Joyce opened her front door and smiled. “Welcome, sweetheart. I didn't expect you tonight.”
“Neither did I.”
“You don't sound too excited. What happened to bring you down, darling?”
“Amanda screwed me. That's what happened. She emptied the bank account and took it in cash. She also left the house, along with her handgun and the emergency money, we have on hand.”
“I thought you told me she handled the request well?”
“She did, but I guess she changed her mind. So I'm pissed right now.”
Joyce laughed in spite of his mood. “Come on in, honey. Your mood’s understandable. It happens to the best of us.”
“But it was going so smooth. All that does is set me back.”
“Don't worry. We'll live. I have the money and you're worth it. I don’t mind investing in us.”
“No. That's not the right way to start a relationship.”
“In this day and time, is there a correct set of rules for us to start? After all, I've gone through this divorce scenario once. That's why I got to know you first. Your problems are few compared to other men, so we'll do it together. Like I said, you're worth it.”
Joseph shook his head but he stopped arguing with her. He held her on the sofa while he thought about Amanda. “I wonder where she is and what she got in mind?”
“I'm sure we'll find out. Is she a descent shot with the gun, or will her disabilities interfere?”
“She is a good shot; I trained her. As for her disabilities, I have no idea. For her to have done this much is a real miracle. It's only been about nine months that she could talk occasionally without babbling.”
“Does she know about me? Will she be able to control herself?”
“She doesn't know about you. I'm the one who has to worry.”
Joyce lay across his lap and gazed at his worried face. “Don't stress out, dear. Things will get better. Remember what you're getting here in me and keep things in focus.”
He kissed her and relaxed.
“She took the jade bear.” He spoke it offhandedly and nearly in a whisper, but it was heard.
“What's that?”
“It's a six-inch tall bear, made of jade crystal with silver teeth. It's an ugly thing, but she likes it. One of her uncles, a hunter, gave it to her a year before he died. He told her he got it in Africa and it has some magical powers. All it does is collect dust.”
Joyce blinked. “Why did you tell me that? Do you believe it?”
“No. That's just one of her idiosyncrasies. She talks to it sometimes as if it were real and could answer. Like I said, she's handicapped.”
“She's pretty skilled at looking out for herself, regardless of her handicap. Either that, or someone's coaching her. Does she have any friends she hangs out with frequently?”
“If she does, I don't know them. I never saw another woman around the house or heard her talking to anyone on the phone. After the accident, she withdrew into herself for nearly two years. All her feisty nature disappeared and she grew lethargic and antisocial. I'm the only one she talked to because no one could stand the babbling and jumbled sentences.”
Joyce closed her eyes and thought. “If you ask me, hon, either you're wrong about her, or something drastic has happened to change her, or you're totally blind. We've been dating for nearly two years. Have I blinded you to what's happening in her life?”
“I don't know, love. I love you intensely, and her sexual drive dropped to zero long ago. That's made it easy for us to know each other. For that I'm grateful. It was never the same after the accident. It was cold and lifeless affair on the rare occasions when she did want it.”
Conversation dwindled after that and Joseph caressed her face. Her soft skin, kisses and body heat began to work on both.
“Well, you might as well plan to move in with me. I'd say you're pretty much free right now, and I’d love to have you here always.”
She went to her small bar, mixed a drink for each of them, picked up a small bag from one drawer and returned to the sofa. “I do this occasionally.” She lay the bag between them and watched his response. “Will you put me on probation for it?”
“Roll one for me. We'll answer to each other for it. I wondered when you would confess.”
“How long have you known that?”
“About three months. You hid it very well.”
Amanda stepped from Jan's shower and felt better. The release of tears and the pent up pain, left her calm and clear headed. She dried herself and even the bruises did nothing to depress her. In fact, since the beating, severe as it was, her thoughts crystallized quicker than before. It was not the first beating, but she promised herself it would be the last.
“Here's your letter. Do you think your plan will work?” Jan asked.
“Definitely. I'll get a beeper and give you the number. In the mean time, I'm going to stay mobile. I feel safer that way.”
Jan regarded her before she spoke. “You appear to be different, like you're changing, but not in the normal way for a divorce-in-progress change. What's up, or do you know? I've really missed you a lot since the accident.”
