered up at that time
So there was no reason why he couldn't see his daughter
Who was only a hop, skip, and a jump away
From graduating high school
She politely informed me
That her sister and her niece
Were staying at her house
And Charlie was not welcome there
And it was all for the better
If he didn't see that child ever again
Because a drunk doesn't change anything
But the liquor in his dirty glass
I then asked her if either Charlie's wife
Or daughter were home
And she said No and that they had all gone to the movies
And I said lovely, and decked that bitch
Right where she stood
Now I wouldn't have done that
If there were other people home
Because that sort of thing can be traumatizing
But this was between me and that woman
And I knew she could take a hit
I was well in my early eighties at the time
But I could still throw a punch
With the best of them
I didn't wait for her to get up
Before I got back in the taxi
And told the driver to take off
And that if he ever told anybody what he saw
I'd find him
And I think he believed me
Instead of going right home
I stopped at Charlie's house
And had a heart-to-heart with him
He wasn't drinking anymore
But he still wasn't any sort of person
Losing his wife and his kid
Had really done a number on him
And he couldn't accept
That they weren't going to come back
Just because he quit drinking
It was just too late
Even though he didn't want to believe that
'Look, Charlie,' I said, 'I was the one who taught you to throw a punch, but it wasn't about punching, it was about putting up a fight for yourself. Now you fought back after your first divorce, and you fought back after that best friend of yours passed away, and you fought back hard enough to overcome the drinking and I'm proud of you for that, but you got to keep fighting. Maybe you're one of those people who have to fight their whole lives--it is entirely possible. And if you are, there's no use bellyaching about it, you just gotta do it. First and foremost, you better fight for that daughter of yours, because she needs a father in her life, and you got a lot of catching up to do. Fight for her, Charlie. There's no reason you can't. You had a damn good teacher.'
Then I kissed him on the cheek
And went home
I died a few months after that
And Charlie said some lovely words
At my funeral
And his daughter Callie was there with him
And that made me glad
I know you're going to hear some bad things about him
And make all sorts of judgments
But let me just tell you this
That boy had it hard the minute he was brought into being
And if you don't believe me
Then clearly
You have not met his mother yet
Either way, don't be like that sister-in-law of his I clocked out
As somebody dead and rested
I can tell you
That the only currency you have once you get up here
Is the compassion you showed on Earth
No, he wasn't a saint
But he was my nephew
He was my family
He was the son I never had
And I never needed him
To be much more than that
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