We just stood there
We all stood there, just held on to what was once good. The shock, the horror and the pain struck all at once when he told her she was worthless and she wouldn't mean anything to anyone. We just stood there and said nothing. She looked, with swelling her eyes, at the man she loved and pledged her life to. She humbled herself and apologized for bringing him the wrong whiskey. He told her that no one that dumb should be allowed to exist and she should just sit in the car and wait for him. We just stood there, seeing the horror before us and said nothing. He composed himself and regained his charm and charisma, went about the night as if nothing happened. She sat waiting in the car for two whole hours before he returned to her side to leave for home. We just stood there. Talking, saying what a jerk he is, all knowing the evil she will face when she gets home. The demon that packed himself away earlier in the night will return to hurt her, to humiliate and degrade her once again. We just stood there. Knowing what monster will come in the night, and as the sun rises to produce a golden light over a dark night she will forgive him. Because that's what a good wife does.
The next morning she called each of us individually to apologize for her behavior and his little rant, "stressed" she said, "he was stressed" and she should have known better. But we did nothing. We just stood there. When we met in our little huddle of friends, we discussed this over and over, but we did nothing. As time moved, she aged quickly and wore dark circles around her eyes and she became weaker and weaker. She had become defeated. We all knew. We just stood there.
We should have said something, done something, but we didn't bother to involve ourselves. Because we just stood there like cowarded friends, fakest of the lot that pretended to care until it really mattered. We just stood there.
When he left her at night to meet other women, we saw them in clubs and at parties, we just stood there.
We should have been better.
