The boy yanked free of Faith's grip and ran to the pile of discarded things. He stomped down on the folded baby clothes, grinding his shoe back and forth.
Then he crouched, reached into a cardboard box, and pulled out a small carved wooden horse.
Five years ago, Tony had carved it for me by hand, right after he was discharged from the hospital. He'd sat on the balcony with bandages still wrapped thick around his head, a carving knife turning in his fingers. Wood shavings had dusted his lap, his arms, his shoulders.
He'd placed the finished horse in my palm and told me that someday he'd carve an entire set of wooden toys for our children.
I'd kept that wooden carving in the glass cabinet in the nursery all this time.
The boy picked up the rocking horse and tossed it in his hands.
"So ugly!"
He hurled it at the floor with all his strength.
The rocking horse hit the hard marble and shattered instantly, splintering into pieces.
Still not satisfied, the boy walked over to the largest fragment and stomped on it.
Wood chips flew everywhere.
I rushed forward, grabbed the boy by the shoulders, and pulled him away.
"What are you doing?!"
The boy dropped to the floor on cue, threw his head back, and wailed at the top of his lungs.
"Daddy! She hit me!"
Tony strode over and shoved me hard in the shoulder.
I lost my footing and slammed into the hallway wall. A dull ache bloomed across my back.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!"
Tony jabbed a finger in my face.
"It's a piece of junk! It broke, so what? You're really going to pick a fight with a child over that?"
I braced myself against the wall and steadied my feet, my eyes fixed on the shattered rocking horse on the floor.
"You carved that for me with your own hands five years ago."
Tony let out a cold laugh, his gaze dripping with contempt.
"Five years ago my brain was scrambled. I could've carved a piece of garbage and you would've treated it like a treasure."
He bent down, scooped the boy into his arms, and patted his back to soothe him.
Faith walked over, pulled a hundred-dollar bill from her purse, and held it out to me.
"Flora, kids don't know any better. Here, take this and go buy yourself a new one."
I didn't take the money. My eyes stayed locked on Tony.
"Do you really have to destroy everything that's mine?"
Tony looked down at me from his full height and pointed to the long scar running across his forehead.