It was a hot summer day and I was looking forward to picking up my daughter and taking her to the Rockaways. It would be a full day of running around with her cousin, playing in the sand, and splashing in the water. Although my time with her was short, I was happy she got to spend it with our family so we can keep our connection strong.

I grabbed her swimsuit and her floaties and made my way to the old apartment. The supervisor for that day was a nice man named Sal, who always had a hard time dealing with my husband because of his meek demeanor. My husband preyed on people with a weaker personality than him in an effort to gain control.

As soon as my husband came downstairs with my daughter and saw the floaties in my hands all hell broke loose. He looked at Sal menacingly,

“I wasn’t made aware that she was going to the beach today!”

He was towering over Sal with his arms crossed and his eyes wide.

“Sir, is there a problem?”, Sal muttered.

“If I have to let her know when I’m going to Florida, she should let me know that she is going to the beach!!”

Apparently he didn’t understand that there was a difference between getting on an airplane and leaving the state, and getting in an Uber and going to the beach.

I picked my daughter up in my arms and panicked. How was I going to keep her away from this madness? The ironic thing was that she was completely unfazed. She was used to him yelling at people and his condescending tone. My husband kept reprehending Sal and I was trying to keep my daughter occupied by looking at my phone. I opened up the camera app.

“Mommy, let’s take a picture!”

I decided to use my camera to record him instead of taking a picture since the conversation was getting more heated.

“Sir, is there a safety concern?”

It was clear to me that Sal couldn’t get away from him and needed some help. I tried….

“Sal, let’s go. We don’t need his permission”

But Sal didn’t feel comfortable enough walking out. He endured at least 5 more full minutes of being reprimanded by my husband before he gave up.

Unfortunately it wasn’t over. I was the next victim, and he was on to the next topic

“If you’re going to take her scooter to your house you need to pay me for it!!!!”, he growled at me.

My daughter had left her scooter at a neighbor’s house, and the neighbor offered to bring it over so that she can ride it when she is with me. Unfortunately my husband thought that the scooter, along with my daughter, was his possession. I knew he ultimately didn’t care about the beach, nor the scooter. He cared about winning, gaining control, and most importantly hurting me.

I ignored him and we finally left the building and got in the car. I still remember being extremely shaken. I had severe anxiety the whole way to the Rockaways. How can someone be so mean? Why did he have to expose my daughter to this? His bullying legitimately scared me, and it wasn’t until I got to the beach and breathed the fresh air did my heart stop racing.

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