The Weaker Sex (Unedited)

Chapter 35

Mrs. Whitman stared off into the wall as she began.

"The Delaney's built this town. They were the only Irish family at the time, and they had a knack for farming and storekeeping. It was a given that they were going to be successful. The family beatings dated back to his great, great grandfather. It's like they have a gene or something that makes them all violent after the woman says I do. I remember I was a girl when his great grandfather lived next door to me. His name was Mathias and his wife's name was Lily. Her screams would echo off the walls into my bedroom almost every single night. It was to the point that my parents switched rooms with me so that I didn't have to hear it. Those are sounds you never get used to. His son Edward, Tobias' grandfather, he grew up watching his father beat his mother. Sometimes he'd run over to our house and hide on our porch. My dad would scoop him up and bring him to my room. He'd cry on the edge of the bed until it was safe to go back. Sometimes I would hold him so he'd feel safe. When his father died, they moved out, but when Edward married Evelyn, he took over the house."

She shuffled in her seat, moaning at her aching bones. "I thought he'd decided that it was wrong, but as soon as Peter was born, that's when they started. He would come home drunk and in a rage and there was no one to save poor Evelyn. Sometimes, I would hear Peter screaming, begging for him to stop, but he'd only taken to striking the child. He used to say it was to toughen him up. So Peter grew up just like Edward. When Edward died, they moved out and again when Peter married Emily, they moved back in. The beatings started one year into their marriage, it was the longest a Delaney had gone. I always wondered how they managed to even get a wife, but the Delaney men are charming aren't they? The way they look at you, speak to you, the way they do anything with you makes you melt at their feet."

Tobias was a world-class actor. I would have never imagined any of that would go on in our home, but as it seemed, it was a family tradition.

"They're very attractive men and they make you feel like you're the only person they'll ever love. I should know; I almost married Edward."

My brows rose on their own accord. She nodded, gripping my hand.

"I don't know why I said no, but I know it broke his heart and maybe that's why he was especially hateful with Evelyn. Peter and Emily moved out after he became mayor, so I can't really say whether it continued or not, but since Tobias followed suit, I imagine it did. But I will say that I'm surprised that the pattern skipped a generation."

I furrowed my brows prompting an immediate response.

"You didn't notice, did you? Mathias died, Edward died, and Tobias died." She said.

Oh my god...

"Lily killed Mathias, Evelyn killed Edward and you killed Tobias. Emily is the only one who didn't keep it going. Delaney men beat their wives and Delaney women kill their husbands. Peter is very lucky he's still alive, but I must say that you're the first to get caught. Lily and Evelyn spent years adding arsenic to their husband's food. It killed them eventually, and no one thought it was anything, but natural causes. There is no other way. They never let go."

Maybe I did have what it took to be a Delaney woman after all. This was a lot to take in, in a matter of a few minutes. Now I knew how Sheriff Whitley must've felt with my hours of storytelling.

"I'm pregnant, Mrs. Whitman." I admitted.

"I know," she replied, looking down at my stomach. "But you made the right choice. The Delaney cycle had to end sometime. Your son or daughter, should never know anything of what happened, that is, if they don't put you in jail."

It was inevitable. I was going to jail and my boy was going to foster care.

"Thank you, Mrs. Whitman." I said, clasping her hand.