Corrie Street Dec. 6/15

Taking Leave

simon says mum as leanne leavesLeanne walks out Ken’s front door, taking leave. Simon runs out behind her and stops in the doorway. His face goes from angry to surprised, lost and frightened. Young man to child in an instant. But he can do that, can’t he? Often and quickly.

The end of Wednesday’s episode, and I held my breath all the way through the (fortunately for me) short scene. As Leanne walks away, close up of simon saying -i swearSimon asks her to stop, to not leave him. She stops and slowly turns toward him. He says if she walks away, he will never speak to her ever again. He swears that on his grandfather’s life. Leanne turns away from him and continues walking. He cannot see the look of unbearable sadness and fear on her face. But we can. We can also see it on his.

Leanne had decided unilaterally that Simon should go live with Ken leanne-looks-at-simonfor a while. She is trying to avert violence in their household. She had come close to hitting him and understandably was very upset about that. Leanne also knows, but is more reluctant to say, that it is likely that he will hit her again.


Simon seems to have absolved himself of all blame, all responsibility leanne-turns-away-from-simonfor the hits and shoves that he has inflicted on her. Is that the response of a child? “Not my fault, yours.” The response of an abuser? “You made me do it.” Both? Simon is a man-child right now, big enough to inflict real physical damage and immature enough to have no firmly-rooted impulse control or taking of responsibility for his actions.

Leanne taking leave, as Simon watchesPeter gave him one piece of good advice before leaving, that a real man never hits a woman no matter what. Simon remembers a lot of stuff about what his father has said and done, but apparently not that.