“Did he say what he did to deserve getting locked in the closet?” She pursed her lips like she was holdin’ a secret.

            “No mamn, he only told me that he’s gotta’ get in the closet when his dad’s girlfriends comes over. He says he gets locked up and he gets scared. Mom, I think that’s downright mean,” I say pleadingly to her. “I told him I was going to tell Ms. Johnson, but he begged me not to the teacher. Then he pulled up his shirt and showed me where his dad had punched him. Mom, his back was all black and purple. It looked like the time we went to see ol’ Ms. Harper in the hospital after she fell in the bathtub. Remember how bruised up and purple she got?”