They
arrived home. Both soaking, as the rain kept on falling down on them.
Stepping
under the covered porch, puddles formed beneath their feet as they
finally stopped walking. One shake of his head sprayed droplets into
fractured patterns against the shadows, intermingling with light from
the hanging lantern. He stopped after a moment and glared at her
drowned form, shivering next to him.
"So
let me get this straight..." His voice carried loudly above the
continual patter of water hitting the ground. "We had to take my
car in for service this morning, because you got a coupon for twenty
five percent off that expires today."
Her
limp hair moved slightly as she simply nodded.
"Then,
you are an hour late to pick me up from the office, because you lost
your car keys at work."
Another
vertical movement of her head allowed tiny streams to pour down her
cheeks with zigzag currents. Caring, if it was rain or tears, didn't
seem to be his goal at the moment.
"After
you find your keys, you get in the car, drive to my office but never
once glance at the gas gauge?"
She
started to speak, but he held his hand up to stop her.
"The
orange flashing light does not get your attention once. We run out
of gas on the longest stretch of road without any street lights and
not a gas station for five miles." He is pulling off his jacket
and wringing the water from its shapeless form. His words gain an
octave as emotions spill over each other.
"Now
that we've walked two miles to get home, you tell me that you don't
have the house keys? Why wouldn't they be on your car key ring,
for God's sake?" Exasperation dripped from the words keeping
time with the barrage of raindrops on the roof. "You have got to
be the most idiotic woman who ever walked the earth!"
Her
head lowered on her shoulders almost losing her neck. Not rain but
salty drops poured over her cheeks mixing with the moisture in her
soaked dress. Her best dress, not that he had noticed. Her finest
shoes, not that he would care. Her hair glorious a few hours ago,
from the attention given a masterpiece, hung in wet dreadlocks down
her face and back. His ungratefulness, while not unexpected, stung
as each word pierced with precise aim. She felt her body become the
target, with her heart the bull's eye. His perfect score continued
as he fired off more ammo.
"Do
you hear me? I have had it! You never think about anyone but
yourself. This is the last time that I put up with your nonsense. I
don't know how I have lived with you this long! Ten years is
enough!"
All
the years of pent up frustrations turned to rage for her, but she
refused to release it. Five more minutes and it would be over.
"Why
don't we have a key hidden? It isn't like this is the first time
that you locked yourself out, is it?"
Feeling
the scorn behind his tirade, she flinched inwardly. His years of
abuse didn't make her immune to verbal pain, though her brain told
her to ignore it, she could not. She relentlessly attempted to
please him, over and over with the same result. Isn't
that the definition of insanity?
She
inched towards the door silently while his rant continued.
"Since
this is going down as the worst day of the year for me, let's just
make it a landslide. Your family and friends still think we are the
perfect couple, don't they? Well, I'm going to leave you, my
dear and the best part is, they will all take my side! You've made
them believe that I'm the best husband in the world, haven't
you?" Wildness spewed from his eyes as a plan formed in his cruel
brain.
Another
trivial nod slipped from her as she stood before the front door.
Hand reached towards the knob, a tiny quiver visible on her lips.
"That
little smokescreen is going to backfire, my sweet. They'll never
believe you now if you tell them I've mistreated you. You are
lucky that I have put up with you this long! Say adios to the good
life as you know it, baby, and hello to a life where family and
friends believe you chased away the one decent thing in your life!"
She
grasp the doorknob in her fingers and began to twist.
"The
kicker to this great day, is that it is my birthday and you never
even acknowledged it. What kind of wife forgets her husband's
birthday, I ask you?"
"You
tell me."
The
latch on the door clicked loudly as she pushed it wide open.
Shocked
expressions stared back at him in horror. A sea of revulsion pushed
outwards slamming into him with a definite conclusion.
"Surprise."
Nearly
drowning by the downpour, life flashing before her eyes as he had
pushed her under the rough water again and again, the sweet breath of
life filled her lungs with a second chance as the smile on her lips
reached up to her eyes with relief. The life preserver unwittingly
thrown by a brutal husband in a fit of rage.
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