Amanda shrugged. “I just thought about that. That part of my life's in limbo, and out of reach. He's hit me before, usually over my lack of interest in sex. However, this time, I felt I wouldn't live through it. I remember the last blow to my head and it felt like my skull collapsed.
As far as I can remember, that's similar to the last thing I felt when the Corvette slammed into me. They said I hit the windshield and flew some seventy feet before I hit the ground. I remember they declared me dead seven times before I came back and stayed.
“My legs and body healed but my mind was out there, lost in space much of the time. Now, I don't know. I do know I feel great and my mind is working fast and clear, and my thoughts hold well enough to plan and follow through. I also know that I'm going to hurt him. He thinks he's tough on his clients, wait until he's dealt with this probation officer. He doesn't know the meaning of tough, yet.”
Jan walked her to the door. “Keep in touch, please. If you need any more assistance, let me know. You can come here and rest, use my shower, sleep in the sofa, anything. You know that.”
“I will. I'll call you soon.”
Joseph stopped by his house before he went to work the next morning. He went to the bedroom closet to get his private stash of money and retain a lawyer. When he opened the envelope, he found a note. “Thanks, darling. You are so generous with your money. I'll set you free, but on my terms. Love, Amanda & Jade.”
“Bitch!” He crumpled the empty envelope and note and flung them across the room. “You have no right to . . .”
“This isn't going well,” he declared as he took a tour of the house. The television, VCR, stereo, tape and cd collection were missing also.
He sighed and sat in his recliner in the living room, feeling exasperated and angry. “This is crazy! Okay, if you want to fight dirty, then so be it. I'll find you, wherever you are.”
He went to work, gathered his files for the court appearances and spent the rest of the morning in court.
“She's crazy.” He told Joyce that several times over lunch.
“Will you listen to me now? Please, Joseph, before she hits you again.”
“Fine! After this morning, I'm ready for just about anything. What do I do?”
“I'll give you the money for a retainer and get that part done, as soon as possible. When you finish with court today, report your credit cards stolen or lost. That'll put a freeze on your account immediately and she'll lose them when she tries to use them next. If you don't, she'll probably max them out and leave you high and dry to pay them off.”
“I'm not going to take this lying down.”
“You don't have to, but keep it legal. Listen to me and we'll stay one step ahead of her. The third thing to do is change the locks. That'll keep her out and if she does come in, after you file for separation, you can nail her for that. Hang tough, Joseph. We'll make it.”
The Indian River coal train rolled past Amanda at two o'clock and she woke to watch it. She drained the last of the bourbon and rolled her window down. She watched the brakeman swing from the caboose and reposition the switch back to the main line.
When he passed her car, she spoke and he stopped.
“What are you doing here? This isn’t a good place for a woman to be.”
“Hiding, and very effectively. What are you doing here?”
“Working a coal train, but that's my job. I'm not hiding.”
“Good for you. My name's Amanda. Do you have a name?”
“Brownie is the name I use.”
“Then Brownie it is.”
“Have you been drinking?”
“A little. Was that you who shined the light in my car two nights ago?”
He nodded. “I'm curious by nature, and finding a woman parked by the tracks in a desolate region, is curious indeed. Who are you hiding from?”
“My husband. Shine your light on my face again.”
His light beam showed him the bruises. “Wow. I'm sorry that happened. Your husband did that?”
“He did. That's why I'm drinking and hiding here. Have you ever hit a woman?”
Brownie shook his head.
“Good. That's one thing in your favor. Do you easily mislead yourself into believing that every woman in the world wants to have sex with you?”
“No. Is there a reason for these questions?”
“Yes. I might need a male friend I can rely on and I want things clear, up front. I'm armed and I know how to use it very well. I've also been beaten half to death, sexually abused and I'm not inclined to advances. Can you live with that?”
“Yes I can, but I have to go and work now. That's not a put off. The engineer can't finish this without me. Will you be here frequently?”
“For a time. We'll talk later, Brownie. Be good and take care of yourself.”
Brownie gave her a mock salute, left her and radioed the engine.
“That took long enough. Are you alone?” the engineer asked.
“Unfortunately, yes. Let's get this done and go home.”
