Upon hearing their rooster crow, Janet and Alec decided it was useless to remain in bed, and they went downstairs to unenthusiastically start their day. Cecily and Daniel followed in short order, and Alec asked them to start their chores. He explained, "We need to be alone, to discuss something with your brother. Perhaps you should go to your Aunt Hetty’s this morning for breakfast." Cecily and Daniel looked at each other perplexedly, and then pulled on their coats and left.
It was after 11:00 AM by the time Felix finally pulled himself out of bed and got dressed. He went to the kitchen, and was greeted by stern looks from his parents. His head was pounding, he felt sick to his stomach, and Felix couldn’t help but think that a lecture was the last thing he needed that morning. Alec told Felix to take a seat, but Felix replied defensively that he’d just as soon stand. Sighing, Alec faced his son and pulled the empty whiskey flask from underneath the table. "Felix, what is the meaning of this?" Alec demanded.
Felix grasped his crutch tighter, tensing at the sight of the flask, and lowering his head. "What did you do, search my room!" he muttered obstinantly.
Janet answered, "We didn’t have to, you dropped it by the side of your bed." Alec added rashly, "Obviously, you were too drunk to hide it."
Felix’s head snapped upright at the sounds of his father’s accusation, and glared at Alec with fire in his eyes. "I don’t have to justify myself to you! Neither of you have any idea of the hell I’ve been through, nor of what I need to get over it!" Felix shouted.
"Don’t you dare speak to me like that!" Alec responded, jumping to his feet, trying desperately to regain some control over the situation.
Felix’s words acted as a reminder that Alec was totally unable to relate to his son’s experiences and made his temper flare up as well, and he impulsively started to raise his hand to strike Felix. "Stand down, Father!" ordered Felix in a voice his parents had never heard come from his mouth; one which was accustomed to commanding soldiers. He had correctly assumed that Alec was going to hit him, and saw a flash of apprehension in his father’s eyes as he dropped his hand.
Seeing this, Felix pressed his advantage and continued sarcastically, "Don’t forget, I could have killed you in the barn if I had wanted to—and you wouldn’t have been the first, either!" Felix immediately felt mortified that he could speak to his father so cruelly once he noticed the crushed, defeated look on Alec’s face, but he was in no condition to offer an apology to his parents; he was stretched to the limit and was about to explode. "I have to get out of here!" Felix spat out, and limped as quickly as he could up the stairs and slammed the door to his room shut.
Janet, who had been frozen to her seat in dismay at the sight of what her son had become, went over to Alec and held him. His parents had expected that Felix only meant that he needed to go to his room to cool off, but realized otherwise when Felix limped down the stairs with a bag clutched in his free hand. "No, please don’t leave!" pleaded Janet, choking back a sob and trying to grab her son’s arm.
Impetuously, Felix stated his intentions: "I can’t stay here, I can’t stand the way you look at me! I’ve earned the right to do as I please! Just get out of my way." Felix threw open the door, almost knocking over Felicity who was just entering. A look of utter surprise crossed Felicity’s face as Felix pushed past her and limped off across the fields.
Alec’s temper returned at seeing the look of sadness and hurt on Janet’s face from her son’s rejection; and following Felix to the door, he called after him, "Maybe there’s nothing we can do for you, but whiskey isn’t going to help you, it will destroy you!"
Felix turned around, and in a voice tinged with disgust, he sneered at Alec, "It doesn’t matter, there’s nothing left to destroy," and he continued on his way.
"What happened!" cried Felicity in astonishment. She had never seen her parents and Felix so upset, not even when Felix shot Digger.
Alec stormed off to the barn without a word, and Janet sat down sobbing, and tried to explain to Felicity all that had transpired since Christmas night. She moaned, "Felix has changed—he’s so angry. Now he’s left, but even if we dragged him back I don’t think he’d really want to stay with us. And he’s started drinking; you know how we feel about that. It’s like a stranger has taken over Felix’s body and stolen our son!" Felicity just held her mother and let her cry it out.
And in the barn stood Alec, a look of total defeat on his face, praying in between sobs for his son to come back home and be the same Felix he was before he left to fight in that God forsaken war. He clutched at a bridle, and cradled it to his chest as if it was a baby, recalling how he proudly held his precious newborn son Felix, who returned from war so desperately tormented. It was a fervent prayer that looked as if it would not be answered, judging from the sight of Felix as he stalked resolutely across the fields to the road, looking to hail a ride to the ferry in Borden. All he could think of was escape—from his family, the farm, the nightmares that tortured him, and worst of all – the fear that Izzy would never want him now.
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