Sweat drips down the back of Alan’s neck. The back of his polo is damp and showed a slightly darker shade of pink than when he first put it on. While the wide-open yard is nice for the party around him, there is very little shade. He takes another drink from his coke and uses his free hand to wipe his brow. Trying to ignore the heat, Alan turns his attention back to the conversation in front of him. He doesn’t like how friendly Bob is being with Maria.
“Man, I just can’t believe how big these kids are getting,” Bob says. “Seems like only yesterday Daisy was running around playing princess with Rosie, and now she’s turning eleven!”
“Yeah they are growing up fast,” says Maria. She is looking down with one arm crossed; she uses the other hand to push a strand of hair behind her ear.
“I meant to ask you, what happened to your wrist there?” Bob gestures to the brace on Maria’s left hand.
Maria hesitates a second, and Alan cuts back in to the conversation.
“Yeah, how’s your wrist feeling, honey?” Alan asks his wife as he puts his arm around her waist. Turning back to Bob, he says, “She was carrying groceries into the house the other day, and the cat ran in front of her. She tripped and sprained it. Fortunately, the damage wasn’t too bad besides a few broken eggs.”
“Well, I’m glad you weren’t hurt too badly,” Bob says to Maria. “Well I hate to run out on the party, but I have to finish some things up around the house tonight. When Rosie turns up, will you just tell her I said be home by six please?”
“Sure thing, Bob. Thanks for stopping by,” says Alan as the two men shake hands.
Maria smiles politely as Bob pulls his car keys from a pocket in his khaki shorts and heads towards his car.
“He was awfully friendly with you,” Alan says looking down at his wife.
“We were just talking, Alan.”
“I know. I was just saying that he was being very friendly with a married woman.”
“We were just talking about the kids. That was it.”
The soft and quick patter of feet running through the grass interrupts them. Daisy and Rosie run through the crowd of people towards them, spring dresses flapping around their knees.
“Woah, slow down there, girls,” Alan says with a smile.
“Hi, Mom. Hi, Daddy,” Daisy says, playing with her dress. “Would it be ok if Rosie spent the night tonight?”
“Probably not, sweetie,” says Maria. “Her dad told us to say that Rosie needs to be home by six.”
“Then, could Daisy come spend the night at my house Mrs. Smith?” Rosie asks.
“We’ll see, but no promises,” Alan says.
Leaving Maria with the girls, Alan begins to head back towards the house. He just wanted to go inside with the air conditioning for a bit, but it seemed like he had to talk to half the people at the party along the way. Yes, he did just put that fence in recently. No, he hadn’t seen the new Sunday school classroom yet. He was in fact still a manager at the little grocery store down the road, and it’s been about fifteen years now. He was glad to hear the family was doing great. Maria’s shoulder is doing a lot better now, she just needs to be more careful with her wrist for a bit. What did the elephant say to the naked man…? Oh, that joke is hilarious!
Finally, Alan makes it through the barrage and into the house. He walks to the fridge and grabs a coke. As Alan walks back across the kitchen, a cellphone rings on the kitchen counter. Glancing over, he notices that it’s Maria’s. As he walks closer, he sees that it is a call from an unrecognized number. Alan takes a drink and answers the phone.
“Hi, is Maria Smith there?” a man’s voice asks.
“She is, but she is busy at the moment,” Alan says, instantly suspicious.
“Ok, well when she gets a free minute will you just tell her that Matt Nelson called and ask her to call me back at this number please?”
“Sure,” Alan says hesitantly.
That name sounds familiar. Holding the phone between his shoulder and head, Alan grabs a pen and writes the name down on his hand.
“Thank you,” the man says. “Have a great rest of your day.”
“Yeah.” Alan hangs up the phone.
Forgetting the party outside, Alan goes to his room and sits on the bed with his laptop. He takes a quick glance at his palm and types the name into the google search bar. He finds what he is looking for almost immediately. Alan stands up and looks out the window towards the party. His jaw clenches as he glares out to where his wife has her back to him. He looks back to the top result on his computer screen.
MATT NELSON | FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY | DIVORCE | CHILD CUSTODY
Later that night, long after the party was over, Alan sits alone in the living room. He is waiting. Maria went out with her sister shortly after the party, but she doesn’t usually stay out late at night. Alan knows he doesn’t have to wait long. He looks down at the smudged ink on his hand once again, and he feels his rage bubbling barely contained beneath his still expression. The only sign he exhibits is a slightly furrowed brow.