Joyce snuggled next to Joseph and slept soundly. She woke alone and anxiously searched the room for any sign of Joseph. She walked slowly to her bedroom door, because she heard voices in the hallway. She opened the door and a seven- foot tall jade green bear with silver teeth confronted her. She shivered and backed away from the door as one huge paw swiped at her. She fell across the bed, unable to scream and with two waddling steps, the bear was on her.
It gripped her left shoulder in its teeth and tossed her across the room with a snap of its head. Still she could not scream.
She woke with a shrill scream and slapped Joseph when he touched her.
“What's wrong? What is it?”
“Joseph? Oh, that was horrible. I dreamed of the jade bear with silver teeth attacking me. Why did you tell me about that? Don't tell me anything else like that. I don't care for nightmares.”
“Nor do I. I'm sorry, Joyce.”
She sighed and moved into his arms. “That's quite okay now, darling. Just hold me and I'll get over it.” She lay down and snuggled against him once more.
Joseph received his credit card bill and a letter confirming the cards stolen. The bill reflected a purchase of $400 in clothing and food between New Castle and Salisbury, Maryland, and a $500 purchase of gift certificates from malls.
“This is getting ridiculous,” he complained and sorted through the remainder of the mail. He lay the electric bill aside and dropped three sweepstakes on the floor. The final piece of mail simply had his name typed neatly on the front with no return address, and the postmark was from Philadelphia. He opened it and removed the one sheet of paper.
Mr. Joseph Matkins,
The Court of the Jade Bear has found you guilty of treating your wife in a cruel and inhuman manner. You will be set free when you have completed the period of probation and paid your fines. You will be contacted again when you have been assigned to a probation officer. You are required to confine your movements to the boundaries of Delaware until your sentence is completed.
Amanda and Jade.
Joseph gently lay the letter down, sighed and did not respond with the cursing of the previous day. “Self, I think we’d better watch our back. This is serious. She'll mess us up if we give her half a chance.”
He disposed of the sweepstake documents, changed the locks and went to visit Joyce, choosing not to take the letter. He found Joyce very sober. To answer his question, she handed him a paper.
Hickory dickory dock
The jade bear smashed the clock
One two three
Hee hee hee,
You forgot to change your lock.
“Did it come in the mail?”
“No. It was on the kitchen counter when I came home. I think Amanda's more aware of life than you know. It's obvious she knows about me, when you thought she didn't.”
“How do you know it's Amanda?” No sooner did the word leave his mouth before he felt guilty to defend her.
“Come off it! Level with me. I'm not handicapped and after the experience with Ralph, I prefer sobering truth to deception and no problems. Did you abuse her?”
He sat and stared at the floor. “At times, I guess you could say I did. I never really meant to do it. I was patient for years and then, well, she aggravated me and I slapped her once. Her and that damned jade bear.”
“How can you be so tender and loving with me and abuse her? That doesn't make sense.”
“You weren't there, you haven't seen her or dealt with her. Carry her to the bathroom, wipe her ass. Listen to babbling. I've tried not to, but I did.”
“What about me? Will you be patient with me for years, then crack my skull some night?”
“No.” The insinuation hurt him and his face reflected the pain he felt. “It was her, her and the damned jade bear.”
“Why do you come back to that? Is there something you're hiding about the bear also? You're not helping matters.”
“I'm not trying to be difficult or evasive.”
“So, she resisted the divorce and you beat her?”
“Yes, but I never mentioned you.”
“I don't believe this! This is totally screwed up and so are you!”
She walked through her sliding doors and stood on her patio, her back to the house.
He watched her for a time, went to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. “I know this isn't easy anymore, although easy is how I wanted it. I love you. It might not sound that way and I might not sound so good right now, but I'm not evil. Most of the time it started over sex and she always, always, turned to the bear. That's something you have to witness to understand, but imagine you talking to me and me ignoring you to talk to a stuffed rabbit. It's crazy, but it worked on me long enough to make me snap after a while. I truly never meant to do it.”
“I know you love me. That isn't a question here. Amanda's response is a direct result of what you did, and I feel she'll not stop, and that poses a big problem.”
“I agree there.”
“We must be careful. She's dangerous, especially if she can have access like this and get away with it. If my feeling were only lust, I'd tell you to hit the road right now. However, I do demand honesty and I want communication also. I want to know what you think about her, about life, about anything. If you can't do that, then let yourself out. And don't come back.”