It all started, I think, because I couldn't get her to stop singing Melissa Manchester songs. Not that I particularly hated Melissa Manchester, mind. She is a fine singer, and under other circumstances I might even appreciate her. But not now. Not with Cheryl.
Cheryl is my girlfriend. Of course, she's a lot more than that now, maybe better, certainly different. You might meet her later. See, Cheryl has gone from being a dandy piece of ass and a good looker, though clearly a problem child to deal with, to someone who is as, well, compliant as one might wish. And I do wish. Oh my, yes, I do wish a lot. And she answers those wishes, every damned one of them.
As I mentioned, the issue was Ms. Manchester. The song in question was, if memory serves, "You Should Hear How She Talks About You," an up tempo piece with some sort of neo-disco beat. Cheryl loved that song, had it on a cassette she'd almost worn out, which was bad enough entirely. She played it a lot when we were first together, and it was cute for a while. In her opinion, it was Our Song. Gad. In my opinion, I preferred something by Zeppelin, thanks, or even Genesis, for God's sake. I could even have gotten behind another of Manchester's pieces, "Don't Cry Out Loud." But no. She thought that particular Melissa tune rocked, and that the song was perfect. I went along to get along. I guess I went along too much.
We had had an awful week. My business was in a periodic decline (they happened like clockwork every Spring, and things revived in late Summer), she was under stress at her work, and we were squabbling a lot. I would come back to the apartment all stressed and frustrated, and I would grab a beer and turn on some Miles Davis or John , maybe even Louie or The Duke, and just chill. I'd calm down enough to grab a shower, and by the time Cheryl got home, I'd be in a pretty good mood. Then she'd blow in stressed, turn on Melissa, and start slamming cupboard doors and acting bitchy. I guessed that she just had to blow off the steam accumulated during the week, and I was generally ok with being the designated target, but after awhile, she stopped apologizing. And she stopped asking if she could change tapes. She'd just do it, regardless of what else was happening, and storm around the place. And she had a stinky temper.
Now, the thing is, I have a temper, too. Not a bad one, and I had been taught long ago that gentlemen don't hit ladies. You just don't, and I never did. But, boy, there were moments when it was right up to the edge, and only the sound of my Daddy's voice in my ear kept her from getting her block popped. But I did and do have a temper. And mine was like pretty much everyone else's in my family. It was sneaky, and onlookers never could quite get a handle on exactly when it would blow, because we all made the effort not to let anything show. Which worked up to the point where the thing was triggered, and then all Hell would break loose. And Cheryl had never actually seen that side of me. Keep that in mind.
So, the night when things started to blow up big, I was chilling after a shower, listening to Miles. Cheryl stomped in all hot and pissy, started throwing things all around, and went rummaging through the refrigerator for something cold. She found it, then came out into the front room and went for the stereo. She grabbed a CD, and started to reach for the eject button. "Leave it alone," I said. She turned and looked at me, clearly even more pissed than before, if possible. "You heard me. Leave it alone. Go take a shower or something and calm down."
Well, that's where the screaming started. I caught such unbelievable hell that you'd have thought I kidnapped the Lindburgh baby and helped Hitler take the Sudetenland. I sat there and just let it wash over me. She screamed a bit more, something about "who the fuck do you think you are anyway, my goddamn father?" When I replied "if I was, I'd wash out your mouth with soap," she stamped off, went into the bedroom, and slammed the door. I heard the shower going for a bit, then the hairdryer. A few minutes after that, she came back out, her mood not much improved. "Did you make dinner," she asked with a scowl. "There's a pot of vegetable soup on the stove," I answered, trying, vainly, not to set her off again. It didn't work. Apparently, vegetable soup was probably the worst damn thing I could have done short of murdering her mother.
Well, after she ranted for a bit, acting like a spoiled brat, I gave it up. In mid rant, I went to the closet, got my running shoes, and laced up. "Where the fuck do you think you're going," she asked, vitriol dripping. "I thought I'd go somewhere a little less loud. Like a steel foundry or a race track." I was losing patience. She came over, got right in my face. "Why do you have to be such a shit?"
I stared at her evenly. "Dunno. Why do you have to be such a bitch?" Which was when she slapped me. I felt my hand draw back, and it almostโฆalmost fired out. She saw the look in my eye and stumbled away. I dropped my arm to my side. Then I turned and walked out.