son, but I was not his son. He knew
that. The analogy my mom used
was that there were now two male
lions in the house. “Every time he
looks at you he sees your father,”
she’d say. “You’re a constant
reminder of another man. He hates
you, and you need to leave. You
need to leave before you become
like him.”
It was also just time for me to
go. Regardless of Abel, our plan had
always been for me to move out
after school. My mother never
wanted me to be like my uncle, one
of those men, unemployed and still
living at home with his mother. She