When the door finally opens and Maria steps into the house, Alan remains in his chair.
“Hello, sweetie,” he says. His mouth is smiling, but his eyes are not.
“Hello, Alan,” she says meekly, closing the door and locking it behind her.
“You got a phone call today.” Alan rises from his chair.
“Mr. Matt Nelson.” He slowly walks towards her.
Maria turns back towards the door and reaches for the lock.
“Get the fuck away from that door.” Alan grabs Maria’s arm and violently pulls her towards him.
“Alan, please…” Maria pries at his hands, tears in her eyes.
“Were you gonna try and leave me, Maria? Don’t you want your daughter to have a happy family?”
“Please… you’re hurting me…” Maria pulls at her arm.
“Am I?” Alan tightens his grip, causing Maria to yelp in pain. “Am I hurting you Maria? What about how you’ve hurt me? Did you not think about that? Or how you’re hurting Daisy?”
Maria screams and tries to push Alan away. She is on the floor clutching the side of her face before she can even process the smack. She backs towards the wall near the now toppled min-table; the lamp is shattered on the floor. The only light comes from the streetlights outside and a small nightlight down the hall between the bedrooms. Alan stands over her. He begins to reach down to pull Maria up. Panicked, Maria wildly kicks out at him before finally hitting Alan in the gut. Gasping for breath, Alan takes a step back. Maria takes advantage of this brief window of opportunity and begins to crawl towards the bedroom. Shards of glass from the broken base of the lamp are embedded into the blue carpet; they gouge at Maria’s palms and knees as she desperately tries to flee. Adrenaline and fear block the pain as she continues to crawl, leaving reddish purple stains trailing behind her.
Suddenly, Maria is forcibly pulled back by her ankle. Crouching behind her, Alan pulls again more violently.
“You don’t get to walk away from me that easy,” he says with an angry stillness in his voice.
Screaming, Maria begins to thrash about in an attempt to break free; her bright yellow sundress is now torn and stained from the glass and blood on the floor. Streaks of red smear up and down her pale legs as her damp hands try to pry her leg from Alan’s grip. With one final burst of desperation, Maria kicks at Alan’s face with her free leg. Alan is too slow to move out of the way as the sole of her cheap sandal strikes him in the nose with enough force to break the strap. He immediately releases her and clutches at his face. Maria quickly struggles to her feet and begins to hobble towards their bedroom door.
“Fucking bitch,” Alan growls, stumbling after her.
Maria reaches the room first and quickly slams the door shut. Alan tries to turn the door handle. Locked. He lowers his shoulder into the door. He can hear Maria crying on the other side.
“Maria, open this fucking door!” his voice carries throughout the house.
Alan can hear Maria rustling about inside the bedroom. A drawer is yanked open and then shut seconds later. She is looking for something. Alan feels his stomach drop. He quickly reaches into his pocket and pulls out Maria’s phone. Angry, yet relieved, he tosses it down the hall and lowers his shoulder into the door once again.
“Maria, I swear to God if you don’t open this fucking door!” Alan pounds his fist against it repeatedly until his hand can’t take anymore.
He stops and takes a step back. His breath his quick and harsh as he realizes how quiet the night is. Outside he hears a car door shut somewhere. Inside the room he can hear Maria softly sobbing. She is no longer screaming. Though she is still very afraid, she is now very hopeless. Alan slowly approaches the door and rests his forehead against the wood.
“Maria…” Alan says softly, his voice is almost a whisper. “Maria? Please open the door, I’m sorry I lost my temper.” Alan hears nothing on the other side of the door. “I was just afraid, Maria. I didn’t want to lose you. Or Daisy. Maria?” He is answered with more silence, and he is getting impatient.
Alan jiggles the door knob once again. He furrows his brow. “Maria open the door; I’m done asking.”
He beats the door with his fist to no response. Fuming, Alan takes a step away from the bedroom door. In one sudden movement he steps forward and kicks the door. There is a loud snap of splintering wood as the latch breaks free and the door wildly swings inward.
“I’m done fucking around,” Alan says as he storms into the room.
