Peg's Monologue

He was often referred to as a square peg trying to fit into a round hole. His aunt whispered it once, as an innocent joke. That was the beginning. His cousins chimed in. The ugly nickname jumped all over the awkward boy and stuck like shellac. His father loved the nickname so much he adopted it as his own and threw it about freely.
Peg’s father pinned him against the wall, using his size and strength to overpower the eleven year old. Chairs were knocked over by the kitchen table from the scuffle the two had moments earlier. Peg’s father always won. It was no contest. “Get arrogant with me boy,” his father threatened, a hand crushing Peg’s windpipe, the other reared back in a fist. “I got a notion to knock you down a peg.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Peg swore he caught the shifting of a …show more content…
Peg. Peg. Peg! Everyone seemed to agree! And so from then on he became, not Billy, or even Bill, but simply…Peg. Artificial… awkward… Peg.
Now occasionally, his grandfather would overhear the nonsense and take Peg to his home. His grandfather was a carpenter, a worthy profession, Peg thought, admirable even. Peg couldn’t agree more that the man’s shop was the best place in the world to be. Peg loved the smell of freshly sawed boards and polyurethane. What he loved most though, was the gentleness of the man he loved so greatly. The only person, really, that ever took the time to pause in the midst of a busy day to tell Peg how significant he really was.
Sure, his grandfather quoted scripture that was sometimes, no, most of the time, over Peg’s head. But Peg didn’t care; it was the soft praise of the man that drew the boy in and made him curious. Peg liked seeing himself through his grandpa’s eyes. Because of this, Peg pretended to listen to his grandpa’s ancient words and careful to return the same attention he had received.
They would sit together for hours, drinking cold cola straight from the glass