Leon sat down at the kitchen table and slouched in the chair. He took a long swallow of beer. "Shut up, Millie " he said bitingly. "What have I done to make you treat me like this? Why do you hate me so much?" she asked miserably. "I don't hate you. What you got to understand is what I do outside of this here house ain't no business of yourn," he said angrily. "But...." "Ain't no but about it So long as I put food on the table and clothes on your bony back, you ain't got nothin' to complain about," he shouted. Millie felt that she had put up with about as much as she could take. The memory slowly faded. Millie still felt the pain that Leon's words had caused. It was a feeling that she intended her girls would never endure. Millie refused to allow any man to treat her daughters mean. She knew what it was like to be disrespected by a man just because he felt like it. That was not going to happen to her daughters; she swore she would protect her girls. Her daughters might be grown but she knew what was best for them.