Suddenly, Alan hears a scream and is knocked forward as something smashes against the back of his head and shatters to the floor. Alan reaches and feels where he was hit as he turns around and sees the vase from their nightstand shattered at a paralyzed Maria’s feet. He removes his hand from his head and looks at his red soaked palm.
Fear and panic no longer holding her, Maria turns to run out the door. Before she can take more than a step away, Alan reaches out and catches her by the hair. Maria lets out a yelp like a kicked puppy as she is ripped back into the room. There is a muffled crunching of glass as she stumbles back, stepping on the remains of the vase. Before Maria can react to the pain in her feet, she is thrown across the room and onto the bed.
Alan thunders over to her and reaches down at her. As Maria tries hitting at him to defend herself, he grabs her wrists and pins her arms to her chest. Alan leans down on her arms with all his weight on one elbow to keep her subdued. With his free hand he reaches for her throat.
“Now look what you’re making me do. I don’t want to hurt you, but you’re not giving me a choice, Maria.” Alan’s face is so close to hers Maria can feel as well as hear his steely voice.
Desperately Maria tries kicking out from under him. His weight is too great to shake off as she thrashes under him. Alan tightens his grip. He grimaces as he pushes down harder to restrain her. Maria’s red face slowly starts to relax as her efforts become less violent. Each kick and shove is nothing more than a soft push as her body starves for oxygen.
Suddenly the room is lit up with bright flashes of light. Stunned, Alan steps back and shields his eyes from the blinding window. The weight off her throat, Maria gasps for breath and tries to prop herself on her elbow as her free hand clutches her chest.
Alan looks around the room and panics at the flashing red and blue illuminating the walls. His reaches into his pocket. His phone is still there. They don’t have a home phone. He threw Maria’s away; she never had a chance to use it.
Standing motionless in the center of the room, Alan hears muffled sniffles behind him. Slowly, he turns and faces the door. In the hallway he sees Daisy sitting on the floor with her back against the wall, tightly hugging her knees to her chest. Her head is pulled tight into her knees; her eyes are barely visible peeking from under her hair. Alan stares at his sobbing daughter, and at her feet he sees Maria’s cellphone.
Alan’s expression softens as he slowly steps toward her. “Honey—”
“Keep away from me!” Daisy’s frightened voice is shrill as she quickly shuffles down the hall away from him.
Alan stops and stares at her for a moment longer. Then, he turns and walks toward the window. As he stares out at the flashing red and blue, he hears the front door crash open.
The sun shines through the bedroom window. Maria stands in the closet and gathers the last of Daisy’s baby photo books. She puts the books in a box on the carpet and puts a few of her favorite tops and shoes on top of them. Her eyes linger on a blue dress in the back. She grabs it and contemplates putting it in the box. Alan bought it for her as an anniversary gift eight years ago. She holds it a moment longer as she remembers how it whirled and flowed around her ankles as she walked in it. Then, with a sharp movement she hangs it back up. She picks the box up off the floor, takes a step back, and closes the closet door.
She takes a quick look around the room to see if she forgot anything. She avoids looking at the bed. Her downcast eyes linger on the shattered remains of the vase on the floor. This is the first time she returned to the house, and God willing it’ll also be the last. After that night she refused to clean anything up. She wants Alan to be reminded of what happened when he gets back. The vase was a wedding present from Alan’s mother. Maria never liked that woman anyways.
Stepping around the glass, Maria winces as she walks out into the hallway. The cuts in her feet, hands, and knees were deep and still healing. She sets the box down to readjust the wrap around her palm. Once it is tightened, she looks at her watch. It is almost time to pick Daisy up from school. She picks the box back up again and walks through the living room and out the front door.
Maria struggles to close the door behind her. It doesn’t sit right on its hinges since it was kicked open, and she is trying to do it with one hand. Angry, she sets the box down, grabs the knob with both hands, and gives the door a quick pull with all her might.
The door finally latches shut, and she steps back exhaling sharply through her nose. She looks down at her palm. She can see a dark spot spreading through the wrapping. She tore it open again. Maria sighs deeply as she pulls her keys out of her pocket. She locks the door, picks up her box, and steps off the porch. She puts the box in the backseat of her car and gets in behind the wheel without looking back.
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