Not Dead Yet (30 page)

Refusing to die, she kneed him weakly in the crotch. He slipped his hands away for a moment, then throttled her again but she had sucked in a huge gulp of air while his hands were away.  Flailing her arms around on the floor to try to find something to use as a weapon, she snatched one last scalpel.  She drew her hand across to her shoulder, and slashed back across his throat.  With blood gushing out of him and spilling onto her, he looked at her in total amazement, as if to say, ‘that’s not what was supposed to happen,’  then he fell on top of her.

Theia rolled and shoved him off of her, lifting last his hand with the now bloody wedding band. She looked around for Jack, but he was blocked by Foster’s body.  “Help!  Someone, anyone.  Help!” she called weakly. 

The door burst open.  Everything became blurry again, then went completely dark.

EPILOGUE

Theia was in adult abuse court during the day and a half of spring weather they have in St. Louis.  More than six months had passed since the incident in the farmhouse.  “Bella Strand versus Monte Strand,” the bailiff called out.

Theia stood at counsel table and tapped her client’s arm.  Her nervous client turned to Theia for strength.  Theia whispered, “Everything will be okay.  You can do this.  You’re going to show your daughters that a man should not treat a woman this way.”

Bella gulped and stood, but looked as though she might bolt at the slightest sound. 

“Is Mr. Strand here?” the judge asked.  “Monte Strand?”

“Yeah, I’m here,” a man answered from halfway back in the courtroom. 

“Come forward, sir,” the bailiff instructed, “and remove the hat.”

Monte smirked at the bailiff and removed the baseball cap.  He took his time swaggering to the front of the courtroom, where he put his hands on his hips and stared at the judge.  

“Sir, your wife has asked this Court to grant her an Order of Protection.  Her petition says you slapped her in the face, grabbed her by the throat and held her by the throat against the wall until she passed out.  Is that true?”

“Aw, judge,” Monte began.  “Wasn’t nothing but a misunderstanding.  I just got a little upset is all.  I didn’t mean nothing.  I love my wife.” 

“Sir, how do you answer the allegations of the petition?” the judge persisted.

“Huh?” Monte looked confused.

“Did you do these things to your wife?”

“Well, yeah, but that don’t mean anything.  We sort of do that, you know.  We’re kinda physical.  Believe me, she gives as good as she gets.  Ask her about the time she come at me with a kitchen knife.”

“Ma’am?” the judge looked at Bella.

Bella looked at Monte, who was giving her his best “puppy dog eyes” look.  “Aw, come on, honey,” he wheedled.  “I’m really sorry.  Let’s just go home.”

“Not this time,” she shook her head.  “You went too far.”

“I said,” Monte said, now with menace.  “Let’s go home.  You tell the judge you wanna drop this thing and we’ll settle this at home.  You’re my wife, and you’ll do as I say.”

Bella raised her chin and faced the judge.  “Everything I said in the petition is true, your Honor,” she said in a clear voice. “He was mad because of something that happened at work and, as usual, he came home to take it out on me.  He slammed the front door, came into the kitchen and started cursing about what an asshole his boss is and how stupid his co-workers are.  I was frying some chicken for our dinner.  He said that after the day he had, he deserved steak.  I told him we didn’t have any steak, and he smacked me and told me to go to the store and get some.”

“That’s right,” Monte said vehemently.  “A man works hard, he deserves steak now and then.”

Bella glared at him and continued.  “I told him the chicken was already half-cooked, and I’d fix steak tomorrow.  That’s when he grabbed me by the throat, lifted me off my feet and slammed me against the wall, still holding me by my throat.  He choked me until I blacked out.  When I woke up, he was gone.  I guess he went out, ‘cause I didn’t see him again until the next day.” She turned to Monte.  “And the time I got out a kitchen knife was when you came home drunk and I knew you’d try to use me as a punching bag.  So when you started yelling at me that time, I showed you the knife and told you what I’d do if you hit me.  I got a right to defend myself.”

“You don’t have no right to tell the judge about what happens in our home!” Monte yelled.  “A man’s house is his castle.  You got no right!  We’re going home.”

He tried to grab Bella but Theia was standing between them.  She turned so she could be a physical shield for Bella.  Monte drew back his fist to punch Theia.  The bailiff neatly grasped his arms and snapped handcuffs on him. 

“Sir, you’re going to jail,” the judge said sternly.  “You’ve just assaulted an officer of the court, and your wife’s allegations amount to assault and battery.  I suggest you get a lawyer.”

“I suggest you fuck yourself,” Monte blustered.

“Duly noted,” the judge said, sharing a knowing look with the bailiff.  Monte was destined to have a little “accident” in his jail cell.  Nothing that would leave a lasting mark, just a reminder that one does not behave that way in court.

“Monte,” Bella said calmly and with a newfound strength.  “When you get out of jail, I won’t be there.  The girls and I are going to move in with my parents.  And I guarantee that if you ever come around and try to bother us, you’ll find out what my brothers and cousins have been wanting to do to you for years.  Your days of bullying me are over.  Now, you’re the one who’d better look over your shoulder.”

Theia looked at her client with pride.  One woman had found the courage to take her life back.  One woman had shown her daughters how to stand up for themselves.  One woman was not going to die at the hands of her abuser.  There were so many more who needed help, but this was a start. She could not bring back Rose Catalino, but she had been able to help this woman.

“I’m granting a full order of protection.  That means you’re not to be present at your wife’s residence, at her place of work, or anywhere else she is,” the judge explained.

“And I’ll be filing for divorce immediately,” Bella announced.  “You’re fired,” she said to Monte, who stood handcuffed, now with three bailiffs behind him, ready to haul him off to jail.  They led him out of the courtroom.  He did not look back.

The judge called the next case.  Theia gathered her things and walked out of the courtroom with her client.  They set a time for Bella to meet with Theia at her office to start divorce proceedings, then Bella walked away, with more confidence in every step.  Mollie had followed them out of the courtroom, where she had an earlier case.

“That had to feel good,” Mollie commented.  “To have her stand up for herself like that.”

“Yeah, that did feel good.”

“So, how’re you doing?  I’ve been in trial all week and I haven’t seen you.  Everything okay with you and Jack?”

“You could say that,” Theia grinned and wiggled her left hand in the air. “He gave me this last night.”

“Wow!  I’ve seen baseballs smaller than that rock,” said Mollie, staring at her killer diamond engagement ring.

Theia smiled.  In order to stay in one place for more than a few months at a time, Jack had quit his job and opened a government contracts consulting firm, which was even more lucrative than his previous work.  The man had the golden touch. Theia and Jack had found each other and learned how to trust and to love without reservation, even though they had both nearly died in the process.  Theia was so happy, she could have hugged someone.  Her life was back to normal – no, it was better than that.  She had found a new normal, and she was never going back to the way things were before. 

This is a work of fiction.  Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.