Read Saltar's Point for Free Online

turning, but about half as fast as they should. How many times would he have to grease the damn track? Darrow’s patience had all but run out and it was all he could do not to tilt his head back and scream. He peered at his wife with nothing but disdain.
    “I swear to God if your fat ass breaks that lift I will personally rip you off of that stainless steel throne with my own two hands and let gravity do the rest!”
    Abby peered straight ahead and kept silent. He was drunk again. Anything she said would only infuriate him more.
    “What’s the matter, too God damn high and mighty up there on your throne to talk to your servant, huh your majesty?”
    Abby felt the wheelchair vibrate in her molars as the lift stopped sliding outward and began lowering her to the ground.
    “Fine don’t say nothin’ you ungrateful bitch. Be a nice little break from your constant yappin’ anyway.”
    Abby did her best to tune him out making sure his threats and insults fell on deaf ears. They were all for his benefit now. She would not show him the fear or intimidation he craved so much.
    “Kinda nice actually. This is the first time your yaps been closed for more than two minutes without any food in it. That’s part of the God damn problem anyway. You know what I should do? I should just stop feeding your fat ass and maybe the damn lift would work properly. You understand what I’m sayin’ to you or is your mind as broke as your legs?”
    The comment stung Abby like a backhanded slap. The accident had paralyzed her legs, damaged her arms, and slurred her speech, but her mind was as sharp as ever. Trapped inside a body that refused to obey her, everyday was a claustrophobic hell, her own private prison comprised of flesh, sinew, and bone. She wanted to scream, to tell him that he was the one without any brains, that he was nothing but a stupid inbred piece of white trash from the trailer park, but she knew any words she uttered would not come fast enough. Her speech was garbled and slow. The words blended together making them difficult to understand. She would not give him the satisfaction of mocking her once again. Oh how she detested when he mocked her. And so she sat motionless by fate, silent by choice.
    At last the motor began to gear down as the grate settled gently on the ground, the gravel crunching beneath its weight. Abby’s head bobbed slightly as the lift came to a stop. Darrow removed the parking brake and rolled the wheelchair onto the gravel pathway that ran from the detached carport to the front doors of the mansion. His demeanor changed instantly as his frustrations at the slow moving lift slipped away. He smiled at his wife almost lovingly. Anyone witnessing the tirade just seconds before would be hard pressed to believe it was the same man, but Abby knew his rage could be flipped on and off like a light switch when he hit the bottle.
    “Are you cold honey? I bet you are. It’s chilly out here. Let’s get you bundled up.”
    Darrow removed a faded loose-knit shawl from the interior of the van and wrapped it around Abby’s shoulders. Then he grabbed the handles of the wheelchair and pushed her up the path. The chair vibrated on the uneven terrain jarring Abby’s body and making her head bobble up and down like a novelty dashboard figurine. Abby looked around at the surroundings that were to become her new home. It was peaceful, tranquil and serene. Tall pines encircled the mansion and lined the dirt road leading to the estate, isolating it from the nearby town. She had grown up in Arizona among the cacti and the sage. The sparse foliage of the desert had given her a refined appreciation for the trees and plants of the Pacific Northwest. She marveled at the ferns and grasses that grew in the shadows of the trees, the mosses that scaled their bark, and the fresh scent of blossoming flowers. It was one of the few joys in her life now. She often sat for hours admiring the beauty of nature, a beauty she did not fully