2.
The crowd stood there sneering. Not one of them thought anything was wrong.
A man who marries into his wife's family is supposed to be put through the wringer, after all.
They looked at me like I was some object, something anyone could step on.
My father-in-law stood in front of the car, and around it pressed the Sears relatives and neighbors, all of them looking for an excuse to make trouble.
I sat inside, worn out to the bone.
I felt for the phone in my pants pocket, and just as I was about to call the police, the driver unlocked the doors, though I never saw when.
Anita yanked the door open and grabbed my arm.
The driver, wanting no part of it, hopped out without a fuss.
"Ha, city man, big deal. Still scared of us, aren't you."
"Marrying in and still acting tough. Doesn't know to be scared until we teach him a lesson."
My buddy Paddy Finch couldn't take it and shoved his way in, cursing.
"Bunch of morons. Wedding hazing's out of style now. You can go to jail for it!"
"Keep messing with Felix and I'm calling the cops!"
He held up his phone, his face red with fury.
That thick-jowled cousin of Anita's walked over and clamped a hand around Paddy's wrist.
"What's a pretty boy like you acting tough for? Your leg's thinner than my arm and you're going to call the cops?"
His eyes swept over Paddy with contempt.
"Scrawny little chicken, you shouldn't have come out. Just an embarrassment."
Paddy lost it and slapped him across the face.
George Sears froze for two seconds, and when it registered, his face went ugly with rage.
He cut his eyes toward the men behind him.
Two more of them stepped out and went straight for Paddy's clothes.
Paddy fought them with everything he had and still got his shirt torn off.
"He really is a pretty boy, look how pale, legs like a woman's. We'll send him down the street with his ass bare, shame him to death."
My eyes went hot, and I moved to get out and save Paddy.
Anita blocked me. "Now you know to panic?"
Her face was full of scorn.
"A twig like Paddy, and he thinks he can act tough in front of my family. That's a death wish."
Something cold ran through me.
Paddy is my buddy. He took time off just to be my best man.
That suit was custom-made on his own dime, all so I'd have someone standing beside me.
It fit him well.
I looked at Anita, hoping there was still some of the old warmth and sense in her.
All I saw was disdain and mockery.
Anger flared up in my chest.
I'd never hit a woman, so I shoved Anita's hand off me, hard.
She stumbled back a long way, her face full of disbelief. "You'd raise your hand to me? You actually beat your wife!"
Just then my father-in-law came up with a bucket of dog urine out of nowhere and dumped it all over me.
The reek spread, and I could barely breathe.
He jabbed a finger at me and roared, "If I don't set you straight today, you'll never learn how to be a proper son-in-law who married in!"
But I was looking anxiously at Paddy.
They'd pulled his pants off, and he was clutching at his underwear, his face raw with grief and humiliation.
I bolted for him, and because I was soaked in dog piss, no one grabbed me.
I got Paddy into the car while I had the chance.
I hit the lock button, then climbed over the center console into the driver's seat.
Anita kicked the tire, furious, and pressed her face to the window.
"Felix, you'd better get out right now and kneel and bow to little brother Roy, or I'll make you regret it!"
